|
|
|
Message From the Chairman:
Montgomery County's Elected Officials Set Poor Examples
Montgomery County's "Do as We Say, Not as We Do" County Council sets a new low when news reports reveal that two out its nine members owe significant amounts of back taxes. At the same time they are imposing new taxes on county residents, they are not meeting their own personal obligations.
Last week the Montgomery Gazette reported that Council President Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring owes $4,746.21 to Maryland in unpaid taxes, interest and fees from between 2007 and 2009. A state lien was issued for the taxes May 2.
The same story reported that Councilman Craig L. Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown owes $5,717.99 to Maryland in unpaid taxes, interest and fees from 2007. A lien was issued for the full amount Oct. 6. Rice, whose wife, Tineshia, also is listed on the documents, as owing $12,410 in unpaid federal taxes, also from 2007. On Nov. 29, a lien was issued for the full amount.
Hypocrisy is nothing new for the County Council. For example, the Washington Examiner has previously reported that: "The nine reserved parking spots for Montgomery County Council members are almost always full during a council meeting. That's because all of the council members, who are tasked with making key public transportation decisions that will affect generations of commuters, drive to work."
These are the same Council members who advocate mass transit based solutions for the county's traffic gridlock. They have tried to limit access to parking in new development in order to "encourage" mass transit use.
I suppose, though, the Council members would defend themselves because they at least provide their own cars. County budget austerity has not extended to the use of "take-home cars" by county employees. Data shows that 297 government employees have permanent, take-home vehicles, compared with just 210 three years ago. Some 349 county vehicles cost the county $6.76 million at an average cost of $19,400 each.
County Executive Leggett leads the way with his two taxpayer-funded vehicles.
First he has a $47,698 Chevrolet Suburban driven by his security detail that Leggett uses for official county business. Then there is a $38,665 Jeep Cherokee that Leggett uses when he drives himself. Since the first vehicle is used for county business, presumably the second is used by him for personal reasons. (By way of comparison, the top elected official in Fairfax County does not have any "take-home vehicle.")
In addition to his county furnished vehicles, the county pays for a security detail for the County Executive at a cost of $360,000 per year for four bodyguards. By way of comparison to Leggett's $90,000 a year bodyguards, the starting salary for a Secret Service agent is $44,000 per year.
The County's budget shortfall has also not affected the treatment of former County Councilman Mike Subin. Subin has been receiving a $160,000 annual salary as the part-time, executive director of the county's Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission. The group which meets just four times a year and is tasked with "coordinating communication" among Montgomery's law enforcement agencies. The part-time arrangement has allowed Subin to continue his outside law practice.
The Council and County Executive's own "Organizational Reform Commission" recommended the elimination of Subin's position, so the Council and Executive responded by creating a new full-time position for Subin worth $190,000 per year.
In the final stages of the County Council budget approval process, the body decided to reverse the recommendation that the County Executive's proposal to de-fund the erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra, under the county employee health insurance plan. Tax scofflaw Council President Valerie Ervin led the charge to restore $400,000 in funding to assure that county employees can receive at least six pills per month. (Presumably the restored benefit extends
to the Council as well.)
None of this comes without a cost. And the cost for Montgomery County will be a 5% increase in the real estate property tax rate. Come next January, residents would be advised to check the county's online database to see which council members are current with their property taxes and which are not.
Mark Uncapher
Montgomery County Republican Chairman
|
|
Ballot Questions on In-State Tuition Looks Likely -
MDPetitions.com Turned in 62,496 Signatures to the Secretary of State
MDPetitions.com turned in 62,496 signatures into the Maryland Secretary of State last night at 11:17 PM in an effort to stop SB 167, the bill that provides in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens, from becoming law and allowing Maryland voters to decide the issue in the November of 2012 elections. The first third of the minimum 55,736 valid signatures were due on the last day of May and the remainder of the signatures are due by midnight on June 30th.
Delegate Neil Parrott, Chairman of the petition drive, said today that "We are overwhelmed by support from Marylanders across the state. They have gone online at www.mdpetitions.com to sign the petition and volunteers across the state are collecting signatures to let Maryland voters decide this issue." Delegate Parrott went on to say, "When we started this petition drive, we knew that Maryland voters wanted more financial responsibility in Annapolis and the enforcement of our immigration laws. This number of signatures, at this point in the petition drive far exceeds our expectations."
