With Election Day looming, Patch recently sat down with Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.
Approaching the midway point of his second term in office, Leggett (D) reflected on the upcoming election, the state of the county and its budget, his priorities for the remainder of his second term and persistent rumors about whether he’ll seek public office in 2014.
In the first installment, Leggett talks about why he “wholeheartedly” supports voting "yes" on Question 4 on the Nov. 6 ballot and allowing in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.
I support the Dream Act. Students with uncertain documentation attend classes across Montgomery County. Some apply themselves and excel in math and science but still wonder what lies ahead. Will they get into college? If so, will they be able to afford to go? Others more fortunate attend the same classes confident in the fact that they will go to college and perhaps their acceptance is even guaranteed as a legacy of birth and their parents’ choices and opportunities. Affordability may or may not be an issue, but if they reside in Montgomery County, they would pay in-state tuition. In the Olympic sport of Curling players from many countries slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a designated mark. A Curling broom is used to sweep the ice surface clear in the path of the stone even while the Curling stone is in motion and traveling towards the mark. Just as the Curling team is intent on sweeping aside any obstacle that may serve to impede a straight and true path to the mark, every resident of Montgomery County should pick up a broom and be a sweeper for every earnest student who, like the Curling stone in motion, comes to school with his homework done and does his or her part in an effort to hit the mark. Neither politicians nor citizens should place any obstacles in the path of those willing and able to secure our future by securing theirs. Have a heart and support the Dream Act!
I do have a grip... on the Curling Broom of opportunity for all those willing to work and do their part for themselves, their families, their communities, and their country.
It's the same argument that conservatives make in terms of tax breaks for businesses, just applied at an individual level.
Our nation's leaders neglected the immigration issue in the past, and now we are left to deal with the consequences. Let's not allow the product of that neglect to be discarded as collateral damage. Those that do their part deserve a break. More than just a cost, the added expense is an investment. It's the American way!
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