COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR: Inteview with Nancy Navarro

QUESTIONS FROM PROGRESSIVE NEIGHBORS PAC

1. Transportation Policy. Marilyn Praisner was a strong opponent of the ICC and a proponent of increased public transportation. What is your position on the ICC – for or against – your supporting comments are welcome. Purple Line. Will you encourage the County to lobby the State and our County legislative delegation to fund the Purple line?

While I would like to avoid engaging in hypotheticals, given the persistent queries that I receive regarding the ICC, this is an important question to address. I think it is fair to say that had I been a decision maker in the process, I would not have supported the ICC. The ICC cuts aggressively through my district and is a shining example of how District 4 and its communities of color and working families have received much of the problems from Montgomery County’s growth (ie: traffic and unaffordable housing) without any of the benefits (ie: amenities, beautification, and retail). That being said, I also believe that most remaining avenues for working against the ICC have been exhausted. It certainly is a difficult battle. We will have to be ready to fight in order to mitigate any environmental and negative community impact from the highway. I would be pleased not only to bring our community to the table to address these concerns, but I will also reach out to underserved and underrepresented groups to seek out their input.

I am a firm supporter of the Purple Line and will work day and night as a Councilmember to transform it from a vision to a reality. As many are aware, District 4 has some of the poorest residents in the County – many who of whom rely upon mass transit to get to work every day. My connections with elected leaders at the municipal, county, state, and federal government will allow me to build the synergy and broad coalition needed to bring the Purple Line alive. Notably, my endorsers include Members of Congress (presumptive ones, at least), State Senators, State Delgates, County Councilmembers, Board of Education members and Mayors. It is only by demonstrating an ability to work with others, bringing consensus between neighborhood activists and developers, and fostering a new dialogue around growth and transportation – that we will be able to move this issue forward. A part of me actually hopes that at least a portion of the hours spent fighting the ICC will be wisely diverted to hours spent advancing the Purple Line.

But more importantly, the desire of many for the Purple Line really points to a fundamental flaw in the current growth and transportation debate (ie: massive growth vs. none at all – which is often an easier position for those already privileged). I say this because building density alongside efficient, mass transit can often be environmentally advantageous when compared to the consequences of the all-or-nothing discussion currently occurring. But this point is lost on those who are unwilling to distinguish between types of development. Simultaneously, the slow in growth in Montgomery County has had a negative impact on our affordable housing stock, and the communities of color and working poor most affected by it. These are difficult, complex perspectives to balance, and they require a paradigm that goes beyond simply growth or no-growth, and one that brings to the table more voices than simply civic activists and developers (though I believe both groups should, of course, be at the table). The underserved communities in my district have a different perspective on development than the wealthier, whiter communities, and this again reflects the difference between those who have already benefited from the county’s past development and growth, and those who have not.

There is a broad consensus in the County for modest, well planned growth in jobs and housing, and the 1.5% growth rates set by the current Council are probably about right. However, we are not even meeting those targets and that is negatively impacting our economy and the County’s budget. In some ways, this is the wrong question, because no matter who is elected to the Council, the days of rapid growth in Montgomery County are behind us. Growth will continue to slow as the County matures and the remaining inventory of buildable land is developed. I believe the more important question is, what type of jobs do we want to create, how can we help make it more be affordable for the average family to live here, and how long do we want people to have to travel to get from home to work? These are the key questions I want to focus on. We need to move beyond a simplistic argument over whether the growth rate should be 1.5% or 1.51% and move this discussion forward to the real issues we face: improving the quality and design of our older neighborhoods and town centers, the lack of amenities many communities in the Fourth District face, reducing traffic congestion, making our communities more walkable and concentrating future development around transit stations. These are all particular concerns of mine and will have far more impact on what our community looks like ten or twenty years from now, far more than the shallow debate we’ve been having over what amounts to a few tenths of a percent in some arbitrary target rate.

2. These last several elections have stressed opposition to accepting funds from special interests, developers and PACs. Will you turn away funds from these special interest, including developers and their land use attorneys?

Nancy Navarro is not for sale. I will be an independent voice on the Council, no matter who is donating to my campaign – and my donors are all fully aware of this fact. I promise to abide by all of Maryland’s campaign finance regulations and hope to raise more money in small contributions than from any other groups. However, I do not come from a wealthy background, and I do not start off with instant name recognition from my family connections. As a result, I will be accepting contributions from all those who support my vision of inclusive governance and consensus-based decision-making. When you're running against someone who can self-finance (ie: Steve Kanstoroom), and there's only one month to run a campaign -- your time needs to be spent contacting voters, not donors. No matter who is contributing to my campaign, it would be no more fair to say that I am beholden to developers, than it would be to say that I am “beholden” to Maryland’s union families or communities of color. Nevertheless, I believe in campaign finance reform, and I would love the day that I could run for office without having to raise any money. I think having a such a system in place would also give other qualified female and minority candidates a chance to succeed in public office.

