The Gazette OUROPINIONS
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Wednesday, January 8, 2014
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Page A-16
Cut the tolls and increase mobility
In the 12 months ending in June 2013, motorists made 17.2 million trips on the Intercounty Connector, which costs $8 for a peak-time round-trip between Gaithersburg and Laurel. Advocates — notably Councilman Philip M. Andrews and the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce — think drivers in the region would benefit if the state cut the tolls in half. With lower tolls, the thinking goes, more people will be diverted from other highways, most likely Interstate 270, the Capital Beltway and Interstate 95, which are among the most congested in the reTHE STATE gion. In a letter to The Gazette a SHOULD CUT year ago, Andrews confidently THE COST OF predicted that cutting the tolls in DRIVING ON half would double the traffic on THE ICC the road. The Maryland Transportation Authority, which operates the ICC, has a study that contradicts Andrews’ boldness. CDM Smith of Cambridge, Mass., estimates that a 50 percent reduction in the tolls would increase traffic volume, by 2015, by 21 percent. Toll revenue by 2015 would decline by 33 percent, from $65.1 million to $43.7 million. A difference of $21.4 million is nothing to take lightly. By the same token, that 21 percent increase in traffic volume shouldn’t be taken lightly either. As Marilyn Balcombe, president and CEO of the chamber, told The Gazette’s Kevin James Shay: “The road was not built to raise revenue. The road was built to alleviate traffic and help mobility. If we can increase the number of people using the ICC, the better mobility we can have.” Exactly. Balcombe and Andrews present serious arguments that deserve consideration. We think the state’s numbers downplay how motorists will change their patterns once they hear the ICC charges less for its 18-mile connection. We think there’s an easy way to prove them right or wrong: Cut the tolls and see what happens. Large electronic signs already proclaim the current rates, so an education campaign would be minimal. If the number of motorists don’t increase to offset the loss in revenue, the state can reset the tolls. Absent a precipitous decline in tolls, the state should be thinking about mobility.
Election board misfires
Someone at the Maryland State Board of Elections, in a fit of grogginess, must have thought he or she was in Virginia. That’s where the governor and the lieutenant governor run and are elected separetely. There’s no other fathomable explanation for the Maryland board’s recent ruling that the yin of a gubernatorial ticket can’t raise money during the legislative session, but the yang can. That’s how the board sees it in the case of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, a Democratic candidate for governor, and his running mate, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, who is trying to be elected lieutenant governor. In Maryland, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and members of the General Assembly are prohibited from raising campaign cash during the legislature’s annual 90-day regular session. Annapolis and the state government universe are awash in campaign money and unadulterated ingratiating year-round. But, presumably, the ban keeps the capital a little less unwholesome for the busiest quarter — like throwing a pile of dirty laundry in a closet when relatives come to visit. Consider what the election board has decided: Brown must abide by the exclusion; Ulman, a local official, can ignore it. But money raised for Ulman obviously benefits both. Or has the election board figured out a way to permanently segregate money raised individually for a joint ticket? The governor-lieutenant governor candidate ticket of Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and Del. Jolene Ivey, who both must sit out three months of fundraising before the June primary, are put at a severe disadvantage. Before we wring our hands in angst, though, we suspect Gansler will find a way to get his message out with the multiple millions in his campaign account. Instead, we’ll proceed with our idea for a ground-leveling solution. Forget fundraising dark periods. We’d rather see designated fundraising seasons — something akin to when it’s legal to hunt deer or other wildlife. We see good potential and a strong calendar fit in the wild turkey spring season, which runs from April 18 to May 23. Why not let candidates for state offices run at large — literally — for those five weeks. Lobbyists and special interest groups — wearing blaze orange, of course — could load up their cash-infusing weapons and see if they can bag the big one. Call it “buck season.” Crazy? Two can play that game, election board.
