Twenty years with Democrats controlling every seat on the Montgomery County Council and the county executive’s office, residents are getting a last-minute rush of tax credits, spending promises, political fights, and major decisions that should have been dealt with long ago.
An old rule in politics has been around since cavemen had their first election: when one party controls everything, that party owns the results.
No excuses. No finger-pointing. No blaming the opposition.
And in Montgomery County, Democrats have controlled just about every lever that matters.
All 11 members of the Montgomery County Council are Democrats. County Executive Marc Elrich is a Democrat. Democrats have had four years to govern this county with virtually no Republican opposition inside the legislative process.
So as this Council enters the final months of its term, voters should take a good look at what four years of one-party rule has produced.
The Baltimore Banner reports that the Council is returning from a seven-week recess with what it calls a “jam-packed agenda.” Current council terms expire in December, and members are suddenly racing to introduce nine bills, create new tax credits, settle a political fight over the Planning Board and decide what to do about the county’s trash incinerator.
That sounds less like a success lap and more like somebody realizing the semester ends next week.
One proposal would expand a county property-tax credit. Another would provide $2,500 to public school teachers and unionized employees. A third would provide a $500-per-child credit to certain very low-income families.
Some of those ideas may help people. That is not really the point. The bigger question is this: Why, after years of Democratic control, are county leaders suddenly acknowledging that families are under serious financial pressure? This has been going on in Montgomery County for the past 8 years. This is nothing new.
Montgomery County residents did not wake up last Tuesday and discover that housing was expensive, property taxes were high, or family budgets were stretched. They have been abundantly aware of that fact every time they get a tax bill; they have seen their bill blow up over the past 8 years. They know this when schools are failing.
These problems have been building for over eight years (Actually 20, but who’s counting). Constant tax-and-spend policies is how we got here! The council should just look in the mirror to see who is responsible. This isn’t President Trump’s fault, Republicans in the House, or the Republicans in the US Senate. This is a Montgomery County problem, homegrown with years of zero accountability.
Yet the Democratic answer is almost always the same. Collect the taxes first, spend through an enormous county government, and then create another targeted program or tax credit to give some residents a little of their money back.
That is not tax reform. It is tax-code triage.
Then there is the fight over Planning Board member James Hedrick.
The Council voted 10-0 to reappoint him. Marc Elrich vetoed that decision. The Council must now decide whether to override the county executive.
Pounder about that for a minute. Democrats are fighting Democrats over a Democrat serving on a county board, largely because Hedrick has publicly disagreed with Elrich on housing and development policy.
When meaningful two-party competition is missing. Political battles do not disappear. They move inside the dominant party. “Absolute power…”, well you knw how that quote ends.
Residents deserve something better than factional warfare among Democrats deciding which Democrat gets to make decisions for everyone else.
The same concern applies to the future of the county’s trash incinerator.
The Council has held 10 public hearings and now wants to decide by Thanksgiving. Whatever option is selected could affect taxpayers, environmental policy, trash collection and county infrastructure for decades.
The decision deserves scrutiny, transparent cost comparisons and honest public debate. It should not be rushed because council members suddenly noticed the calendar says September and that they are all up for re-election this year. They have been running the show my entire lifetime.
And that really is the larger problem.
When political competition disappears, accountability gets weaker.
Montgomery County Republicans do not need to argue that every Democrat is wrong about everything. That would be silly. Some council members undoubtedly work hard (I still have to find that one,, but statistically there has to be at least one well-intentioned council member who puts the people above politics), and some of these proposals deserve genuine consideration.
But voters should ask whether government works better when one party holds every council seat and the executive branch at the same time. Legends say that a long time ago, there were elected Republicans on the County Council. The Montgomery County Council had Republicans on the council; the county was better off.
Where is the fiscal counterweight?
Who consistently asks whether the county can afford another program? Answer No one!
Who forces the majority to defend its assumptions? Answer No one!
Who represents the tens of thousands of Montgomery County residents who do not share the progressive consensus? Answer: No one!
Right now, the answer is essentially nobody inside the Council chamber.
Montgomery County government should not belong to Republicans or Democrats. It should belong to the residents.
But healthy government requires debate, competition, and accountability.
After way more than four years of total Democratic control, we are ending the term with families struggling with affordability, politicians proposing new credits to soften that burden, Democrats fighting one another over appointments, and a Council racing to finish major policy decisions before December.
That is not an argument for replacing one-party Democratic government with one-party Republican government.
Vote Republican this November!
Endnotes
1. The Banner, “It’s crunch time for the Montgomery County Council. Here’s its to-do list.”
Overview of the Council’s September agenda, nine proposed bills, tax-credit proposals, Hedrick dispute and incinerator discussions.
https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/local-government/montgomery-county-council-to-do-list-D64MW7RRABFYTHKZ6IBLWXE6L4/
2. Montgomery County Council, “Council Districts Map.”
Official county listing showing the political affiliation of all seven district councilmembers and four at-large members as Democrats.
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/government/legislative-branch/county-council/about-council/council-districts-map-0
3. Montgomery County Council, “About the Council.”
Official description of the 11-member Council and confirmation that the current four-year terms run from December 2022 through December 2026.
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/government/legislative-branch/county-council/about-council
4. Montgomery County Council, “Council Seeks Applicants for Montgomery County Planning Board.”
Official information concerning James Hedrick’s Planning Board term and the board appointment process.
https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Dept=1&Item_ID=48459
5. Montgomery County Council, “Committee Introduces Bill to Increase Eligibility for Homeowners Property Tax Credit.”
Background on Montgomery County’s supplemental homeowners property-tax credit and previous efforts to expand eligibility.
https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Dept=1&Item_ID=46554
Michael Iwamoto is a contributor at Direct Line News.
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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