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Election

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Kauffman Sweeps Board of Education At-Large Primary

In the Montgomery County Board of Education primary, Morris Panner took the No. 2 spot for the At-Large ballot; Fred Evans and Rebecca Smondrowski took the top spots for District 2.

Although the Republican presidential primary bolstered Maryland into national headlines Tuesday, locally Montgomery County voters also narrowed the field for the Board of Education’s general election in November. The unofficial results show that Phil Kauffman and Morris Panner beat out the two other candidates on the ballot to advance to the general election for the at-large seat. Kauffman received 60.3 percent of the vote, and Panner received 17 percent of the vote. The next runner-up, Lou August, received 11.9 percent of the vote.  "I am really honored to have received the support I did," Panner, a resident of the Town of Somerset in Chevy Chase, told Chevy Chase Patch. "It is such an important time in our [c]ounty's history and a …

Merry Eisner

9:41 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

FYI, along with new boundaries for the Congressional and State districts, the board of education district boundaries have changed as well. The Winston Churchill cluster is now in district 3 and served by Patricia O'Neill.   more ›

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Plans in the Works for Rockville City Manager Search

Mayor to present a search process proposal to the City Council on Monday.

Two days after Rockville City Manager Scott Ullery’s announcement that he plans to retire on Dec. 2, the wheels of city government are already turning on the task of hiring Ullery’s successor. Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio said that she spent Tuesday afternoon with the city’s human resources office reviewing a calendar and a process for selecting a new city manager. Marcuccio will present the plan to the City Council on Monday, she said.  “We started working on it immediately with the thought that we should have some candidates in the pipeline in November, probably interviewing in January, with the hope that we can hire in March,” she said. Marcuccio said that city staff would call for the city to issue a request for proposals for “headhunter” …

Jim Coyle

9:36 am on Monday, July 11, 2011

Although I agree with Tom in principle, the current M & C should get the recruitment procees underway since the entire process can take a minimum of 6 months to complete. Then you could have another time period before the new CM arrives for duty. The next Council can conduct the interviews and select the next manager. Having been involved in hiring 2 City Managers, a lot of delay and surprises …   more ›

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Quit Beating Up on City Employees

Stigile: Before 'a rush to judgement,' the city should conduct a 'no-fault investigation' of the fountain incident at the mayor's announcement.

We should all agree that having the fountains come on during the mayor’s campaign event was unfortunate. She and her supporters deserved to enjoy the moment. Once a decision was made to turn off the fountains, steps should have been taken to ensure that the event went forward without mishap. We should also acknowledge that the incident raises important questions about the use of city facilities for campaign purposes. Prudent people should want to get answers to many questions and not rush to judgment. Unfortunately, instead of waiting for a full airing of the facts, Mr. Jordan pounced on the city manager. The words and tone of his posting last week on Rockville Patch were impolite and accusatory. He characterized the city manager's actions…

Doug in Rockville

6:04 pm on Monday, October 17, 2011

Hi again Brigitta. Yes, in fact I was in attendance at the forum. I thought it was very well done and very well moderated. The only thing I didn't like was that each candidate was asked a question, but other candidates generally were not asked the same question, so it left me a little short in comparing responses. I have made a few decisions on who I will support, but I still have questions for …   more ›

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

City Manager Should Apologize for Fountain Incident

Jordan: Fountain going on during mayor's speech is "one of the most bizarre and arrogant abuses of authority I have experienced."

On Friday evening, June 10, I joined other Rockville residents in Town Center to hear Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio announce her decision to seek reelection. Among those in attendance were Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz, Sen. Jennie Forehand, and former Rockville Mayor Steve VanGrack. Seats were set up in the pavilion area in front of the stage. Many senior citizens took advantage of the seating while other people stood or sat near the sides of the stage. After several short speeches, Mayor Marcuccio began her remarks. Several minutes into the speech, the mayor and all those who turned out to hear her speak became victims of the one of the most bizarre and arrogant abuses of authority I have experienced. Dozens of people were sitting in chairs …

Piotr Gajewski

8:16 pm on Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Hear, hear. But for Mr. Jordan's post, I don't think anyone was interested in talking about this. Not the Mayor, not anyone else I know.   more ›

Thursday, February 3, 2011

UPDATE: Marcuccio to Run for Re-Election, Welcomes Gajewski to the Race

Mayor says she is “not sure what [Gajewski] means about her difficulties in working with the city manager."

