The executive director of a Montgomery County political action committee fervently opposed to candidates receiving campaign dollars from developers threw his name into consideration for Rockville mayor Monday, becoming the second person to do so.
In front of a crowd of county government members and Rockville citizens, Drew Powell announced his candidacy, in the process pledging to not accept any money from developers.
The other contender to come forward so far is Susan Hoffman, one of the current members of the city council.
Comparatively, Powell possesses less political experience, but his group Neighbors for a Better Montgomery has been involved in the local political scenes from a behind-the-scenes perspective — tracking campaign contributions and making endorsements.
But he said he’s running for mayor to control development and maintain the “hometown feel” of the county seat.
“Some redevelopment is a good thing,” he said. “But generally residents want a community that’s livable and walkable, that to some degree resembles the place where they grew up.”
He told The Examiner “the jury’s still out” on whether the $350 million-plus Rockville Town Center project is a worthwhile endeavor and said he’s been troubled by snafus along the way, such as deficient paving that had to be redone at a cost of $1.5 million.
His other big campaign issue will be explaining how Rockville could do a better job of controlling spending, and in the process lower the tax rate.
Calls to Hoffman’s office were unreturned Monday. But according to her biography, Hoffman is currently serving her third term on the council.
She was elected to office for the first time in November 2001 and then re-elected in 2003 and 2005, when she received the highest number of votes for any citywide office.