Asked why people are signing is such large numbers Delegate Parrott indicated that "This bill doesn't make sense financially or legally, and people are glad to be able to do something about it."
The next and last deadline to turn in signatures is midnight on June 30th. MDPetitions.com will continue to collect signatures through the month of June and has set a goal of over 100,000 signatures. The Board of Elections website indicates that referendum petition efforts like these need to have over 30% more than the required number of signatures because of how many are invalidated.
Delegate Neil Parrott, said, "Volunteers across the state have been working for six weeks collecting signatures with momentum building to this day. The more Marylanders learn about SB 167, the more they want to sign the petition to stop the bill and let the voters decide in November of 2012."
|
Can You Become a Montgomery County Republican Team Leader?
We are currently contacting Prime Republicans throughout Montgomery County -- You can help your party starting with your own neighbors.
Here is what you can do:
1. Send an email to mcrepublicans@gmail.com
with your name, address and precinct number (use your precinct number if you know it, otherwise we will look it up.)
2. We will email back a list with the names, addresses and phone numbers of 50-100 Prime Republicans who live near you or in your precinct and a short, easy to follow script.
3. You then contact these Prime Republicans, introducing yourself and asking if they might be interested in future in receiving Republican invitations and news via email, displaying lawn signs or bumper stickers or helping Republican campaigns in the future.
4. We ask that your record the information you receive online at: http://mcgop.net/signup.aspx, with the information you collect. Please be sure to fill out the "Referred by (email):" field do so can give you credit for the contacts you have made.
Complete five contacts - and we will recognize you in our website, in the newsletter our Republican Team Leader our leader board. After you reach your first group of Prime Republicans, and we can send you additional names to contact.
|
The Maryland Public Policy Institute
What about Medicare? by Marc Kilmer 
Get ready for more demagoguery on Medicare. You can't blame politicians for using scare tactics. It clearly works. Voters don't like politicians who are going to mess with their Medicare. But sooner or later, voters are going to have to face the fact that our fiscal pressures demand a reshaping of Medicare. It's better to do this sooner rather than wait until a financial crisis is upon us. With Medicare playing a major (if not the primary) role in the special election in New York's 26thCongressional District recently, you can guarantee this issue will be a major focus of 2012. Democrats think they have a good issue on which to attack Republicans. Virtually every Republican in Congress supported the budget plan offered by Rep. Paul Ryan, a plan that would fundamentally change Medicare.
Voters don't like proposals to change Medicare. Republicans used this against Democrats during the debate over ObamaCare. Now they are seeing the issue turned against them. In fact, some of the same people who were upset over ObamaCare are now upset over the Ryan plan. As Matt Steinglass at theEconomist blog "Democracy in America" notes: "In most places in the world, working-class people who are basically socially conservative and distrustful of both government and big business tend to be fiercely protective of government-financed entitlement programmes that benefit them." Regardless of the view of voters, something must be done to fix Medicare. The current system is unsustainable. Jacob Sullum of Reason magazine sums up the problems with the current Medicare program: ...according to a report... by Medicare's trustees, the difference between the benefits promised by current law and the money available to pay for them amounts to $25 trillion during the next 75 years, when Medicare's share of GDP will rise from 3.6 percent to 6.2 percent.
The outlook may in fact be much worse, since the trustees' projections are based on highly unrealistic cost-saving measures included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. "The actual future costs for Medicare are likely to exceed those shown by the current-law projections in this report," the trustees warn. Medicare's chief actuary concurs that "the financial projections shown in this report for Medicare do not represent a reasonable expectation for actual program operations in either the short range...or the long range." According to the more plausible "illustrative alternative scenario," Medicare's share of GDP will be nearly 11 percent in 2085. Another way the trustee report, daunting as it is, fails to communicate the full fiscal fiasco: It says Medicare's hospital insurance "trust fund" will be "exhausted" in 2024, five years earlier than projected in 2010. But since the trust fund consists of Treasury bonds that can be redeemed only with taxpayer money or additional debt (which means more taxes in the future), the more relevant date is 2008, when the hospital insurance program started spending more than it takes in and therefore began draining money from the rest of the budget. The Congressional Budget Office projects that Medicare's share of federal spending, currently 12 percent, will double by 2035.
