Rockville Election Debate: City Council Candidate Beryl L. Feinberg

Rockville City Council candidates faced off Wednesday during the first debate of election season.

The debate was hosted by the Rockville Community Coalition. The moderator, former lawmaker Cheryl Kagan, allowed each candidate one minute to respond to questions generated by the RCC and members of the community. 

Rockville’s City elections are Nov. 5. Eight candidates are in the race.

Six have filed for council seats—Claire Marcuccio Whitaker, Virginia Onley, Donald Hadley, and Tom Moore, Julie Palakovich Carr and Beryl Feinberg.

Council members Mark Pierzchala and Bridget Donnell Newton are running for mayor. Their debate took place after the council debate.

Feinberg was unable to attend because she was recuperating from a hospital stay. Her husband, Ed Feinberg, read the following prepared opening and closing remarks on her behalf:

Opening remarks 

Beryl is running for city council for several reasons. First, she believes in balanced growth for Rockville. She is a strong advocate for ensuring the historic character of Rockville’s neighborhoods while ensuring that new enterprises feel welcomed by the city. She does not believe in no growth or unlimited growth, but she subscribes to the concept of balanced growth. She wants to mobilize the public, private and nonprofit sectors to meet the needs of all citizens, but especially the needs of the increasing population of senior citizens, and she proposes there be a single point of contact to assist seniors so that they can modify their homes or do whatever is needed to stay where they live for as long as they possibly can in homes that they’ve often had for decades. She wants to create an atmosphere of civility and respect among the mayor and the council and the city staff. We are 20-year residents of Rockville. With an MBA from the University of Maryland, Beryl has held increasingly critical management positions in the county’s office of management and budget and is currently the deputy director of and chief operating officer in the department of general services. As a proud member of Team Rockville, she looks forward to the debates during the next several weeks. In the meantime, you are encouraged to learn more about her at her website, Beryl@BerylFeinberg.com.

Closing remarks

Beryl has been passionate so much in all aspects of her personal and professional life. She’s currently the chairman of Montgomery Hospice. She’s a former librarian with the Montgomery County Library. … She’s an expert in public finance, both in her academic and professional pursuits. She would bring a sophistication and an insight and passion and compassion to this position. And she has had the benefit—as so many of us have had—of hearing from the residents of Rockville over the past six months.

We know Rockville residents want value for their money. They want a government that listens and responds. We need a team, we need a person, we need a vision of responsive leadership. And Beryl brings that to us and she asks for your vote on November. 5.