Scenes of a Political Sea Change

By Miranda S. Spivack and Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 7, 2006

Montgomery County this week marked the change in its top political leadership for the first time in 12 years with an air of celebration, a huge inaugural ceremony and of course, parties.

The inauguration of Montgomery County Executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett (D) and the swearing-in of the new County Council midday Monday was notable for many reasons -- among them several firsts. Leggett is the county's first African American county executive, and Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring) is the first African American woman on the County Council.

It was the first county inaugural ceremony in the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda. Previous inaugurals had been in the auditorium of Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville.

And Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, of B'nai Tzedeksynagogue in Potomac, who gave the invocation, said Leggett's election also showed something else: "Nice guys can finish first . . . and even can be elected county executive." Weinblatt also likened Leggett to his biblical namesake, the prophet Isaiah, who "summoned us to preserve justice . . . to work for justice and fairness. When God asked for help, Isaiah said: 'Here I am.' "

The scene Monday must have been bittersweet for departing County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who served 12 years and spearheaded efforts to get funding for the Strathmore facility, coming back to the fiscal well at the council and the General Assembly several times as the cost of the project ballooned to $96 million, almost double early estimates.

But Duncan did learn Monday night at the annual county executive's ball that a Strathmore box would be dedicated to him, and that he would have a lifetime membership and free tickets to the concert hall.

For much of the inaugural ceremony, Duncan sat with a serious look on his face. But he smiled when he was singled out for praise by speakers such as council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large), Strathmore's executive director Eliot Pfanstiehl and Leggett, whose words prompted three standing ovations. At one point near the beginning of the event, Duncan's wife, Barbara, stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled to show her support for her husband, who ended his bid for governor last summer after announcing he was undergoing treatment for depression.

Down to Slowing Growth

Leggett's 25-minute inaugural speech, delivered before nearly 1,400 people, was interrupted by applause at least 15 times. The most applause came when he spoke of his intention to answer voters' desire to slow growth.

On Tuesday, the County Council, now with the wonkish Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County) at the helm, discussed Praisner's proposal to place a moratorium of about six months on approvals of large residential and commercial developments while the council and the Department of Park and Planning reevaluate key elements of the county's growth policy.

The bill will be the subject of a 7:30 p.m. public hearing Jan.16 at the council building in Rockville.

A View From the Council

The remaining council members from the End Gridlock slate, which had backed Duncan's efforts to encourage development and in 2003 voted to lift restrictions on growth, had muted reactions to Leggett's speech.

Council member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty), whom Duncan had helped win a council seat four years ago, said Leggett "hit all the bases. There is a lot of work to do. . . . I am confident we will all be working together."

Council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) said: "It is going to be a balancing act, I guess." Floreen said that much of what Leggett proposed to slow growth would have little impact on many development proposals that already are approved.

"He said a lot about land use, but the council holds the reins on land-use issues, and so does Park and Planning. . . . I think everything will sort itself out," she said.

Activists Hopeful

Several community leaders and activists, meanwhile, were hopeful that change was in the air.

Kathie Hulley, one of the original Clarksburg activists who helped the county discover building irregularities at Clarksburg Town Center, said she was "very hopeful. I think it will be very good."

Clarksburg activist Amy Presley said she especially liked Leggett's emphasis on trying to end tensions between community groups and developers. "I think he is sincere that he wants no more polarization," Presley said.

Jim Humphrey, a longtime Bethesda activist who heads the Montgomery County Civic Federation's land-use committee said: "We are at a unique point. We have a new county executive, a new council and a new planning board chairman. It's time for new beginnings."

Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg), who suddenly has found himself among a council majority that favors taking a deeper look at land-use policy and practices, said he thought Leggett's speech "signals a lot of agreement between the goals of the council and the executive."

Nancy Dacek, a former Republican council member and chairman of the county Board of Elections, said "citizens are fed up with traffic and houses sprouting up everywhere like bean sprouts. Developers were left alone; I'm not saying things were bad, but Ike and some of these new council members aren't as tied to these special interests."

