Democratic Panel to End Secret Ballot for Vacancies

By Ann E. Marimow and Miranda S. Spivack
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 22, 2007

Montgomery County's Democratic Central Committee has decided to scrap the secret ballot and open up its process for filling vacancies in the General Assembly and on the committee itself.

Montgomery delegates Saqib Ali, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Karen S. Montgomery and Hank Heller introduced legislation this session to try to force the committee to create a more transparent process. The legislation would have prohibited the use of secret ballots by the Democratic and Republican central committees in Montgomery County.

But the Democrats voluntarily decided to change their rules as part of an overhaul of several policies. Karen Britto, the central committee chairman, said the idea was overwhelmingly endorsed to have a "nice, open process so that everyone would know how everyone voted."

Ali praised the committee and said he would withdraw the bill.

"I applaud the central committee for making the process more transparent and improving it for future elections," he said. "They got out in front of the issue."

The committee would have had a chance to try out the new rules last week when it selected a new committee member to fill a vacancy created by newly appointed Del. Kirill Reznik. But there was only one candidate for the job: Darrell E. Anderson, a council member in Washington Grove and the former chairman of the District 39 Democratic Caucus.

Bias Bill Awaits Signature

Now that the council has unanimously approved legislation to protect transgender people from discrimination, the attention of opponents turns to County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), who was expected to sign the bill as early as this week. Once the measure has reached his desk, Leggett has 10 days to act. If he does nothing, the bill becomes law.

Opponents have promised an aggressive lobbying campaign to persuade Leggett to reject the bill. If that fails, they have another option: a referendum. The network of opposition to the bill was highly organized and sparked more than 1,000 phone calls to the council, with more than 400 from residents, according to a log at the council office.

But preparing a referendum would mean collecting the signatures of at least 5 percent of registered voters, or about 25,000, within a 75-day period after a bill becomes law. Otherwise, the measure would take effect 91 days after it is signed, according to the county code.

After the vote, Leggett left little question that he would sign the bill. "There are some acts of discrimination we need to address," he said. Residents raised "some valid concerns, but with those out of the way, it's time to move on."

He also noted that the 8 to 0 vote by the nine-member council was veto-proof. Council member George Leventhal (D-At Large) missed the vote because he was undergoing surgery after his car collided with a deer on the Capital Beltway.

After the vote, council members were essentially ushered out of the seventh-floor hearing room with shouts from angry residents who warned that the council's actions would endanger children in public restrooms and locker rooms.

The bill's sponsor, Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), looked relieved to put the dispute behind her. Opponents had showed up at her house to protest, she said, and attacked her in inflammatory e-mail messages after she appeared on CNN to defend the measure.

Trachtenberg, who also sponsored legislation to ban trans-fats earlier this year, tried to make light of the situation, saying it was time to take a breather from such bills.

"We've had trans-fat and transgenders. I know we're seen as a transformational office," she said. "But I hope my next bill is a little less controversial." So do some of her colleagues.

Rift Over Housing

Last week's council debate on the new growth policy highlighted deep disagreements on the nine-member council over how best to address the county's shortage of affordable housing.

Before he was injured in a car accident and unable to rejoin the final debate, George Leventhal had been sharply critical of his colleagues for pushing elements of the new policy that he said would discourage developers and limit the stock of new, affordable housing. The argument continued in his absence, with council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) saying the new policy "does nothing" to encourage affordable housing, which some large new projects are required to build in exchange for winning development rights from the county. A recent report from the council's Office of Legislative Oversight pointed out problems with the program, saying that many of the new units still are too costly for residents whose income levels qualify them to participate in the county-run program.

Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring) tried to win an exemption last week from the new rules and taxes for a developer seeking to renovate the Falkland apartment complex on East-West Highway in downtown Silver Spring and include some affordable housing in the mix. The company had applied for approvals just after a January 2007 deadline, and will be affected by the new policy. Barbara Sears of the firm Linowes and Blocher, the attorney for the developer, complained in a letter to the council that staff shortages at the planning agency had contributed to a delay in winning earlier approval of the project, which would have been subject to the old rules. Sears was in the audience during the debate, and at one point Floreen came off the dais to consult with her.

Ervin's motion lost, 4 to 4. Leventhal might have tipped the balance.

Council member Marc Elrich (D-At large) criticized Ervin during the debate for trying to push a measure that he said was aimed at helping "one developer," something that the council is usually reluctant to do. Ervin said she thought some of the new growth policy was essentially counterintuitive, and could have the effect of discouraging new development because of higher fees and taxes. And that, she believes, will also discourage construction of the companion less-expensive units for moderate- and low-income residents.