Slow-Growth Advocates Building a Case

The revelation last week that hundreds of houses recently were built in the Clarksburg Town Center in apparent violation of building standards has emboldened longtime supporters of slower growth in Montgomery.

Neighborspac.org, which monitors developers' influence in the political process, has posted on its Web site a link titled "The corrosive effect of special-interest influence becomes apparent in Montgomery County."

The link includes recent newspaper stories about the Clarksburg issue. It also includes an editorial seeking to connect the current County Council -- most of whose members support the planned intercounty connector highway and generally are viewed as more receptive to development than some of their predecessors -- to the problems in Clarksburg.

Several council members elected as part of that majority, known as the End Gridlock slate, were hesitant to discuss the Clarksburg issue in detail last week.

But one council member who wasn't part of that slate, which County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) put together in 2002, quickly offered up unsolicited comments on the matter.

"I think this a big problem because it further erodes the public confidence in the county's development review process," said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville). "Given the fact the public is rightfully concerned about excessive influence of development interests already, this adds fuel to that fire."

Andrews could stand to gain politically if the electorate decides to use the issues in Clarksburg to send a message to elected officials.

Andrews doesn't accept contributions from developers or political action committees and was a chief proponent of last year's campaign to eliminate at-large seats and have all council members elected by district. He and other supporters of the campaign, which voters handily rejected in an Election Day referendum, argued that it would limit developers' influence in elections.

Andrews also is interested in running for the 8th District seat in the U.S. House should Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) decide to run for the U.S. Senate. He also has been mentioned as a possible candidate for county executive next year, although he has said he has no plans to run for that office.

Courting the Female Vote

The battle for the female vote in the race for county executive has begun.

Isiah Leggett , a former council member and a Democratic candidate for county executive, will hold a forum on Saturday at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring to discuss women's issues.

The event is being hosted by Leggett's wife, Katherine , who is playing a major role in shaping his campaign strategy.