And in Local News

First, a quick word about Delegate Frank Turner (D-13), who recently announced his intention to not seek re-election to Maryland’s General Assembly in 2018.

Back in 2011, I wrote a couple of op-eds in support of two year terms for the House of Delegates that were published in some local papers.  Two can be found here and here.

  

As part of my lobbying efforts, I contacted dozens of state legislators, including Delegate Turner.  We spoke on the phone for perhaps 20 minutes or so.  While my reasoning was clearly impeccable and my position unassailable from a good governance point of view, he, like many others in the Assembly, had a differing perspective.  That said, he was very generous with his time, he defended his stance capably, and he offered up a suggestion or two that demonstrated both his attentiveness to my concerns as well as his thoughtful reflections on the matter.  While I could not sway him (or many of his colleagues), I respected how he handled the issue.  He was, and is, a serious player.  District 13 will lose his voice in Annapolis, which is why…moving to the second point of today’s post…

I was elated to read that Howard County Councilperson Jen Terrasa will be entering the race for the now-open seat.  She would be an excellent Delegate and an effective advocate for Howard County interests.  She showed true mettle in the recent tax increment financing (TIF) debate where she demonstrated her commitment to putting “people over profits” if you don’t mind the old chestnut.

Finally, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, citing “personal considerations,” “suspended” (read: ended) her campaign for Governor.  A pity.  I would have liked to have seen what an MRC candidacy firing on all cylinders might have accomplished. She attracted some institutional support (from Emily’s List, most notably) and I believe she would have emerged as a top-flight contender.  As it is, she would be an extremely formidable congressional candidate.  Just saying.  So now I am down to three gubernatorial possibilities:  Jealous, Madaleno, and Vignarajah (in alphabetical order, for those who wonder about such things). 

Which reminds me, no thanks Mr. Shea. I am not interested in the LG spot on your ticket.  But there is someone you can call, as long as you do it collect, his name is Slats MacCune…

In solidarity.

Withdrawn

The title seems fitting, in light of the number of individuals who filed to run for public office in Howard County in the 2018 election cycle but, for one reason or another, withdrew.  Reviewing the candidate lists, the differences between HoCo and MoCo again leap to the fore.

Barring significant shakeups and with a handful of notable exceptions, most of the action will occur in the General Election with the County Executive and First County Council District races head-lining the local contests.  As of this writing, the only question in the Democratic CE primary is: can Harry Dunbar top his 21.5% showing from 2006 when he ran against Ken Ulman for the D Nomination? On paper and in the present environment, someone running on an anti-incumbent, “slow growth” platform could pull 30% - 35% of the vote in the Democratic primary but the current author does not believe Dunbar is the ideal vehicle for anti-development sentiments.  In a head-to-head, it is challenging to envision Dr. Ball securing less than 75% against Dunbar.

The Third County Council District is interesting as four top-flight Democratic candidates are in the field.  One made an unfortunate college choice, and another still reads more Annapolis than anything else, but I am nit-picking. This will be the local race to watch on Primary Election Night, with a winner likely to emerge with around 35% of the vote, none of the four should finish with under 15%.

My home County Council district, the Fourth, is again the scene of a contested primary.  Alphabetically, the legitimate Democratic candidates are Cynthia Fikes and Deb Jung.  There is someone named Ian Bradley Moller-Knudsen who filed but this person may not exist in any recognizable dimension.  I will, most likely, write about my choice on or around March 1.  It is imperative for these candidates to focus on salient issues:  most notably Education and Quality of Life (insofar as the two are distinct).  Yes, the former is a given and the latter encompasses many facets (infrastructure, environment, jobs, safety, social justice, etc…).  The candidate who wins will have a narrative that best reflects and addresses these concerns and will offer up reflective, practical, progressive, and accessible solutions.

Turning to the state legislative campaigns:

I will write about District 9 later.   In the meantime, there is no Primary action in D12 (somewhat disappointingly) and while there is much that could be said about D13, the only item of immediate interest is the emergence of someone who reads like a perennial candidate.   

So there is the wisdom – conventional or otherwise – as I see it.  I will close the blog for 2017 with some words from Robert Burns:

“Then let us pray that come it may,

(As come it will for a' that,)

That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,

Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.

For a' that, an' a' that,

It's coming yet for a' that,

That Man to Man, the world o'er,

Shall brothers be for a' that.” 

In solidarity.

On Roads, Marriage, and Housing

Drove in to Columbia’s City Core from the leafy ‘burbs of Wilde Lake this morning.  Took the Twin Rivers Expressway from the Faulkner Ridge Exit.  Not much traffic, unless you count the squirrels.