Rep. Ryan's plan to fix Medicare is a good blueprint to address these problems. Robert Moffitt of the Heritage Foundation has a good explanation of how Ryan's plan could work. There are other ways to fix the program, too. The important thing to consider is that Rep. Ryan and all the Republicans who voted for his budget proposal are supporting a plan that is addressing a looming crisis. Those who are criticizing them without offering their own plan are doing a disservice to our country. We need politicians to make the hard choices and take the hard votes. Too bad voters punish them when they do.
|
Romney Wins Montgomery County Republican Straw Poll
Former Massachusetts' Governor Romney edged Christie, Giuliani and Pawlenty in voting by Maryland Republicans Former Massachusetts' Governor Mitt Romney was the winner of a straw poll conducted by the Montgomery County Republican Party on May 28 and 29 at the Hometown Holidays Festival in Rockville, Maryland.
Of the twelve Republican candidates on the ballot, Romney captured 17 percent of the vote, narrowly edging New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who received 15 percent of the vote and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani with 13 percent of the vote. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty received 11 percent of the vote.
Candidate Percent of Vote
Mitt Romney 17%
Chris Christie 15%
Rudy Giuliani 13%
Tim Pawlenty 11%
Michelle Bachmann 8%
Ron Paul 7%
Herman Cain 6%
Newt Gingrich 6%
Sarah Palin 6%
Jon Huntsman 4%
Rick Santorum 4%
Other Candidates/No Preference 3%
|
|
CHEVY CHASE CLUB WELCOMES
NEW MEMBERS WITH BOB LIVINGSTON
Former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and Speaker-designate for the 106th Congress, special guest Bob Livingston sparked excitement and questions among the more than 40 members and guests attending the CCWRC Membership Tea on May 22nd.
Over 10 new members joined their fellow Republican members in an enthusiastic desire to work together for a Republican victory in 2012. The newly appointed Membership Chair, Jeannette Cotter, and club members intermingled with new members encouraging participation in future various club and political events so all work together for a successful infusion of Republican ideals throughout America.
 Bob Livingston, Jackie Phillips, former CC VP, Lorraine Kurchmy, CC 2nd VP, David Cotter,
Treasurer MOCO Republican Party 
Diana Nash Dillon, CC ByLaws Chair, Katja Bullock, CC President, Mark Uncapher, Chair MOCO Republican Party, Jeannette Cotter, CC Membership Chair
|
Obituary reprinted from the Montgomery Gazette:
Daniel Vovak, Republican activist and 'Wig Man,' succumbs to cancer
Friends remember candidate for U.S. Senate and county executive
Daniel Vovak, 39, the eccentric Republican activist best known for wearing a Colonial-era wig during his U.S. Senate campaign in 2006, died Saturday morning in Rockville.
Vovak, of Bethesda, was diagnosed with a rare form of stage 4 cancer in December and had been in and out of Suburban Hospital in Bethesda in recent months. He spent the final weeks of his life in hospice care at Casey House in Rockville, according to friends.
"He always wanted to touch so many lives and get a lot of people involved," said Lisa R. Neuder, secretary of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, on which Vovak served since September. "He really loved Montgomery County and he was proud that this was his home."
Vovak attended the Maryland Republican Party convention in Ocean City this month and delivered a measured speech urging Republicans to put their differences aside and work toward winning elections.
"It was not easy for him to go there," said Mark Uncapher, Montgomery County Republican Central Committee chairman.
Vovak irked the GOP establishment by entering the U.S. Senate race in 2006 and being one of the most vocal critics of then-Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (D), who was regarded as the party's best hope of winning the seat. During the campaign, he became known for the powdery coiffure and even appeared on the ballot as "Daniel 'Wig Man' Vovak." He finished fourth out of 10 candidates, tallying just more than 4,000 votes.
He unsuccessfully ran for state party chairman in 2009 and launched a blog in February 2010 called Montgomery County Daily that covered a wide range of issues, but focused mostly on local politics.
Shortly thereafter, he announced his campaign for county executive. He would lose the Republican nomination to Douglas E. Rosenfeld by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio. But he also won an at-large seat on the GOP central committee in the same election and immediately became engaged, Uncapher said.
Funeral arrangements were unavailable at press time, but Neuder, who was in touch with Vovak's girlfriend, said no services were planned in the Washington, D.C., area. His family plans to hold the funeral in Ohio, she said.