The Gazette Karen Acton, President/Publisher
LETTERS TOT HE EDITOR
Term limits needed in Gaithersburg
The Gaithersburg city election in 2013 is a good example of the need for consecutive term limits for incumbents. Less than 6 percent of all registered voters chose to go to the polls on Nov. 5, as this election was dubbed the No Selection Election. Voters want a voice when they go to the election polls, but when there are no choices in the election, the voters’ voices [are] not heard. The last challenger to win an elected incumbent’s seat was Ann Somerset in 1999. Due to a vigorous campaign of knocking on every voter’s door, Ann won her place on
the City Council. This was a very daunting task since she was competing with the visibility and name recognition of the incumbents. Since the city of Gaithersburg’s population continues to grow rapidly, this type of campaign has become impractical and archaic. In the Gaithersburg City Election 2013, there were no challengers, no candidate debates, no candidate mailings, no candidate newspaper ads and negligible voter interest. In order to revive Gaithersburg politics and encourage citizens to become candidates
Legislature should seal nonviolent records The decriminalization and even the legalization of marijuana are important cogs in the wheel of comprehensive criminal justice reform in Maryland. Along with enforcing our newly passed gun-safety laws, fighting for safe and sick leave, expanding access to protective orders in cases of dating violence and sexual assault, full funding for the criminal injuries compensation board, and effective prisoner re-entry; the marijuana issue offers our state officials the chance to make a significant difference in how we handle our criminal justice inequities. Notwithstanding the eventual legalization of marijuana, the Maryland State Legislature should move quickly to implement new laws that seal or shield criminal records of individuals who have been convicted of marijuana possession where violence was not a factor. According to a recent ACLU report, Maryland currently has the fourth-highest arrest rate for marijuana possession in the country. In Maryland, police arrest one out of every 250 people for marijuana possession, and
marijuana-related arrests make up roughly 50 percent of all drug arrests in our state. Even more alarming is the fact that African-Americans make up only 30 percent Maryland’s population, but make up 58 percent of arrests for marijuana possession despite having equal marijuana usage rates as their white counterparts. Sealing or shielding these conviction records is a critical step toward mitigating the long-term debilitating disparities of our criminal justice system. Without such a law, thousands of Marylanders who have been convicted of non-violent marijuana possession will continue to be cut off from the societal on ramps (e.g. grants, loans, jobs, school admission) to the highway of upward mobility. If lawmakers in Maryland are serious about comprehensive reform, they’ll pass a shield and seal law in the upcoming legislative session.
Will Smith, Silver Spring The writer is a Democratic candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 20.
for public office, a consecutive term limit should be considered by the Gaithersburg mayor and City Council. An elected incumbent would be allowed to run for office once for continuous service of eight years. However, after eight years of continuous service, the incumbent would then be required to take a sabbatical for at least one election cycle of two years. This would encourage interested citizens to step forward as candidates and run for the open seat. After at least two years, the incumbent could run for Gaithersburg public office
Paul and JoAnn Schimke, Gaithersburg
Development, Ten Mile Creek can’t coexist Please excuse me, Mr. Shapiro, but you make shameful, outlandish and inaccurate statements [“Development, Ten Mile Creek can coexist,” letters, Dec. 24]. The first thing I noticed in your letter is your egregious conflict of interest. You have an elected position in the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce. Protection of the environment is not an “ideological tendency.” An ideology is a large-scale way of looking at the world, but that way the world looks is actually an illusion. Environmental conservation is no illusion, nor is water quality. What specifically is the “well-documented scientific fact” that you repeatedly and disgracefully refer to? The argument behind preserving the Ten Mile Creek Watershed is backed by scientific fact, whereas development is encouraged by financial interests. Simply Google the words “environment, development, pollution and water quality” all together, and you will encounter dozens of peer-reviewed, scientific publications that are consistent with my argument about the delicacy of a watershed to development. What specific state and current laws will protect the Ten
Mile Creek Watershed? It amuses me that you consider the preservation of the environment to be self-serving. If anything, your push for development is self-serving. Do you have a financial stake in the development if it were to proceed? I am positive that these environmental groups are at least partially composed of members of the Clarksburg community. The environmentalists’ arguments are not antiquated as you say. They are in fact supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and current understanding in the environmental sciences. The construction of homes only destroys the environment and negatively contributes to climate change. What is your plan to mitigate a substantial release of greenhouse gases? How does development protect or improve the environment? Virtually all indicators of environmental health and quality near a site of development decline when development occurs. I doubt that your community has suffered “devastating economic harm” as a result of the construction delay. The median annual household income of Clarksburg exceeds $125,000.
Jeffrey Blazar, Gaithersburg
Bag tax revenue should be returned Clearly something is amiss and awry if the county bag tax has generated over $1.7 million in revenue for Montgomery County [“Bag tax generates millions for county,” Dec. 22]. In corresponding with county officials prior to implementation of the tax, I was told
repeatedly that income, revenue, whatever you wish to call it, was not the focus of the tax and that the county’s goal was to raise nothing from it! Right. Want to sell me a bridge next, Montgomery County? In light of this monetary windfall, I pro-
pose distributing the revenue to all Montgomery County residents. Certainly the $1.7 million rightfully belongs to them, if the intent was to raise nothing. I won’t look for my check in the mail anytime soon.
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again. One has only to look at the Gaithersburg city election in 2007 when seven candidates ran for three open seats on the City Council to know that citizens do want to serve. When there are open seats, citizens are far more willing to put their time, efforts and finances into becoming candidates. Making Gaithersburg’s political environment more active and dynamic will ensure that Gaithersburg will continue to evolve as a vibrant city.
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