By Adam Pagnucco.
For the fourth time, the county council has voted to override a veto by County Executive Marc Elrich. The tally now is council: 4, executive: 0.
Elrich’s first three vetoes targeted:
Bill 29-20, which provided 15-year property tax breaks for developers of high-rise buildings at Metro stations. The council voted 7-2 to override, with Council Members Tom Hucker and Will Jawando voting no.
Bill 38-20, which cut impact taxes on development projects. The override vote was unanimous.
Bill 3-21, which established a business improvement district in Silver Spring. The council voted 8-1 to override with Jawando voting no.
Today’s override concerned a veto by the executive of James Hedrick’s appointment to the planning board. In his veto statement, Elrich claimed Hedrick had “an ideological close-mindedness as well as a disdain for those whose views do not comport with his.” The council had originally appointed Hedrick on an 8-3 vote, with Council Members Will Jawando, Kristin Mink and Laurie-Anne Sayles voting for former procurement director Cherri Branson instead. State law requires nine votes to override this particular veto, whereas the county’s charter normally requires seven votes. (State law preempts county charters.)
Council Member Sidney Katz made the motion to override and Council Member Dawn Luedtke seconded it. The override passed unanimously. In their comments, the council was totally united. Here is what Jawando, who originally did not vote for Hedrick, had to say:
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The council took serious and deliberative action to reset the planning board. And we did it together, the previous council, and appointed temporary members to help rebuild the public trust. It was mentioned how important this role is. On the first day of the 20th council, I along with other colleagues called for more transparency in how we operate as a council. My colleagues and I used the new rules we’ve established to have a more public conversation in the case of the planning board appointments.
A part of the small “d” democratic process is recognizing that the will of the body prevails even when it differs from our individual preference. People often quote and the Washington Post headline is that democracy dies in darkness. It can also die in disorder and dysfunction. And while I appreciate the county executive’s input on this and other items, I don’t agree with his veto. And I think it will only perpetuate disorder at a time when we need our planning board to function well to meet the needs of our region.
While I supported Ms. Branson in our new council planning board process, I did also put forward for the interview Mr. Hedrick. And I think he’s qualified and hopefully, as all of us should do in our lives, will learn from this discussion and proceed in a way that is honorable in a way that includes community input. So I want to remind all of our recent appointees, in fact, to take heed of the council’s swift action to reset the planning board when that didn’t happen. And we don’t want to go down that path again. So we all need to be collaborative and work together on behalf of all of our residents. So I will be voting in favor of this resolution and just wanted to clarify where I stood.
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Elrich has been trying for months to win a bigger role in steering the planning board and its activities. In the wake of this thundering and unanimous rebuke from the council, where does he go from here?
Update: Hedrick released the following statement this afternoon.
Thank you to the Montgomery County Council for their confidence in me. I am pleased to continue to serve the residents of Montgomery County as a Planning Board member. The Planning Board is a diverse body with many perspectives and ideas, and I look forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues. I understand and value the responsibility we have as Planning Board members to shape the future of the county. I wouldn’t be able to do my job effectively without hearing from residents and stakeholders on how land use decisions affect them directly and I am committed to gathering and considering all ideas, concerns, and perspectives to inform my decisions to deliver the best outcomes for Montgomery County. I have listened a lot so far and I plan to keep doing so.