A Cordial Closing to a Rocky Relationship as County's Top Leaders

Their relationship as the leaders of Montgomery County government's legislative and executive branches formally began a year ago over a box of Mike and Ike candies, a symbol of the cooperative spirit in which they planned to work. But relations between outgoing County Council President Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty) and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) quickly soured in the heat of a contentious budget debate.

Knapp, whose successor, Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville), was elected by council members Tuesday, initially refused to introduce Leggett's proposal to create an ambulance transport fee. He questioned whether Leggett's time and energy in Annapolis would have been better spent on projects other than state funding for a live music venue in Silver Spring, and Knapp and other council members delayed dollars for a sports arena Leggett requested because of concerns about a lack of strategy from the executive's Department of Economic Development.

Tensions reached a peak during the summer recess, when Knapp issued a blistering news release that accused Leggett of being caught flat-footed on an affordable housing program. At the time, Knapp said he and the council had set aside money so the county could join a state program that provides public employees as much as $5,000 for down payments and closing costs. He said Leggett "has not spent a nickel of the funds we have provided."

"There is no reason why our employees should be paying the price for the executive's inability to move forward with this program," he added.

Leggett's housing chief, Richard Y. Nelson Jr., said then that he was taken aback by the timing of Knapp's comments because the two had scheduled a meeting to discuss the program. He said that joining such a program would also require legislation or approval by labor union leaders because it provides a benefit to county workers.

So it was surprising Monday to see Knapp, Leggett and Nelson standing together to officially announce the county's participation in the program. Even more surprising was Leggett's praise for Knapp's tenure as an "exemplary" leader.

As Leggett diplomatically put it, the only disagreement was over timing. "We all wanted to move as fast as possible," he said, but first Leggett needed a sign-off from union leaders, which he said he received about a month ago.

Eligible county employees who are first-time home buyers already can receive a loan of as much as $10,000 for a down payment and closing costs through a county-run program meant to encourage workers to live in Montgomery. The state program will provide a matching contribution of as much as $5,000.

Knapp said after the news conference Monday that he does not necessarily "like to make a lot of noise" as he did over the housing funds, "but sometimes you need to."

He described his relationship with Leggett as "cordial" and attributed some of the tension to different approaches to governing. Knapp, who spent a decade in the Army Reserve, helped start biotech companies as a business executive and described his philosophy as "let's make decisions and go."

Knapp said Leggett comes from a "legislative background where you get everyone in a room."

The defining of differences during a news briefing led to questions about Knapp's political ambitions. Does he plan to challenge Leggett in two years?

Knapp was coy. "I don't know," he said. "At this time, I'm just doing my job."

Simple Lifestyle for Three Costs $68,086 in County

County Council President Michael Knapp also talked about the challenges the council and County Executive Isiah Leggett face with last week's news about the growing budget gap, which has nearly doubled to about $450 million from earlier estimates. Jennifer Barrett, Montgomery County's finance chief, warned lawmakers that coffers are hurting because of the stock market drop, a decline in home prices and less-than-anticipated income tax revenue.

Knapp pointed to a startling piece of data that county officials publicized last month: A family of three -- one adult, a preschooler and one school-age child -- needs an income of $68,086 to live at a minimal level in Montgomery. Two years ago, when the same analysis was done by county officials, the amount was $61,438. Either is far more than $17,600, the official federal poverty level for that family. For a family of four, the minimum income needed is $79,736.

The income data is part of a report completed every two years by the county to help it evaluate what types of public assistance the county may need to provide. The federal standard is used to determine eligibility for federal and state programs, but county officials say they do not reflect the high cost of food, housing and basic living expenses in communities such as Montgomery, one of the most expensive counties in the nation. The summary, formally known as the Self-Sufficiency Standard Report, is assembled by the county's Community Action Board, made up of volunteer members appointed by the county executive to assess the needs of low-income residents and to monitor county policies that affect those residents.

Bethesda-Gaithersburg Rated Best for Women

The December issue of Self magazine lists the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick corridor at the top of its list of America's Best Places for Women among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. That's better than San Francisco, Honolulu and Cambridge, Mass. -- other cities that were part of the top five.

The magazine gave the area top scores for its low rates of smoking, obesity, cancer, depression and heart disease. The area's large number of parks, trails and access to Metro were among the other factors.