New Candidates to Discuss County
By Aruna Jain
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Inspired by a nonfiction book that is topping national bestseller lists, African American leaders in Montgomery County have invited first-time candidates for county executive, county council and the school board to a community forum Saturday in Takoma Park to discuss systemic problems in the black community and how they plan to address them.
The idea for the event came in part from Tavis Smiley's book "The Covenant With Black America," a series of essays about problems in the black community. The book offers a plan of action -- a set of guidelines on how residents can address those issues locally. It urges community leaders to organize more town hall meetings and community forums.
Smiley, a talk show host, is currently touring the country hosting similar meetings and will not be at the county event.
Some of the issues raised in the book -- health care, affordable housing, juvenile justice, transportation, education, jobs and economic parity -- are best addressed close to home, said Elbridge James, vice president of the Montgomery County branch of the NAACP, one of the forum's organizers. The book provides a starting point for dialogue, he added.
"It allows us to say we're seeing in society a systemic problem. But this is not a Washington problem or a federal government problem," James said. "These issues cannot be fixed nationally." Education or the relationship between police and the community, for instance, are problems that local leaders must contend with, he said.
Anita Neal Powell, founder of the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation and the primary organizer of the forum, said an invitation to participate in the forum was sent only to candidates who are running for a particular office for the first time because she wanted the event to be a way to introduce the public to new candidates and new plans.
Powell said one of her chief concerns is securing the future of the many historically African American communities in Montgomery County. A longtime civic activist who recently was inducted into the county's Human Rights Hall of Fame, Powell said she is worried in particular about encroaching development on her own community of Lincoln Park in Rockville. Many elderly and longtime residents are selling their homes because of rising property taxes. The community will crumble without these residents, she said.
She also is worried about how other African American communities would fare under the proposed route for the intercounty connector, a link between Interstate 270 and Interstate 95 that is expected to receive final federal approval soon.
Powell wants to ask the candidates about these and other issues, including eminent domain, predatory lending and homelessness.
"It's going to be interesting to see what they know and to see if they have a plan," she said.
Powell emphasized that the event was not a debate but a dialogue meant to inform the community about the candidates and to inform the candidates about the state of the community in the words of many of its representatives.
Other sponsors of the event include the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Black Ministers Conference of Montgomery County, the African American Chamber of Commerce, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and several religious organizations.
Paulette Stevens of the Black Ministers Conference said she hopes the candidates offer substantive information that allows the community to make informed choices.
"I think that across the board our vote is assumed," she said, "but we live in such a critical time, all of the candidates need to make a sound argument as to why we should vote for them. It's not about a popularity contest, it's about who has the best interests of the community in mind."
The forum is from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Health Science Center, Room 122, on Montgomery College's Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus. For information, call 301-251-2747 or visit http://www.aapc-md.org .
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