Garbage Pickup Frequency, Development and Zoning Changes Dominate Three-Candidate Election
By Michael Tunison
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Rockville voters will choose a new mayor and at least one new council member Nov. 6, the same day voters in Gaithersburg will elect three new council members for its four-person body. All the elections are nonpartisan.
Larry Giammo, Rockville mayor since 2001, announced in February that he would not seek a fourth term, opting to return to the private sector. He said he had achieved the goals he set out to accomplish, chief among them the construction of Rockville Town Center.
Vying to fill his position are City Council member Susan Hoffmann, 63; Mark Pierzchala, 55, president of the College Gardens Civic Association and a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research Inc.; and Drew Powell, 52, executive director of Neighbors for a Better Montgomery.
Trash is a central issue in the mayoral race.
Hoffmann has the backing of Giammo: The two were allies in trying to reduce the number of trash pickups from two to one a week. Both were among 775 households in a since-adopted pilot program that provided residents with brown containers in which to place recyclable materials for collections. The pilot included once-a-week trash pickup.
"The additional weekly pickup is costing households an extra $100 a month," Giammo said. "Even after the pilot was concluded, it took the council nine months to come to a decision. There's a lot of frustration from many in the community about the lack of leadership being provided by the council, excluding Susan."
"There were some polarizing discussions on the trash issue," council member Robert E. Dorsey said. "Mayor Giammo and Hoffmann were among the ones insisting that it was broke and needed fixing. When members of the council said they needed more time and information to consider the issue, the mayor, Hoffmann and those who supported them made it seem as though those members were anti-pilot [project] when in fact they were only being careful in their judgment."
Giammo and council members say they expect further redevelopment and an upcoming revision of the city's zoning ordinances will be other main issues in the race.
There are 11 candidates for four seats on the Rockville City Council. All candidates run at-large, and the candidates who receive the most votes are elected.
The candidates are:
¿ Phyllis Marcuccio, 74, a first-term council member who worked for 38 years for the National Science Teachers Association.
¿ Robert Dorsey, 61, a seven-term council member and a member of the Maryland Municipal League Public Safety Committee.
¿ Anne Robbins, 65, a four-term council member and a member of the Montgomery County chapter of the Maryland Municipal League
¿ Theo Anderson, 43, chairman of Rockville's Human Rights Commission.
¿ John Britton, 53, commissioner on the Rockville Planning Commission and a member of the Rockville Zoning Ordinance Committee.
¿ Piotr Gajewski, 48, music director and conductor of the National Philharmonic.
¿ Richard Gottfried, 46, owner of a public accounting firm.
¿ Carl Henn, 45, founder of the Rockville Community Garden Committee, co-chair of the Rockville Peak Oil Awareness Group and National Institutes of Health acquisition career manager.
¿ Brigitta Mullican, 58, former mayoral candidate with 25 years of experience as vice president, secretary, treasurer and member of the Twinbrook Citizens Association.
¿ Tracy Pakulniewicz-Chidiac, 32, president and board member of the Cambridge Walk I Homeowners Association in Twinbrook.
¿ Eric Kuohwa Wang, 49, city letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and a member of the Rockville Human Services Committee.
In Gaithersburg, the terms of three of the four council members expire this year. Geri Edens, Henry F. Marraffa Jr. and John B. Schlichting are not running for reelection. Seven candidates are vying for the openings; the three with the most votes will win:
¿ Ahmed Ali, 35, president and chief executive of TISTA Science and Technology Corporation.
¿ Shawn Ali, 33, member of the Gaithersburg IT and Innovations Committee.
¿ Jud Ashman, 36, president of the Elegant Envelope and a member of the mayor's ad hoc committee on electoral participation.
¿ Cathy C. Drzyzgula, 51, member of the Gaithersburg Historic Preservation Committee.
¿ Wilson Lee Faris, 61, sales specialist at Lowes and a member of the Gaithersburg Landlord Tenant Commission.
¿ Carlos Solis, 48, member of the Gaithersburg Chief of Police Advisory Council.
¿ Ryan Spiegel, 29, lawyer and a member of the Gaithersburg Education Committee.
The remaining council member, Michael A. Sesma, and the mayor, Sidney A. Katz, have two years remaining on their terms.
Takoma Park voters will choose a mayor and six council members on Election Day. Candidates were to be chosen Tuesday night.
Forums: Rockville will have two candidate forums this week. The first is today at 7 p.m. at Rockville Community Center, 300 Saddle Ridge Circle. The second is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 603 Edmonston Dr.
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