From the article: "a coalition of well-funded citizen groups" really? does this need to be in the article? On the other hand it makes clear the fact that in Montgomery County, only the wealthy stand even a slim chance of getting any kind of open government and some limited democratic process. As for the rest of us, forget about it. Cronyism rules.
It takes "a coalition of well-funded citizen groups" to even begin to pull back the veil of backroom dealings in MoCo.
The County's strategy is often one of victory by attrition. They ignore the everyday Joe and when a group does have a the ability t hire an attorney they will bleed you dry with a series of intentional missteps that require use of that attorney's time. Sooner or later, you simply run out of money and they proceed as if nothing had ever happened.
Notice this was the Times, you'd never see this article in WaPo.
@Anonymous, the blame doesn't lie solely with the county. Citizens here vote in very low numbers, turnout is low. In most places pols must balance voters v. donors. Here, because so few people vote, they only need to satisfy their donors. And sadly, most groups organize around an issue; when the issue is over, they melt away. Time to change that so our neighbors step up, help others, and stay in the game to help their neighbors. I find recently people are more willing to do that. Poor school infrastructure, exploding watermains, no electricity, yet billions are spent by a few people who answer to no one. It is definitely time to make Montgomery County a democracy.
From the article: "a coalition of well-funded citizen groups" really? does this need to be in the article? On the other hand it makes clear the fact that in Montgomery County, only the wealthy stand even a slim chance of getting any kind of open government and some limited democratic process. As for the rest of us, forget about it. Cronyism rules.
ReplyDeleteIt takes "a coalition of well-funded citizen groups" to even begin to pull back the veil of backroom dealings in MoCo.
ReplyDeleteThe County's strategy is often one of victory by attrition. They ignore the everyday Joe and when a group does have a the ability t hire an attorney they will bleed you dry with a series of intentional missteps that require use of that attorney's time. Sooner or later, you simply run out of money and they proceed as if nothing had ever happened.
Notice this was the Times, you'd never see this article in WaPo.
@Anonymous, the blame doesn't lie solely with the county. Citizens here vote in very low numbers, turnout is low. In most places pols must balance voters v. donors. Here, because so few people vote, they only need to satisfy their donors. And sadly, most groups organize around an issue; when the issue is over, they melt away. Time to change that so our neighbors step up, help others, and stay in the game to help their neighbors. I find recently people are more willing to do that. Poor school infrastructure, exploding watermains, no electricity, yet billions are spent by a few people who answer to no one. It is definitely time to make Montgomery County a democracy.
ReplyDelete