When Montgomery County voters turned out to the polls Tuesday, they sent a message: Slow the pace of development across the state’s largest jurisdiction.
Voters’ message began with slow-growth Democratic executive candidate Ike Leggett and extended itself through the County Council, where pro-development at-large incumbent, Mike Subin, who was part of Executive Doug Duncan’s 2002 “End Gridlock” slate, lost his re-election bid.
“I think its pretty clear that people did want a change,” said Democrat Duchy Trachtenberg.
Trachtenberg and Democrat Marc Elrich now join at-large Democratic incumbents Nancy Floreen and President George Leventhal, who were both part of the Gridlock team, in advancing to November’s general election.
Trachtenberg and Elrich, a Takoma Park Council member and fifth-grade teacher, pledged to restrict developer contributions to the campaigns. Elrich could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“I had some polling done early on and it was pretty clear that people were concerned about the pace of growth,” said Trachtenberg, president of the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women. “People had connected the dots and felt that the pace was too rapid and the infrastructure had not caught up.”
Floreen said slowing growth does not mean no growth. The county has had thousands of new housing units and millions of new square footage slated for business in the works already, Floreen said.
“I thinkits dangerous to align yourself with one side or the other in any of these kinds of debates,” Floreen cautioned. “Once you get to the Council, you find that these things are complicated.”
Floreen added that she is “interested to see how he (Leggett) can bring a conciliatory, if collaborate effort on the council.”
In other council news, School Board member Valerie Ervin beat a primary challenge from Rock the Vote political director Hans Riemer for the District 5 seat.
The general election is Nov. 7.
