You'll learn about Tim's ideas regarding:

• building a sustainable community in Montgomery County
• creating a local, green economy
• renewable energy / rapid movement to 100% clean energy
• creating locally controlled banks / taking control of local finances
• the climate emergency / global warming
• regenerative agriculture
• overpopulation
• social justice

Stay tuned for part II when we will cover much more.

Here are some voices of from Indivisible and youth movement leaders who attended the training.

Maryland Delegates and Activists Present the SAFE Act Bill to protect the immigrant community in Maryland from ICE detainers and ensure that residents can interact with law enforcement, health care and other officials / institutions without fear of arrest or deportation.

Speakers:

• The SAFE Act is the same as the Trust act, but with a new name
• • So people feel safe in their communities, with law enforcement officers at a time when the environment is worsening

• Proud to join community leaders here to support this act
• Chair of Asian-American Pacific Islanders Conference

• We must allow our neighbors to feel safe so they can trust their neighbors, law enforcement, taking their kids to school and not getting arrested in a parking lot, arrested going to a hospital.   

• Last year they worked extremely hard on this bill in the judiciary committee
• Product of this bill is a bipartisan product
• The 4 areas addressed by the SAFE Act:
  • Public schools
  • Hospital
  • Court Houses
• • Nobody will be detained without a warrant
  • Prohibiting registries based on immigration status and/or religion and other identifying factors
  • Creating safe harbors (no ICE)
• Biggest part of this act:
• • Outlawing the 287g program using correctional facilities in this state as an extension of ICE detention

• The Black Caucus is supporting this bill and I’m proud to be working on this

• 35% of district is Latino
• • 90% from El Salvador
• Number 1 issue
  • Feaful before 45
  • More fearful now
• MD has to step up its gain
• • Our residents who pay taxes, who work hard, who bring their kids tos chools are going to be protected
• This is the year to get it passed

• When the fed govt acts unconstitutionally it is up to the state to protect its residents

• This is a challenging bill
• We learned that fear drove those that would normally protect the most vulnerable to retreat
• We were told to wait - it is an election year. So we are here fighting back fear and refusing to give up. Giving up on this is giving up on our immigrant neighbors, our communities and feeling safe.

• Member of MD legislative coalition
• Laws are intended to make the many feel safe - this is what the SAFE Act is about; treating everyone as they are the same class of people - what our founding fathers intended, what our constitution requires; what our attorney general requires in his guidance - it is about time we listen

• Montgomery County ACLU
• I support the SAFE Act because without explicit guidance to our law enforcement officers, detaining someone beyond their release time is unconstitutional
• • This puts the officer and our jurisdiction at risk for a lawsuit whcih can cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
• The only way I can feel safe in my home is if my neighbor feels safe

• Women’s Democratic Club of Montgomery County
• This bill is important for the safety of all in MD - those that live there and travel through there
• If people don’t feel safe to come to the health care system, it makes it dangerous for everyone (e.g. TB can spread)

Quick take interview with Dana Beyer on:

- Parkland School Shooting and Marco Rubio's comments at a forum for the community about the shooting

And Jon gives a long monologue about the mission of this podcast:

- inspring civic engagement

- informing voters

- a platform for ALL candidates / activists regardless of party affiliation

- a place for civil dialogue where we can listen and learn

Elrich discusses:

• Schools
  • Close Achievement Gap
  • Correlation between performance / poverty
  • Address underlying social issues
  • Reduce class size
    • For college prep
    • For vocational (non-college)
  • Adjust curriculum
  • If we say we are doing smart growth, we really ought to do smart growth
• Development
  • There are enough vacancies to fill 66,000 jobs
• Fill commercial real estate vacancies and provide
• Workforce doesn’t necessarily match needs of employers
  • Business incubators
  • Support entrepreneurs
• Provide people opportunities to start and grow businesses
  • How can we streamline this
• What are obstacles for new businesses to start
  • Create study group on this with Sidney Katz for current council
• Make sure regulations aren’t prohibiting businesses from affordably / sensibly occupying existing spaces
  • Big Biz Manage
  • Small Biz Manage
  • Coop
  • Real estate venture
  • 19 years on Takoma Park City Council
• Experience
  • Different perspectives
  • No yes men
  • Listen / keep an open mind
• On forming a team to run the county

