The King Farm Citizens' Assembly held the Rockville Mayor and Council candidates' second forum on Tuesday. The format for this forum allowed the candidates to give the audience a better idea where each candidate differs or agrees on the issues asked. All candidates sat together and questions were addressed to the mayoral candidates first. After the council candidates answered their questions, each candidate gave a one-minute closing remark. There were 85 people in attendance, not all were King Farm residents. After this debate, I decided I need to hear more answers by each candidate because …

At the King Farm Mayor and Council Forum on Tuesday night I asked the mayoral candidates if they had taken any developer contributions to their campaigns. Piotr Gajewski was the first to answer and he said that he had not taken any—although he was receiving rent-free accommodations for his campaign headquarters on Rockville Pike in the old Ford dealership. He didn’t value the free rent, but my guess is that it is worth at least $1,000 per month. The current mayor, Phyllis Marcuccio, responded that she hadn’t taken any developer money and didn’t want any. In fact, she said all but two of her …

Rockville voters were very disappointed by Councilman Piotr Gajewski’s claim that he had not taken any developer money thus far in his 2011 campaign, when asked this question at Tuesday night’s King Farm candidate forum. The fact is, he has taken at least $1,950.00 of developer and developer attorney money so far, according to his campaign finance report, for the period ending Sept. 30. Thus far, Gajewski’s developer-related money consists of the following: Aris Mardirossian ($1,000 to Gajewski’s campaign to date) is one of the most noteworthy developers in Montgomery County. According to the…

The two candidates for Rockville mayor fielded questions about traffic, the Corridor Cities Transitway, school overcrowding and the future of the King Farm Farmstead during a forum sponsored by the King Farm Citizens’ Assembly on Tuesday. While Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio and her challenger, Councilman Piotr Gajewski, showed common ground on several issues, a question from the audience about campaign contributions provided a striking contrast.  An audience member asked the mayoral candidates how much they had received in contributions from developers. “As of Sept. 30—I’m trying to think—I think I…

Families, friends, campaign supporters and undecided voters jammed the council chamber at City Hall on Thursday for the first candidates forum of the 2011 election season. Rockville 11 broadcast the forum live and posted video of its coverage on YouTube. We've provided a link for you here and photos by Rockville Patch editor Sean Sedam and Rockville Patch reader Brigitta Mullican. The next forum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at   King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle
. It is sponsored by King Farm Citizens' Assembly. Click here for a complete list of candidate forums.  

Calling for greater citizen participation in city government—and greater outreach to the community through government—longtime community activist Virginia Onley formally announced on Sunday that she is a candidate for the Rockville City Council. “I believe that you need a government that’s all-inclusive, that includes everyone and where you have your say,” she said from the plaza of the Americana Centre condominiums, where she serves on the board of directors. Onley highlighted her civic experience and her 35-year career at IBM. “I think that has prepared me for budgeting and making good, …

Candidates for Rockville Mayor and City Council will appear tonight at the first of seven candidate forums leading up the Nov. 8 city elections. 2011 Candidates Forum Schedule Today at 7p.m. at Rockville City Hall, 111 Maryland Ave. Sponsored by Fallsmead Homes Corporation.* Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at King Farm Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle
. Sponsored by King Farm Citizens' Assembly.
  Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. at Rockville Senior Center (Carnation Room), 1150 Carnation Drive. Sponsored by Woodley Gardens Civic Association, College Gardens Civic Association and Plymouth Woods
 Homeowners …

Les Francis, a former dean at Montgomery College making his first run for public office, is a candidate for Rockville City Council. Under a slogan of “Less taxes … Less government … Les Francis for Rockville City Council,” Francis’s campaign website casts him as a fiscal conservative and budget hawk. He lists his top three campaign issues as the city’s budget and fiscal transparency, reduction of city taxes and the “elimination of redundancy and waste in delivery of city services.” The city holds nonpartisan elections in odd-numbered years for the four seats on the City Council and for mayor…

A “typographical error” in the city code that became fodder for an allegation of campaign finance violations against a sitting councilwoman should be corrected, the chairman of the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections said. In a letter sent to the Rockville City Council on Friday, board Chairman David Celeste Jr. asked the council to correct the typo by amending the city code. Last week, Tom Moore, a candidate for City Council, wrote a letter to Celeste pointing out the typo and saying that City Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton violated campaign finance law during the 2009 election …

At its meeting last night, the Rockville Board of Supervisors of Elections discussed the issues raised by my Oct. 3 letter, and voted to recommend the change to Rockville's Code I had suggested. I thank the Board for its prompt attention to my letter and I am satisfied that the appropriate steps are being taken to fix Rockville's elections law.My concern in raising this issue was the certainty of our laws and the transparency of our elections. Transparency is still at issue here. Once this fix is made, unlimited contributions will be allowed from candidates' spouses during the 2011 election …