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio said Wednesday that she intends on running for re-election and welcomes Councilman Piotr Gajewski to the race, should he choose to run. “I’m delighted to see newcomers to the mayoral race,” Marcuccio said. “Any time someone wants to serve the city in that way, I think it’s terrific.” Asked if she would stand for re-election, Marcuccio said: “Sure I’m running,” adding that she had yet to talk to people who worked on her 2009 campaign about when to make an official announcement. “You can’t finish anything in two years,” she said. “I want a little more time to do that.” “That” includes getting city government to work more collaboratively with other government agencies, such as the school system, the mayor said. With …

Theresa Defino

6:45 am on Friday, February 4, 2011

what exactly are you blaming piotr gajewski for? i think just throwing around unanswered questions, not giving specifics, raising the specter of misdeeds and casting blame without facts and with a few falsehoods thrown in isn't a very productive way to start a dialogue. is this the start of a negative campaign for the current mayor? more scare tactics, like the last time? i hope councilman …   more ›

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

More of the Same in Most Maryland Races

No surprises as incumbents and Democrats dominate congressional and statewide races

For many Maryland political observers one of the unsurprising early returns on Election Night was Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski delivering a victory speech in Baltimore. Mikulski's victory was the first of many victories for incumbent Democrats in a state that was largely immune from the anti-incumbent, anti-Democrat or pro-tea party mood that pervaded elections around the nation. While Republicans mounted strong and, in many cases, victorious challenges in other states, the opposition was less organized in Maryland, said Gail Ewing, a Democratic former Montgomery County Councilwoman from Potomac. "It's not an organized, mobilized, get-out-the-vote, hit 'em hard effort [in Maryland]," Ewing said. Republicans—tea partiers or not—have not …

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

"Question A" Driving Voters — and Confusion — at Polls

Ambulance fees are a hot topic as turnout revs up late

At 3 p.m. the foot traffic from voters arriving at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville began to increase from a trickle to a steady stream. The vote tally showed that 384 voters had cast ballots at the school system's headquarters in the first three hours after polls opened at 7 a.m.  That number had grown by 551 voters over the next five hours and at 3 p.m. stood at 935 voters, with 544 registered Democrats, 247 registered Republicans and 144 unaffiliated voters casting ballots. The precinct comprises 4,021 registered voters, including 2,174 registered Democrats, 860 registered Republicans and 957 unaffiliated voters, according to the county elections board. By 5 p.m. the turnout numbers were growing rapidly as a line …

Rockville Voters' Guide for Election Day

Where to go, what to do and who's on the ballot

Election Day is Tuesday and Montgomery County voters will visit local polling places to cast their ballots for the candidates and issues important to them. Here are some answers to common questions to help make voting easier. When can I vote? Polling locations are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Nov. 2. What do I need to bring with me to vote? Voters do not need to present identification at polling places; however, it is recommended that voters bring their drivers license, said Montgomery County Board of Elections spokeswoman Marjorie Roher. A chief judge may only ask for identification if the voter is a new registrant and couldn't provide identification when registering -- a group which accounts for about one percent of all voters, Roher…

Friday, October 29, 2010

Gubernatorial Face-Off: Martin O'Malley (Part 1 of 4)

Patch asks the questions that you, Patch readers, want answered and fact checks the candidates' claims.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is from the first set of four we are posting before the Nov. 2 General Election. Both Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Republican rival, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., agreed to sit down with us to answer questions from Patch readers, but Ehrlich had to cancel his session. That's why the quality of the two videos differs. We did our best to reschedule with Ehrlich but ultimately had to settle for a less intimate setting.  Check back over the next three days for the rest of the interviews. The first question we asked came from Matt Dernoga of College Park. Dernoga's question: "Are you supportive of wind power off the coast of Maryland and what steps will you take over the next four years to make it a reality? If not…

Gubernatorial Face-Off: Bob Ehrlich (Part 1 of 4)

Patch asks the questions that you, Patch readers, want answered and fact checks the candidates' claims.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is from the first set of four we are posting before the Nov. 2 General Election. Both Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Republican rival, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., agreed to sit down with us to answer questions from Patch readers, but Ehrlich had to cancel his session. That's why the quality of the two videos differs. We did our best to reschedule with Ehrlich but ultimately had to settle for a less intimate setting.  Check back over the next three days for the rest of the interviews. In this video Ehrlich discusses politics and the use of negative ads in the campaign. "If you don't vote you can't complain," Ehrlich said. "It's an angst ridden environment out there." He said voters are most concerned about the …

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