Twitter Q & A
Keith from @gburgnewsletter on Twitter posted some questions for Gaithersburg City Council Candidates to answer. Here are my responses:
Why are you qualified to be on the Gaithersburg city council?
A significant part of being a councilmember is being able to manage competing interests for the benefit of the city, while managing and allocating taxpayer funds appropriately. One of the unique things about how the Gaithersburg City Government is set up is that the City Council is made up of five part-time, non partisan councilmembers who are still expected to have full-time jobs out in the community. I’m not a politician, but I’ve had a number of experiences that I believe allow me to bring a unique insight if elected. Having served on multiple boards, including the Saybrooke HOA, the St. Martin’s School Advisory Board & Finance Committee, and the Board of Governors of the Washington, DC NATAS Chapter (the people who award the local Emmys), I have experience weighing multiple points of view and working to create a consensus on how best to proceed, all the while being mindful of the fiduciary responsibility that comes with managing other people’s money. And as someone who has worked in marketing for over 20 years, I also have experience communicating complex messages, which can help our city improve it’s outreach efforts.
Why do you want to be on the city council?
I’m excited for the opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of our residents. Ten years ago, I was taken hostage at Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, and my worldview was forever changed. Since then, I’ve tried to use my second chance to make a real difference in the community. As a problem solver, I truly believe that I can bring people together to create opportunities for the people of Gaithersburg. As a resident of the east side of Gaitherburg, I can bring a unique insight to the issues affecting Lakeforest Mall and Olde Towne. We’ve all seen the ugliness that politics can bring out in people. It’s my hope that if more people get involved for the right reasons, and go about things the right way, we can change the dynamic for the better. So I’m modeling that behavior, raising my hand and saying I’m willing to put myself out there to work to make my community better.
If the city council could only work on one issue, what would you choose?
Recovering from this pandemic has to be our first priority. It starts with making sure all our residents get vaccinated to protect each other from this deadly disease. None of us wants to go back to 2020. The next step is helping our small businesses recover. Nationally, we saw between 10-17% of restaurants close forever. Both Main Street Kentlands and Olde Town have vacancy rates over 5%. We should expand our Economic Development toolkit grants to help more of our businesses impacted by the pandemic.
What’s your vision for the Lakeforest Mall property?
The redevelopment of Lakeforest will have a profound impact on the future of our city for decades to come. As the Chair of the Olde Towne Advisory Committee, we hosted one of the city focus groups on the future of the property, and I was pleased to see many of the ideas discussed by our group reflected in the proposed new Master Plan for the property. I remain convinced that Lakeforest needs a unique draw, something that sets it apart from our other business centers, such as the Kentlands, Rio, Crown, Olde Towne, Spectrum or even the 355 corridor. The new proposed Master Plan currently calls for 35% public space, and it will be important that the property owners consolidate that space into something that can truly be an asset to the community, not simply green space scattered throughout the property. The new Master Plan, when approved, will only be a guide. We need a voice on the council that actually lives near the mall and understands the impact that the Mall property currently has on the surrounding communities, and what dominoes would fall based on any redevelopment plans that are submitted, and ask the right questions. Like what would any new housing developments do to the already overcrowded school situation? What improvements will the city and state need to do to the surrounding roads and transit options to accommodate the influx of people? We need to take a holistic approach to Lakeforest so we can maximize the opportunity that Lakeforest presents.
What’s your vision for downtown Gaithersburg (the real downtown Summit and E. Diamond)?
I joined the Olde Towne Advisory Committee because as someone who lives in a nearby neighborhood, I’m invested in the success of Olde Towne. I miss Growlers (when it was good), and I’m frustrated its new owners haven’t opened it back up to the public. La Casita is a huge success, and Don Jorge’s is a regular dinner spot for my family, among other great spots. We have seen some other success stories in Olde Towne (the city highlights them here), but there remains work to be done. Olde Towne’s proximity to the MARC train makes it an attractive commuter option; but service needs to be expanded to enable it to work for the business community there, not just the residents working downcounty or in the District. We must be careful, though, that any new development proposals are within the proper scale in relation to surrounding neighborhoods. As both a Federal Opportunity Zone and State Enterprise Zone, incentives exist to support efforts to reimagine what Olde Towne can be, but we must work to ensure that we preserve Gaithersburg’s rich history. Once repairs are done to the Park Plaza fountain, and the development on the Fishman site (between Park Plaza and Granary Row) is completed, my hope is that we have a destination where people want to come and spend time, exploring the various shops and restaurants and enjoying Gaithersburg’s true downtown.