Danielle Meitiv Discusses:

1. Lack of local media
2. Affordable Housing
3. Transit Improvement (MARC, Metro Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
4. Growing the economy & the green economy
5. Transparency and accountability in government
   1. (Composting / Recycling / more)
6. Zero waste
   1. Trump effect
   2. Public Financing
   3. Term Limits
7. Unique opportunity to vote for people that want to make systemic change
8. Amazon development in Montgomery County / secret negotiations / NDA

• Three priorites:
  • Reduce opportunity gap
  • Strengthen local economy
  • Reducing traffic congestion

• On the opportunity gap (instead of the achievement gap)
  • Official sanctuary county for immigrants
  • Universal pre-k
  • Expand language immersion programs
  • More 1 on 1 time between students and educators
    • More autonomy / support for teachers
  • Support students regardless of their zip code

• Main duties of council member
  • Budget, land use and zoning

• 120 million dollar budget deficit
  • Don’t cut critical services
  • We have amazing county employees

• Schools in north / eastern part of county are not being properly prioritized
  • Aging infrastructures
  • Invest in schools in students that are not part of the county
  • Success means listen and consulting with all (elected, managers, officials, etc.)
  • Partner w/BOE
  • Partner with school admin
  • Need to build a coalition

• Importance of BOE to get better schoolsGreat businesses mean:
  • Retention
  • Better workers

• Smart Growth
  • Inform them better
  • Help them relocate / share info with customers
  • Mixed use development around public transportation
  • Diversity of income in mixed use development
  • More job training
  • Helps expand tax base
  • Helps businesses find employees they need
  • Helps employees build a career; not just getting a job
  • Assist small business owners who are displaced from large dev projects

• Budget shortfall fix
  • Injects funds to economy without cutting essential services / laying off county employees
  • Expand tax base
  • Support small biz
  • Look at issue in comprehensive way
  • Leads to responsible fiscal membership
  • Lower amount of reserves can help

• On Reserve Budget
  • They still have AAA bond rating / low borrowing costs
  • Reaction to financial crisis
  • Helps weather econ. Downturn  
  • Higher = easier to have AAA bond rating
  • Ours may be too high relative to other counties in area

• Budget / Land Use /  Zoning
  • More Affordable housing opportunity
    • Expand % of new development as affordable
    • Expand MPDU program
    • Look at rent control
    • Landlord notice to tenants of increase and possibly getting approval from county before increase
    • Work w/ developers to pay to avoid MPDUs, instead get them to comply or go beyond
  • Quicker / easier to get to work
  • Ensure high quality of lifeGovernment can do this: saw this at HUD
  • Residents should not get priced out of their city
  • This is a priority
  • Only more density / floors as a reward for:
    • More energy efficiency
    • Electric charging stations
    • More MPDUs
  • Mixed use development should create Inclusive communities
  • Working with developers
  • Families feel like they are priced out of new devs
  • Feel like not getting enough notice of developments
  • Not enough affordable housing
  • Not developing enough mixes use / smart growth
  • Residents should get best deal for new devs
  • Workers should get respect on these projects  

Danila Sheveiko, 2nd VP of the Montgomery County Civic Federation Discusses:

- Pollution and clean air efforts

- Land use and planning in Montgomery County

- Unfunded and lagging public infrastructure

- Sexual assault and non-transparency in Montgomery County Public Schools

- Costco Gas Station in Westfield Wheaton - Ongoing Litigation and Opposition

- Farm Road - Access road dispossessed to African-American community

- Green development