This post might not have a cohesive narrative thread.  So it may be more like an old Larry King article…or a flashback scene from the Family Guy.  Either way, let’s begin.

I read a tweet from Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary last night regarding her sponsorship of a bill that would raise the marriage age in Maryland.  It was one of those, my-God-how-is-this-not-the-law-already? moments that occasionally arises when an out-of-sight/out-of-mind issue slides back into the public consciousness.    Helpful background information can be found here: http://cnsmaryland.org/2016/03/03/bill-would-increase-marriage-age-in-maryland/

This is a fundamental human rights issue. Delegate Atterbeary’s bill deserves serious consideration, passage through the General Assembly, and to become law.

While this author prefers to focus on Federal and state issues, I strongly encourage my readers to take a close look at the Downtown Development/Housing Plans being advanced by the Administration and by Councilwoman Jen Terrasa. A helpful compare/contrast document can be found on Ms. Terrasa’s County Council website:  http://cc.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=vBNhExPoVu0%3d&portalid=0

Others can dissect the granular elements of both plans.  And others will.  On an admittedly visceral level, Councilwoman Terrasa’s plan seems more dedicated to basic concepts such as equity, neighborhood diversity, and community control over its own destiny compared to the Administration’s proposal.  Her plan represents a vision of Columbia which seems more aligned with the values and priorities of our residents.  That is why I support the Terrasa Proposal.

Over 250 words and not one obscure reference, that, of course, is what made Pericles’ Funeral Oration a nifty little speech.  But this is the written word, and my readers expect more!      

But my cup requires replenishment before I head back out onto the mean streets of the Downtown District…there might be a pigeon jackknifed on Little Patuxent and I have appointments to keep.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Uncommonly Brief

“One good thing about the sameness of America’s suburbs, you can always imagine that you are someplace else.” – S. MacCune (circa 1992)

Nostalgia is a persistent companion…and his reflections on homogeneity and city planning revisited me after nearly a quarter century.

Of course it would be easy to veer off in the direction of Columbia triumphalism.  And these thoughts did occur as I was jaunting back to the Home Office in Wilde Lake.  Northbound on Broken Land.

Frozen in one moment in time, the nascent development on the real estate known as the Crescent may appear to be a move in the direction of uniformity.  Hopefully, as the nearby Inner Arbor takes shape, our evolving City Center will retain a unique character.

Turning from the structures to the people, I am looking forward to reviewing the Primary Election results on Wednesday morning. I am doubly hopeful that our citizens will demonstrate, at the ballot box, that they want something new, different, and better.

Howard County Board of Education:  Coombs, Ellis, Miller

U.S. Senate:  Edwards

President:  Sanders

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Waxing Crescent

The plan outline for Parcel A of Columbia’s Crescent property (the patch of land located near the corner of Little Patuxent and Broken Land; north and west of Merriweather) has been unveiled, via renderings, by Howard Hughes.  News coverage can be found here.

  

Overall, I am encouraged by the proposals.  There is a commitment to reforestation in the general vicinity, which is very important.  I have seen developments (Alexandria, Virginia’s West End comes to mind readily) where little to no attempt was made to restore the natural beauty of the lands surrounding new multi-story buildings.  The Crescent plans appear to be consistent with Columbia’s values, of finding a way to create something that exists harmoniously within the larger environment.   

Will that particular swath of Columbia be recognizable in 2020?  No but that is a good thing. While some might wax nostalgic for a certain time and place, there is a way to move forward that is far more beneficial to our residents and those who visit our community. 

For example, while the Wilde Lake Village Center looks much different than it did a few years back, the ongoing revitalization effort is producing a development that still retains a Wilde Lake-ness; a familiar and improved village center that will attract more residents, businesses and customers.  To not embrace change would have resulted in continued decline, followed by a failed center. Foresight, a thoughtful and respectful vision, and hard work are helping recreate Wilde Lake…and it seems as though the same general approach is guiding the process for that which will become Columbia’s Crescent neighborhood.  At least I hope that is, and will remain, the case.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Thunderdome on the Little Patuxent

I wanted to stay home the other night.  Michigan State was playing North Carolina in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.  A fifth seed versus a fourth seed, with the winner likely to face off in the next round against a formidable University of South Carolina team coached by Philadelphia’s own Dawn Staley.  The game promised two solid hours of hoops-centric entertainment.

But as a member of a local village board, a civic organization designed to promote the “health, safety, common good and social welfare of the owners of property in, and the residents of…the Village of Wilde Lake,” I found myself instead at a community hall with around 100 of my neighbors, all of whom had braved a late March snow-fall to attend an event called the “Columbia Market Analysis and Economic Development Services” presentation (the second of a planned three public meetings on this topic). It was shaping up to be the Empire Strikes Back of the Market Study trilogy.  A must-see.

