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Gazette
Questionnaire
Biography:
Candidate name:
Patrick E. “Pat” Ryan
Party:
Democrat
Place of residence:
Silver Spring (Fairland). Maryland
Date of birth:
November 21, 1952
Place of birth: San
Diego, California
Current occupation:
Consultant, Washington Federal Practice, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Education: JD,
Georgetown University Law Center, BA University of Maryland College Park
Community associations, involvement:
Throughout my adult life, I have volunteered to serve my neighbors and my
community. Most recently, I have served as the co-chair of Action in
Montgomery, a coalition of more than 30 churches and synagogues throughout
Montgomery County which advocates for social justice for the citizens of the
County. I also serve as the vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, a national advocacy organization
dedicated to ending homelessness among America’s veterans. I have been a member
of the Fairland Master Plan Citizens Advisory Committee for 13 years. I am also
a former PTA president and cluster representative (W.T. Page Elementary), Cub
Scout leader, Good Counsel High School Parent Association executive board, and
Calverton swim team manager. I also serve as a lector and choir member at the
Church of the Resurrection, Burtonsville MD
Professional
associations: Member, District of Columbia bar
Family: Pat’s
family, which includes five siblings, moved to Silver Spring in 1957 when he was
four years old. He has lived with his wife Kathie and his three children in the
Fairland area of Silver Spring since 1984. Their children attended local public
elementary and middle schools and all three graduated from Good Counsel High
School. Kathie continues to serve as a county crossing guard at the elementary
school their children attended. His oldest daughter Kerry is a graduate of the
University of Maryland Baltimore County, is employed as a career Montgomery fire
fighter, and is married to Jaymie Birney, also a career fire fighter. Their son
Daniel, a 2006 graduate of the University of Maryland College Park, lives in
Arlington and works as consultant, while the couple’s youngest daughter Julia is
a student at Towson University.
Campaign office address and
telephone:
People for Pat Ryan
P.O. Box 128
City/State/Zip: Burtonsville MD 20866
301 906 7443
Web site:
www.PatRyanforCouncil.com
What are
your top three priorities for the next four years, if elected?
If elected, I would plan
to work assiduously to accomplish the following before the end of my term in
2010:
A)
Reduce the overcrowding in schools around the county
and find ways to decrease student teacher-ratios to improve learning.
B)
Develop innovative ways to finance more workforce
housing so that teachers, firefighters, and other county employees can afford to
live in Montgomery County.
C)
Plan and develop additional mass and public transit so
that traffic does not continue to worsen.
How
would you rate the performance of the current council: excellent, good, fair or
poor? Why?
Fair. The council has
considered legislation without establishing a sufficient record of why the
legislation is needed. This hasty consideration does not enhance the council's
reputation or serve citizens well. Perhaps it reflects differences in
philosophy, but the council does not seem unified behind a single leader. In
addition, there does not seem to be an appetite to tackle some of the more
difficult issues such as assessing the effect of the growth policy. The
most-recently adopted Annual Growth Policy ignored a number of carefully
considered recommendations to tighten loopholes which are creating more crowded
schools and greater traffic congestion.
Is the
rate of growth in Montgomery County too fast, too slow or just right?
Too fast. The Annual
Growth Policy (AGP) adopted by the Council last November has too many loopholes,
and ignored many recommendations to offset the impact of growth with
commensurate fees. For instance, even though 12 school clusters are projected
to have enrollments that are more than 105% of capacity, development is still
allowed to proceed in nine of those clusters. As to transportation, it is
virtually impossible for an average citizen to make sense out of the County's
policy with its Policy Area Mobility Reviews, Local Area Transportation Reviews,
Alternative Review Procedures, and variable trip mitigation requirements. A
development procedure that is tied to such arcane standards cannot serve citizen
interests since the only persons who can fully comprehend it are a few Planning
Board staff and a handful of attorneys employed by developers.
According to Planning
Board staff, there are 14,524 residential units and 13.7 million square feet of
non-residential space in the "pipeline" (approved but not yet constructed), so
that even if population growth is slowing, the potential number of projects
already approved will have a significant effect on our schools and highways.
Who
should have more control over the planning process, the council or the executive
and why?
Every function of county
government is tied to the county's planning process, so it is important that
forecasts, trends, and policy choices receive input from all of the affected
functions, as well as citizens. It is also important to have a system of checks
and balances so that the planning process is seen as a steady and mature process
that does not vacillate wildly on the basis of trends and opinions that are
transient in nature.
What's
your plan to provide more affordable housing in Montgomery County?
A)
The county executive should appoint a special
assistant and necessary staff to advocate for affordable and workforce housing
in the county. The function of this person would be to negotiate on behalf of
the county government to slow down the conversion of affordable housing to
higher-cost housing, and to encourage development of workforce housing in areas
that have been targeted for increased housing density under approved area master
plans.
B)
The county should continue its efforts to encourage
more affordable and workforce housing by making county-owned land available to
developers who can produce such housing.
C)
The county should consider creating a non-profit
corporation to develop affordable and workforce housing using non-tax dollars.
D)
The county should continue to expand the amount of
funding for the Housing Initiatives Fund which has already preserved 6,000 units
of affordable housing in the county.
