The candidates for Montgomery County executive got together for their first public meeting Wednesday, and the talk was dominated by housing issues.
That wasn’t surprising, given that they were attending the Affordable Housing Conference annual meeting.
County Council Member Steve Silverman took repeated shots at Democratic rival and former council colleague Isiah Leggett, while Republican candidate Chuck Floyd denounced the “candidate on my right” — referring to Silverman — throughout the hourlong forum.
“Our current housing programs do not adequately address the need for affordable housing,” Leggett told the crowd of county officials, housing experts, lenders and developers. “We have to be more aggressive about how we approach the problems that we see. Otherwise, we will be totally overwhelmed.”
Silverman proposed establishing an advisory commission on affordable housing, drawing on a pool of federal housing officials and experts living in the county.
“After we complete our budget season, I will announce legislation to establish an ongoing commission on housing policy to bring our best and brightest to the table,” he said.
Silverman criticized Leggett as a “slow growth” candidate whose policies would drive up the price of housing.
Leggett said he only wants to ensure that growth doesn’t overwhelm county agencies and infrastructure needed to accommodate it.
Floyd, a retired Army officer, proposed building “military-style housing” immediately for teachers, police and firefighters “because it’s efficient and very good.”
He said current county leaders, particularly Silverman, are too far in the pockets of developers to make any significant changes in the way business is done in Montgomery.
Independent candidate Robin Ficker was not afforded a seat on the dais, but waited in vain for an opportunity to go after his opponents during a public question session that evaporated because of time constraints.
“Steve Silverman and his running mate Ike Leggett … have manipulated today’s forum to avoid any real challenge or debate on their record on low-income housing,” Ficker said.
On the agenda, he was relegated to serving on a panel of one for “unaffiliated candidates” more than an hour after the main candidates’ forum.