I sat in the back, close to the entrance of the theatre room in the Slayton House.  Doors provide a natural choke point.  Like the Greeks at Thermopylae, I knew any numerical advantage any crazed attackers might possess would be diminished by their need to come through single-file.  This was a comforting thought.

However, as most of my primarily middle-aged neighbors were ensconced in their seats, facing front and showing no overt signs of imminent physical hostility, I turned my attention to the presenters, who were calling the meeting to order.

The PowerPoint deck was displayed on the screen.  Our Director of Community Building and Open Space Services Bureau ably provided a succinct introduction to the evening’s proceedings.   Essentially, we would be glimpsing into the future of Columbia as an economic entity.  We would hear from the Experts regarding what businesses could work, and where, and why.

[I feel as though a brief digression is in order for those who are unaware of Columbia’s history.  What follows is a bit reductionist, so please bear with me:

Columbia is what is known as an unincorporated “census designated place.”  Contrary to appearances, we are not a city in the traditional sense.  With a population of around 100,000, Columbia is the second largest community in the state of Maryland (Baltimore being the largest).  However, not being an incorporated municipality, most local government functions reside with either the county government (Howard County) or with a curious local entity known as the Columbia Association.  The Columbia Association, or CA for short, would be the rough equivalent of a city council…with powers more closely aligned with that of a parks and recreation department of a mid-sized American city, with some notable exceptions and responsibilities unique to our planned community.

Within that community are 10 villages, really nine villages and an embryonic urban core called the Town Center, at the center of the center is our Mall and an area known as Symphony Woods, within which is a popular outdoor concert venue known as Merriweather Post Pavilion.  The population of the 10 villages ranges from slightly north of three thousand to over 14,000.] 

This demographic information is important to bear in mind, given the findings that were presented last night.  What follows is my interpretation of the key takeaways. 

Groceries:  When Columbia was founded, the idea was that each of the villages, within what is referred to as their village centers (places that would include retail outlets as well as community facilities), would have its own grocery store.

Given the emphasis the presenters placed on the developments in the space traditionally occupied by supermarkets (the rise of hypermarkets (most notably Wal-Mart), the entrance of pharmacies into the food and beverage retail marketplace, and the growth of niche or specialty players, ranging from Trader Joe’s to “ethnic” supermarkets), it is clear that the old model is now considered, as Ron Ziegler might have put it, inoperative. 

In short, you want a new traditional grocery store like Giant (or Heaven Forbid, Safeway) within walking distance of your abode?  Hard cheese, my friend.   Seriously, if you want to buy some hard cheese, you will need to burn some gasoline.

Village Center retail outlets:  Are you a Mom and Pop store? Fantastic…as long as you are selling shawarma.  With Xers and Millennials more willing to spend their hard-earned dollars dining out compared to other age cohorts, the presenters believe that the village centers are ideal locations for restaurants and other food and beverage service-centric establishments.  

Hotels:  given our proximity to Washington D.C., our hotels are geared towards Federal Government contractors.  In short, don’t expect five-star accommodations anytime soon.

Growth/Development:  It is clear that the presenters believe that a section of our community, located in the southeastern quadrant of Columbia, is primed to be the Next Big Thing, at least from a commercial/retail perspective.  Many shopping centers already exist in this area, which was referred to by the efficient yet clunky acronym GEDS (GE Appliance Facility – Dobbin Road – Snowden River Parkway corridors).  This area could very well develop into Town Center II, but we will leave that for a future discussion.  

At this point, my notes get sketchy.  Several elected officials were seated in the row immediately behind me, and they were talking amongst themselves, presumably discussing the findings.  Either that or plotting the best means for Howard County to secede from the State of Maryland…and debating if the new state capital should be housed closer to the Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia or The Rumor Mill in Ellicott City. 

Following the conclusion of the presentation, a Q & A session broke out.  The first three questions from the audience nailed the source of the menace I noticed in the room earlier that evening: the Specter of Apprehension…about subsidized housing and safety in the villages, about change, about the future. 

One would think that more area residents would express a feeling of confidence about the days ahead.  On paper, there should be a greater sense of security. Howard County is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the “second wealthiest county by median household in the United States.”  Of course there is poverty here too…many families in our neighborhoods are struggling to get by.  But the folks at this forum were, primarily, solidly middle-class. Not 1%ers, but people who were doing OK…all things considered.  Yet they were anxious.  What does this say about Columbia? About the American Dream?

Heavy questions, which remain unanswered on this bright Thursday morning. Time to go forth and launch into the day.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.