Other stories:
Gazette Obituary
Patch obituary
Washington Examiner story
Washington Post
Baltimore Sun
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let the Voters Decide on In-State Tuition
Sign the Petition
This link:
http://mdpetitions.com/default/signpetition
lets you download and Sign the In-State Tuition Referendum Petition.
After you fill in the information, you need to print out the petition, sign it and mail it to Del. Neil C. Parrott (one of the lead organizers of the petition drive).
|
|
Renew Your Republican Party Membership for 2011
Online
MCRP MEMBERSHIP LEVELS:
SUSTAINING MEMBER -$25 per year
BUILDER MEMBER -$50 per year
CENTURY CLUB MEMBER -$100 per year
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL - $250 per year
FINANCE COUNCIL -$500 per year
TRUSTEE COUNCIL -$1000 per year
CHAIRMAN'S CLUB -$2500 per year
( ) OTHER AMOUNT -___
|
 | | Paypal |
|
Upcoming Events
Details at
Montgomery County GOP Website
Saturday Jun 04, 2011 10:00 AM
2011 Maryland Young Republicans ConventionMaryland Young Republicans
Saturday, Jun 04, 2011 10:00 AM
Precinct Training and Volunteer Orientation Montgomery
Tuesday, Jun 07, 2011 7:00 PM
Montgomery Republican Men's Club Monthly MeetingMontgomery County GOP
Thursday, Jun 09, 2011, 7:00 PM
District 18 Monthly Meeting
Friday, Jun 10, 2011, 6:00 PM
Olney Women's Republican Club Annual Fundraiser w/ Guests Fred & Catherine GrandyOlney Women`s Republican Club
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2011, 7:00 PM
Montgomery County Central Committee Executive Board Meeting
Thursday, Jun 16, 2011, 6:30 PM
Evening with Ambassador John Bolton, Former US Ambassador to the United Nations
Saturday, Jun 18, 2011, 10:00 AM
Upper Montgomery Republican Women's Club - Legislators & Candidates Event w/ Guests Sen.
Jacobs, Del. Afzali and Del. Shulz
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011, 7:30 PM
Montgomery County Central Committee Executive Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011, 7:00 PM
Montgomery County Central Committee Executive Board Meeting
|
|
Quote of the week
"Maryland has not grown nearly as well over the last six months as much of the rest of the country. Over the last year, in fact, the state's job growth ranked it in the bottom 10." Economist Charles W. McMillion, president and chief economist of MBG Information Services, an economic consulting firm in Washington. |
|
Video of the Week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwv5EbxXSmE&feature=player_embedded#at=87
This 3-minute video is a visualization of the House Republicans' budget,
"The Path to Prosperity,"
presented by Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee.
|
|
|
|
GET INVOLVED ! REPUBLICANS NEED TO APPLY !
MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
District 16 Central Committee member Carol Bowis has taken on the task of encouraging fellow Republicans to get involved in volunteer opportunities on Montgomery County Boards and Commissions. We can help shape public policy and make our voices heard. Please help spread the word to any qualified Republican to apply for county boards and commissions that are of interest.
Good luck to other Republicans who have made applications to other Committees. With persistence, and qualified applicants, we will get our voices heard!
The County Executive has announced the following vacancies:
June 3
Recreation Advisory Board
June 10
- Adult Public Guardianship Review Board
- Alcoholic Beverages Advisory Board
- Dickerson Area Facilities Implementation Group
- Advisory Board for Montgomery Cares
- Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
June 15
Board of License Commissioners (Liquor Board)
Note: This Board has one opening for a Republican. It is one of the very few Boards that has compensation. The $9,000 commission requires two Thursdays a month from 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM, so may be considered a part-time job. Financial disclosures are part of the application.
To view the details of each application, go to the Montgomery County website and look for Boards and Committees, then click on Vacancy notices. Then click on the press release which interests you. Please encourage other good Republicans you know to apply as well. Our county needs to know the opinions of their citizens from BOTH parties!
For all of the above, please send a letter of interest and a resume to the County Executive's office. The Mont.County website, under Boards and Commissions, lists the press releases with details about each of the vacancies.
If you have served on a Board or Commission during the last ten years, or have applied and not been selected, Carol Bowis (301-229-1121) would appreciate hearing from you so that we can be more helpful in advising future applicants as to the process and interviews, etc., in the hopes of getting more GOP representation on county boards.
|
Montgomery County Republican Central Committee
|
|