(Council member Bridget Donnell Newton provided this as a letter to the editor.) Sean – Thank you for your call Tuesday evening which alerted me to Mr. Moore’s letter. It might be interesting for your readers to see the complete content of the email exchange which took place Wednesday morning between Mr. Moore and myself. I can’t copy the transmittal time for Mr. Moore’s response to my email but it was Wednesday October 5, 2011 9:22am. Email exchange between Moore and Newton: Bridget, Of course. It is attached. You are not the focus of the letter. The point of the letter is not what happened …

A candidate for Rockville City Council says that a city law limiting campaign contributions by candidates’ spouses is not being followed and that a sitting council member and political opponent violated the law during the 2009 election cycle. “It is generally believed that candidates’ spouses are exempt from Rockville’s $1,000-per-camapaign limit,” Tom Moore wrote in a letter sent Monday to David Celeste, chairman of the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections. “The City Clerk’s office has given such guidance in the past. A close reading of the Code, however, reveals that this is simply not …

Joseph Jordan has withdrawn from the race for Rockville City Council. The civic activist and chairman of the RedGate Advisory Committee said in a news release Tuesday that he would not seek one of four council seats. He has asked the city to remove his name from the ballot for the Nov. 8 city elections, the release said. Jordan said that he had received support for his candidacy "from every corner of the city," but cited "personal reasons" for withdrawing. Jordan is known as a frequent presence at City Council meetings, speaking out on open government issues and raising issues of incivility …

Richard Gottfried, a civic activist and member of the city’s Finance and Budget Task Force, is running for the Rockville City Council. “It seemed there was an unprecedented opportunity and a need for a citizen-focused candidate to take a place at the table,” Gottfried said in a news release. The city holds nonpartisan elections in odd-numbered years for the four seats on the City Council and for mayor. This year’s election will take place Nov. 8. Gottfried is one of nine candidates running for the council. He ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2007. “In the current financial climate, every…

With the future home of a new grocery store in Rockville Town Square as the backdrop and over the blare of a Rolling Stones tribute band playing on the plaza, Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton officially announced her re-election bid for the Rockville City Council on Friday. “I haven’t been able to finish my work and I’m asking for your vote and support for the next two years,” Newton said. Newton said she chose the setting to highlight how one of her campaign promises from when she was first elected in 2009—bringing a grocery to Town Square—is about to come to fruition. “An independent …

Rockville City Councilman Piotr Gajewski is questioning Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio’s appearance at the groundbreaking of a new headquarters for Choice Hotels International in Rockville Town Center, citing minutes of a closed-door session that show Marcuccio voted against an incentive package to attract the hotel company. The council voted 3 to 2 on Aug. 15 to release the minutes of a closed session in which the incentive package was approved. Gajewski, who is challenging Marcuccio for mayor in the Nov. 8 election, requested that the minutes of the March 14 session be made public. Marcuccio and …

John Britton will not seek a third term on the Rockville City Council. The councilman said he sent the following note to supporters through his campaign email list early Friday evening: "As you may already have realized, the Rockville Mayor and City Council campaign season is once again upon us. Alas (or maybe hooray for some!), I will watch this campaign from the sidelines. I have struggled with this for the past few months but decided that, for personal and professional reasons, I will not run for reelection in November. I certainly appreciate your past encouragement and support and wanted …

With less than a month until the filing deadline, the field of candidates who have filed to run in November’s city elections is growing. Councilman Piotr Gajewski’s petition to run for mayor has been certified, the city clerk’s office said on Tuesday. Gajewski joins Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, who also has been certified as a candidate, in the mayor’s race. Three candidates for the four seats on the City Council are certified to appear on the ballot: John Hall, a councilman from 2001 to 2005. Tom Moore, chairman of the city’s Compensation Commission and a 2009 council candidate. Councilwoman …

Tom Moore, the chairman of the city's Compensation Commission, announced Monday that he will be on the ballot as a candidate for Rockville City Council on Nov. 8. "Rockville's next Mayor and Council have some great opportunities to shape our City," Moore said in a news release posted on his campaign website. "They will hire a new City Manager. They will steer the future of Town Center and Rockville Pike. I am excited by these opportunities. I have the skills and the experience required to address them, and I look forward to going door-to-door to make my case to Rockville's voters." Moore ran …

Saying that he is a voice for the people who offers the strong leadership that Rockville needs, Planning Commissioner Dion Trahan announced on Sunday that he is running for a seat on the City Council.  Addressing supporters at Guiseppi’s Pizza in Rockville Town Center, Trahan asked voters to “be my rock. Let me be your rock.” Trahan talked about bringing a collaborative approach to the council. “I promise to bring your ideas, your voice to the table,” he said. “Because when people say ‘Dion, tell me what this campaign’s about,”—no, no, no, no—you tell me what you need. You tell me what your …