E)
The county should consider partnering with non-profit
affordable housing developers to create a vision and a plan for meeting present
and future affordable and workforce housing needs
Do you
think the county is doing enough to meet the needs of its growing diverse
population? If not, what do you think the county needs to do?
The residents of
Montgomery County, including those who have recently immigrated to this area or
this country, are what makes the County great and its future bright. However,
residents who have lived here for many years are concerned about new residents
who may not fully comprehend such things as traffic laws or who may have
difficulty communicating with persons who speak only English. The county
council should foster efforts to welcome newcomers and to encourage long-time
residents to volunteer in efforts to acclimate newer residents in ways that are
sensitive to the desires and needs of both.
Do you support
Montgomery County's day laborer centers? Yes.
What
programs would you add to the budget, and how would you pay for them?
Please see my answers with
respect to the question on affordable housing. These proposals either have a
dedicated source of revenue, or could be implemented with non-tax dollars. The
creation of a housing czar can be done through an internal reorganization of the
County Executive’s current staffing.
Are
there any programs, taxes or fees that should be cut? What would you do with the
money from the savings?
The right to sell liquor
should be gradually auctioned off to commercial interests, with the revenue
dedicated to substance abuse and programs that serve persons who are homeless.
Does
council have too much, not enough or the right amount of oversight of the school
system?
The council needs to
exercise far more oversight of the school system. The school board is
authorized to determine the educational policies for our schools, and to
recommend the budget for the schools. But when confronted by educators with Ph.
D’s and appeals to increase the budget, school board members routinely approve
the superintendant’s recommendations without dissent or challenge. The system
of checks and balances is not working. In effect, the elected Montgomery County
School Board allows the superintendant to decide virtually all of the budget and
policies.
An unelected official, who
is not accountable to the County Executive, basically makes all the important
policies and decides what the budget should contain.
There is a widespread belief that the school
board and the superintendent have no regard for the effect of their decisions on
the taxes citizens must pay. Just last week, the school board adopted a
resolution calling for universal access to certified pre-school education for
all county 4-year olds. What will be the cost of their unchecked wish lists?
Once we fund 4-year olds, are 3-year olds next?
Do you
think the current system for renovating schools is adequate, or does it need
changing?
It seems that replacing
school facilities occurs more frequently in Montgomery County than in other
parts of the country. I believe the council should hold hearings on the current
school replacement policy, its present and future cost, and whether improved
maintenance and less-costly renovation could reduce the amount of money spent on
school replacement in the future.
What is
the No. 1 public safety concern for Montgomery County? What would you do about
it?
The total number of
reported crimes in the County is shocking. Many of these crimes appear to be
drug or gang-related, so it is important to find additional resources to address
the propensity of young people to use drugs or join gangs, or both.
Do you
support an east-west Metro link, and where should it go?
Yes. In addition to the
Purple Line, planners should study how Metro stations from Greenbelt to Glenmont
to Shady Grove and even perhaps the extended line to Dulles can be linked.
What are
the biggest issues affecting the Route 29 and New Hampshire Avenue corridors?
Crime, traffic, and a
sense of transiency in some neighborhoods that does not exist in stronger
communities
What
ideas do you have about land development adjacent to the ICC and its access
points?
The County needs to
actively search for additional open space to offset the vacant land being
developed for the ICC. No zoning changes should be allowed for at least ten
years for land adjacent to the ICC and its access points. The ICC will be a
major disruption in many neighborhoods, and it is important to preserve existing
plans for development (or open space) that were developed with construction of
the ICC in mind. The County Council needs to provide the Planning Board with
strict guidance with respect to this issue.
Residents have complained that the pace of redevelopment in Wheaton has lagged,
particularly in light of the transformation of downtown Silver Spring. What can
be done at the council level to expedite matters, given the county's fiscal
constraints?
Response: Silver Spring
redevelopment was made possible by consolidating ownership of various parcels of
land, although it is well to remember that Silver Spring languished for ten
years or more while various ideas were considered and rejected. Wheaton is an
area with which I am intimately familiar. Some businesses are thriving in their
current environment, and have been open since 1960 or earlier (e.g. Dunkin
Donuts, Marchone’s Meat and Deli, Safeway). The 1990 Master Plan for this area
reflected the concerns of business and commercial property owners, as well as
neighboring communities. While residential development envisioned by the plan
is taking place and plans to preserve the “Marketplace” and existing businesses
are succeeding, the Master Plan was written before Metro had opened. It is
probably a good time to begin gathering views of the various stakeholders in
Wheaton to assess whether the pace of redevelopment meets the expectations of
residents and business owners. It is vital to have a common vision for the area
based on current realities and the expectations of residents and property
owners.
What
sets you apart from the other candidates?
A)
I have studied the law and lawmaking for my entire
adult life, and I am the only candidate with extensive experience in writing and
enacting legislation which affects millions of Americans and their families.
B)
I understand that in addition to having ideas and
principles, a council member must also consider the ideas and concerns of other
council members in order to achieve a majority needed to enact legislation.
C)
I am the only candidate to declare that I will not
accept campaign contributions from developers.
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