By Adam Pagnucco.
Below are the top ten stories on Montgomery Perspective in August 2023, ranked by page views.
1. Jawando Takes Money from Anti-Union Law Firm
2. Luedtke and Glass Request IG Investigation of MCPS Scandal
3. MCEA: MCPS is Looking for Cover Rather Than Seeking the Truth
4. MCEA Blasts MCPS Hiring of “Anti-Worker Law Firm”
5. MCDCC Member Calls for Chair’s Resignation
6. Mink Deletes More than Ten Thousand Tweets
7. Even More Conflicts with MCPS Investigation
9. Jawando the Spoiler, Part Five
10. The Real Problems at MCDCC
In a normal month, the story about Council Member Kristin Mink deleting more than ten thousand tweets would have finished first or second. (She really is eyeball gold!) But this month, five posts finished ahead of her and four of them were connected to the MCPS sexual harassment scandal. That shows just how focused the readers are on what’s going on there.
What is happening in MCPS is not a typical scandal. It’s not just about one principal. It’s about whether MCPS leaders can be trusted to run the school system professionally, ethically and transparently. (That was the focus of Accountability Now.) And there are potentially big consequences for how MCPS deals with this and other issues. That’s because there is a real chance of a well-funded insurgent campaign to take over the school board. If it happens, it has the potential to create the biggest battle over MCPS in forty years. That will be the focus of an upcoming series.
Another big event coming up is the pending introduction by Mink and Council Member Will Jawando of legislation repealing the tip credit for minimum wage. I wrote about that in July and it has since attracted attention from Axios and Fox 5. That promises to set off yet another conflict.
As the county council returns from recess, these and other issues will heat up. Let’s watch them together!