Honesty and Integrity: Accepting No Money from PACs or Corporations

Click on the photo below to watch George's video statement for the Montgomery Access TV Candidates' Forum.

George's Top MoCo Issues  (this page is under construction)

Issue	George's Position
1.  Economic Health     Budget: How would you cope with the county budget crisis caused by the recession? What specific areas would you reduce or eliminate?   George's Property Tax Restructuring Proposal	George is against the Inter-County Connector project (ICC).  It is a $3.8 Billion dollar highway slicing across the top of Montgomery County, to save 20 seconds on cross-county trips, according to the highway studies. That money should go into investing in safe energy and improving our schools.  Our safety net, like health and human services, public safety and education must be preserved as much as possible. Hopefully, infrastructure costs will be mitigated by funds from the federal stimulus package. The remaining areas need to be reviewed and weighed together in order to make an optimum decision. George's proposal collects about the same amount of taxes in a much less regressive manner.  Under George's proposal, 86% of property owners pay lower property taxes.  Click here for details.
2.  Environment      Land Use: The next two-year Growth Policy is due this spring. What are your specific priorities?	George enthusiastically supports initiatives such as the Montgomery County "Go Green program" run by the State of Maryland's Department of Environmental Protection. George supports the Maryland Green Party and Montgomery County Green Party platforms. Researchers believe that a sustainable globe would require 1.5 acres per capita. If Montgomery County were to follow this guideline, our 317,440 acres would sustain a population of 211,627. Our land use planning presently considers global climate change, but clearly more needs to be done to lower our carbon footprint. George participated in the Community Cleanup in Hallowell organized by Blake High School junior Kirsten Petersen on April 25th (George with Kirsten in photo at left). Project Change in Olney - Kirsten Petersen is a member of this worthy organization promoting community service for our youth.
3.  Education: What role should the County Council have in deciding the details of the MCPS budget since we have an elected Board of Education?	To the extent that educational results fall short of established goals, the County Council should examine both the goals and results. The budget should then reflect necessary new efforts to change goals and any new programs to best see that these goals are attained. Include safety net services as well. George is in favor of retaining and upgrading the Wheaton Library at its present location.  Perhaps a business, such as a coffee shop, would welcome a satellite facility which would hold material reserved on-line or on the phone for citizens wanting to pick them up while in the Central Business District.
4. Transportation: What are your transportation, mass transit and pedestrian priorities?	Maximizing walking and biking is ideal (for several reasons). When this is not possible, it is desirable to have convenient, inexpensive mass transit available. Finally, if private automobiles must be used, we should encourage minimizing the gallons/person used. Raising the gasoline tax would provide funds and incentive for “green” transportation. Click here for George's replies to the Action Committee for Transit questionnaire.
5.  Immigration: Do you believe county policies are going in the right direction regarding the treatment of immigrants? Please explain.	It is critical that immigrants in Montgomery County feel that they are not being ignored in their efforts to seek “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” for their families. Potential county enforcement of federal “detainers” in non-criminal cases may be causing unnecessary distrust of police in our immigrant communities. I believe that we do not so much have an “illegal immigrant” problem as much as we do an “illegal employer” problem. Enforcing existing laws which hold employers culpable for hiring illegal immigrants will result in a much lower demand for illegal workers.

Let George Do It:  George's approach to problem-solving

• George has fashioned an innovative proposal for Instant Runoff Voting and Contingency Runoff Voting that can eliminate costly elections while serving the public good.

Councilmember Don Praisner left a request to appoint a replacement rather than undergo an expensive special election (see Council Press Release).  Many citizens of the county have expressed an interest in Instant Runoff Voting (IRV).  (See related Gazette IRV articles: League of Women Voters, Erik Connell, Greenbelt and Takoma Park.)

George has devised a variant of IRV that he calls Contingency Runoff Voting (CRV), which, if implemented, would fulfill Mr. Praisner’s request.  (View an example here.)