A Pep Talk to the Troops

By the time Leggett pulled up to the County Executive Office Building following his swearing-in ceremony, a sign at the employee parking garage already reflected the handover in power. Inside in the cafeteria, and standing next to his new chief administrative officer Tim Firestine, Leggett addressed hundreds of county workers who were anxious to eye their new leader and grab a slice of sheet cake.

Leggett told the gathered employees that he's "high on customer service" and that he expected to be "partners and a team together" with employees.

In a potentially perilous remark as the county negotiates new employee contracts, Leggett also praised them for their work and said, "We've not paid you sufficiently for the things you've done."

No More Snowstorms

That night, at the annual black-tie Montgomery County Executive's Ball, inaugural celebration and fundraiser for the arts and humanities at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in North Bethesda, hundreds of well-wishers watched a video tribute to Duncan in which political and business luminaries, such as Discovery Communications Inc.'s Judith A. McHale, J.W. Marriott Jr., U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) and U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), thanked him for his work, in particular on behalf of the arts community.

In his parting words, Duncan expressed relief not to have to sweat the details of governance in the coming months -- in particular the aftermath of snowstorms.

"I don't have to deal with that anymore," Duncan said, standing on stage next to Leggett. "Call him, not me."

Duncan signed off on a more serious note, saying, "It's been an incredible 12 years -- the best 12 years of my life."

Praisner Becomes President

I n a vote with little suspense, Praisner was unanimously chosen by her colleagues on Tuesday as the council's president for the next year. The role is largely ceremonial but serves as the public face of the new council and sets the tone as it initiates four new members. Knapp, who was selected as the council's vice president, said he hoped the council could continue the warm and fuzzy feelings from the inauguration ceremony when many observers remarked on all the hugs council members exchanged on stage.

On the committees, freshman council member Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large) takes over the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee from Praisner. But Praisner will still be a member of the committee and is now chair of the panel that oversees planning, housing and economic development.

School Board Shifts

In his final address as a school board member, architect Gabe Romero hinted at a growing dissatisfaction that may have prompted him to leave the group after a single four-year term.

Attending the swearing-in ceremony Friday for new and reelected board members, Romero looked back wistfully at the first half of his term, before the events of 2004 that changed the composition and working relationship of the group.

"A lot has been said and accomplished in four years," he read aloud from a prepared text. "I am especially grateful for my first two years. Board members were engaged in constructive discussions and questions. . . . I can only hope this board will follow in those footsteps, look at the vision established then and choose to continue the good work that was started then."

Romero said Tuesday he left the board chiefly to focus on his busy architecture career, not from dissatisfaction with his colleagues.

His public comments seemed aimed at board members Valerie Ervin and Nancy Navarro, who joined the panel in 2004. To their supporters, Ervin and Navarro added independent voices to a group that had been rubber-stamping decisions of Superintendent Jerry D. Weast. Detractors believe the new board members raised the level of vitriol and grandstanding.

Ervin departed the board last week, after two years' tenure, to join the County Council. Navarro, appointed in 2004, was sworn in Friday for her first full term. Newly elected members Shirley Brandman and Judy Docca formally joined the group, and Patricia O'Neill began her third term.

O'Neill made a round of thanks in her remarks and mentioned every board member save one, Stephen Abrams, who did not attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Abrams had not attended a public school board meeting since it became publicly known that he had been accused of assaulting a fellow Republican Party member after a political meeting. Abrams is accused of grappling with Adol T. Owen-Williams II in a stairwell after a Nov. 13 meeting of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee. Abrams has portrayed Owen-Williams as the aggressor. The board member is also accused of referring to Owen-Williams, who is black, as "son" and "boy" during the confrontation. The matter is under investigation.

Staff writer Daniel de Vise contributed to this report.