Too Young To Vote, But Refusing To Be Silent

Qi Added as Liaison

County Executive Isiah Leggett has named Lily Qi, a former public affairs director for a District government department, as liaison for Asian, Pacific Islander, Arab and Near Eastern communities in his Office of Community Partnerships.

Qi, 44, worked for the District's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. Before that, she was a vice president at the Washington, D.C., Marketing Center and assistant director of multicultural affairs at American University.

A resident of North Potomac, Qi served on Leggett's transition team and participated in the county's Leadership Summit in October. She is a member of Gov. Martin O'Malley's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and president of the Greater DC Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. She has an MBA from American University and a bachelor's degree from Manchester College.

Qi, who will earn $97,000 a year, joins Tina Clarke, liaison to the African American community, and Joe Heiney-Gonzalez, liaison to the Latino community. Leggett created the Office of Community Partnerships, which is led by former council member Bruce Adams.

Although Qi's hiring was announced after Leggett imposed a hiring freeze, Adams said she was offered the job in November and delayed her start date to finish work in the District.

Short on Notice

The Montgomery County Council is typically not shy about advertising its meetings, sending out multiple news releases and posting agendas on its Web site. So it was unusual this week, when there was little notice of the council's Monday retreat at the Rockville library. The five-hour agenda included housekeeping items such as the annual calendar, but also meaty topics such as Leggett's proposed midyear budget reductions.

Maryland's Open Meetings Act gives government officials latitude for determining the method of providing advanced notice of meetings. The retreat was listed as part of a calendar posted on a bulletin board on the fifth floor of the council office since Jan. 3. Neil Greenberger, spokesman for the council, said the calendar meets those requirements.

"I assume most reporters check it," Greenberger said. But that was news to reporters from the Gazette, the Examiner and The Post.

Council President Michael Knapp, who has made improving communication with residents a priority of his tenure, said that the retreat was advertised in the same fashion as in past years and that it was not his intention to keep the public out of the loop.

The Police's New Voice

The Montgomery County Police Department has a new chief spokesman. Lt. Paul Starks, a 23-year veteran of the department, joined the media office last month. He most recently served as the deputy director of the department's internal affairs division.

Starks, 47, replaced Lt. Porsha Jones, who spent about six months on the job. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has a master's degree in management from Johns Hopkins University.

Starks, a Montgomery native, lives in Rockville with his wife. They have five children. He's also a principal of a driver's education company that employs several county officers.

Still, with five kids and two jobs, it usually takes him no longer than two or three minutes to respond to e-mails.

Staff writer Ernesto Londo¿o contributed to this report.