George Leventhal
How would you characterize the quality of civic engagement in Montgomery County, and what do you think should be done to improve it?
Generally, civic engagement is concentrated among more affluent residents, especially retirees, who have free time to devote to local politics and who understand the direct connection between decisions made by local officials and property values. This often means that the input elected officials receive is not fully representative of the broad and diverse perspectives of all residents.
I am aware of and support the effort by the Citizens League to create a new paradigm for civic involvement that incorporates a broader range of input than has historically emerged from homeowners’ associations.
Elected officials must maintain broad and close community contacts. I have done this. Elected officials should always keep in mind that our time in office will not last forever and part of our charge is to develop the next generation of leaders. Elected officials should cultivate credible and responsible community activists and provide them with accurate information about what is taking place within government.
What role do you think the Council and County Executive should play in setting education policy and providing oversight of the Montgomery County Public Schools?
We have one of the nation’s best school systems, although it is not by any means perfect. I do believe the school system needs to ensure productivity and results for the money we spend and must learn to live within the spending constraints embodied in the six-year fiscal plan recently adopted by the council.
For the last several years I have cautioned that the school system needs to base its budget request more realistically upon the revenue estimates available to the county’s Office of Management and Budget rather than developing its request in isolation from revenue projections and the needs of other county departments and agencies. We have a structural problem when the entity responsible for setting expectations throughout the school system (the Board of Education), does so without necessarily considering these crucial factors, which include aspects of the county budget such as school health programs, crossing guards, educational facility officers, after-school programs and more, that directly benefit the school system but are funded through other county departments and agencies.
For this reason, the County Council was unfortunately unable to fund the school system’s full request this year. School system budget analysts should work hand-in-hand with county government budget analysts and arrive at budget assumptions that are affordable in the context of the entire county budget.
Policy and curriculum decisions are the responsibility of the Board of Education, not the County Council. As a councilmember, I have respected that distinction while urging the school system to be more attentive to certain issues (like recycling, teen pregnancy, fitness and nutrition) that have broad implications for the environment and public health.
What steps should the county take to maintain or improve public safety at a time when budget pressures are forcing cuts to spending on police and social services?
Police need to continue efforts to interact successfully and build trust with a wide range of communities to develop better intelligence and head off problems before they start. We must address the alienation and isolation of young people for whom the gang lifestyle is potentially attractive. Police need to respond rapidly when crime problems accelerate and show a strong reassuring presence in areas we want people to visit, like downtown Silver Spring. Better community mental health services can reduce the cost of mental health treatment in jail.
What, if any, changes to the structure of the county's tax system should we be considering?
We need to get back to relying on property tax revenue rather than regressive nuisance taxes like energy and cell phone taxes. We must continue to work on increasing the value of land in targeted areas of economic opportunity like White Flint, the Great Seneca Science Corridor, Wheaton, Glenmont and the Science Center East at White Oak/FDA. In so doing, we will expand our property tax base. Expanding jobs and investment in these targeted areas of economic opportunity will also increase income tax revenues.
What should we expect Montgomery County's transportation network to look like in 30 years, and how will that affect where and how we live and work?
Thirty years ago (in 1980) there was only one Metro station in Montgomery County: Silver Spring. Today there are 12. We should look forward with optimism to substantial improvement in our public transportation network over the next thirty years. I don’t think we will expand heavy rail Metro in Montgomery County, but I do think the Purple Line and Corridor Cities Transitway will be built and we will see bus rapid transit on many major streets and highways. This will make more mixed-use cosmopolitan areas like downtown Bethesda possible where people can live near their jobs and use transit to get where they need to go.
How will Montgomery County be different four years from now if you are elected?
Not necessarily different, but even better! I hope we will continue to expand access to health care for the uninsured and reduce the prevalence of homelessness. I hope to see ground broken on the Purple Line during my next term on the Council. I hope we can attract new jobs and investment, especially in our targeted industries: life sciences and environmental technology. These will be my priorities if elected to a third term.
George Leventhal
At-Large
Democrat
website