By Adam Pagnucco.
Below are the top ten stories on Montgomery Perspective in November 2022, ranked by page views.
1. School Board General Election: The Post vs the Apple
3. Will the Lame Duck County Council Electrocute MoCo?
4. Antisemitism is Real, Right Here in MoCo
5. The Geography of Wes Moore’s Transition Team
7. Interview: Takoma Torch Founder Eric Saul
8. Power Grab Targets Park and Planning
9. Don’t Mess with 911 – or Cheryl Kagan
10. Pepco Asks County Council to Pause Electrocution Bill
The top post for the month was my column on the school board endorsements of the Washington Post and the Apple Ballot. Traffic on that post was really heavy just prior to the general election as people came in to find out who was supporting whom. That’s a testament to the influence of both the Post and the Apple, the two most coveted endorsements in county politics.
Our readers were quite skeptical about the all-electric building bill. One called it “boneheaded.” Another wrote, “Outrageous. Why would any business want to move to Montgomery County?” Yet another asked, “Why is it OK for Pepco to burn gas to generate electricity, but not for me to burn gas to heat my house?”
Finally, one contact in the real estate industry said the following.
Montgomery County is looking to enforce more stringent requirements than the state i.e., heating and cooling. This will require yet another bureaucracy, with staff, office space and associated burden at taxpayer expense.
They should stick to the LEED criteria and give consideration for projects that get LEED innovation points as administered by the USGBC. Even consider EBOM certification. Let’s use carrot vs stick.
Because of the nature of this person’s occupation, they might actually make money from electrifying buildings, but they still oppose the bill because of its cost and proliferation of bureaucracy.
There were three big winners in November.
The first was Senator Cheryl Kagan, whose attempt to punish Republican State Senate candidates Sid Saab and Reid Novotny for voting against improvements to 911 service proved successful. Let’s all say it together: Don’t. Mess. With. Cheryl. Kagan.
An image from one of Kagan’s mailers targeting Saab.
The second winner was Eric Saul, founder of Takoma Torch and creator of Nimbee. I published many articles this month about the electoral performances of county politicians. Some readers skipped over those articles but they read my interview with Saul. Even a guest post slamming Saul ranked higher than any of the election result columns. If you ask many of our readers, Saul is the MAN in MoCo right now. But I have news for you, Eric – politicians are prone to jealousy and someday you will get yours!
Eric Saul may be more popular than the politicians he lampoons.
The third winner was Liza Smith, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee member whose campaign against self-appointments has caught fire across the county. I have been complaining about this practice for 15 years but I have never seen anything quite like Smith’s push for reform. She has allies too – some who have revealed themselves and others who have not. At least, not yet.
Liza Smith, the famous Rebel of MCDCC. Will she defeat the empire?
What awaits in December? Come back here and find out!