Even still, I think this question itself has an odd slant to it. Given that this organization focuses on “progressive” issues, there are numerous industries or categories of donors that one could reject – ranging from energy or telecom corporations to employers with bad records on race relations or gay rights. The County Council has for too long underserved and underfunded the schools, roads, and services in minority-rich parts of Montgomery (many in District 4), and with campaigns focusing on the pro-developer, anti-developer dynamic – these issues do not get brought up in elections. I hope to work with you on broadening the focus of future Progressive Neighbors surveys to include these perspectives, alongside the dominant growth issues.

3. Traditionally, the Chamber of Commerce has taken positions in favor of rapid growth of business and development. Rep. Carr, for instance, has taken a position of legislating a higher tax on commercial property than residential. The Chamber opposes such legislation. What is your reaction and why? How else should the County deal with its revenue shortfall?

I would need to study the effect of a higher commercial property tax on small business owners, especially within the strong and vibrant immigrant community in District 4. In general, I am in favor of progressive taxation and would want to make sure that such a move would not be regressive before taking a position.

Beyond that, I think we first need to examine the tangled web of regulations and fee increases on businesses seeking to locate in Montgomery County, and the negative impact that can have on job-creation in low-income communities. We need to find a way to manage growth in the County in a way that preserves open space and creates jobs, while also meeting affordable housing needs and the county’s revenue needs. While some of the Council’s new regulations were reasonable, many believe, (including our County Executive), that a number went too far and have slowed job-creation in the County. All of these issues need to be examined as part of a larger plan and vision for the County’s long-term strategy for controlling growth, while keeping a robust local economy.

We also need to work with our state legislative delegation to ensure that more of Montgomery’s tax dollars stay in Montgomery. As it currently stands, our tax dollars subsidize much of the rest of Maryland – yet our own needs are not currently being met. There is a large hidden underserved, underclass in District 4. I hope to work with our state delegation to ensure that their needs are met at the state budgeting level.

4. Affordable housing and Rent Control/Stabilization

There’s a decreasing amount of affordable rental housing in our county. A proposal has been made for rent stabilization, for example. Where do you stand on this subject. Where do you stand on the conversion of rental units into luxury condos? How would you act to preserve affordable housing?

We must seek options that would help alleviate our affordable housing crisis without gouging or completely stunting growth of the County’s tax base for services and schools. Proposals that can do this should be strongly considered. We should bear in mind that rent stabilization would not address the fact that already too many of members of our workforce commute from out of county and even out of state. For many, stabilizing today’s rental rates would still make Montgomery County too expensive to live in. We simply need more affordable housing units. We should also be worried about regulations that can lead to rapid Condo conversion and property neglect.

Many people still want to move here. Montgomery County is a great place to live because of good schools, access to good employment and relatively low crime. Sustainable affordable housing ensures that young families, the elderly and our employees can afford to call Montgomery County home. We need a comprehensive inventory of vacant and underdeveloped County-owned property that could serve as starting points for meeting the need for housing that average families can afford. We need to take steps to ensure that our County employees are able to buy or rent homes and live in Montgomery County. Affordable housing should be available throughout all county communities and all communities should have opportunity to participate in planning to ensure the integrity of neighborhoods is maintained and that community masterplans are considered.

Lastly, We should look at creating a housing advocate within the Planning Board staff, as we do with transportation and environmental issues, to provide the needed focus we give to other priority issues. This would help ensure that housing needs are being met in all areas of the County, and that unnecessary regulatory barriers are identified and evaluated.

5. Shortly after coming into office, you will vote to appoint 2 new members to the Park and Planning Commission. The choice could favor developers or controlled growth advocates. On what basis would you choose? What philosophical approaches are you looking for in a planning board member?

As noted in some of my responses to growth and development above, I want to appoint members who can look beyond the growth/anti-growth debate and bring community consensus on land use issues. Again, I do not mean consensus from just the developers and civic activists. I want to include all voices, not just the two loudest. I favor a balanced, moderate approach to growth in the County. We cannot eliminate all new home construction and commercial activity if we want a tax base for the services we need, and we want affordable housing needs met. We also cannot afford to allow unplanned, unchecked growth spiral out of control and threaten our environment and the integrity of our neighborhoods. I would seek planning board members that also share my view of supporting planned, careful growth in the areas that make sense for more dense occupancy—such as the neighborhoods surrounding metro stations—while making sure that our green spaces and agricultural lands, as well as fragile environmental areas, are protected.

6. The County has a projected budget gap of approximately $300 million for next year. If the Council decides to raise property taxes and reduce services for next year, do you think that the Council should also reduce funding for salary increases for County and MCPS employees?

County and school employees, such as our teachers and our county’s service staff, deserve a living wage. In fact, they deserve a wage that allows them to live in Montgomery County, and not have to commute from West Virginia. Too often we talk about the draw of our young people to corporate America and away from public service, and too often we complain about the low-pay teachers receive for their important work. I believe that we are called upon to find solutions that work for the people of the County, and County employees are a few of “the people,” so no, I wouldn’t seek to reduce salary increases as a first step. The so-called increases are generally cost-of-living adjustments, not raises, and with rising prices across the board, and long-stagnant wage-growth, our public servants have had much catching up to do. Their unions (the last vestige of worker power) negotiated their contracts, and those contracts must be honored. The greatest concern to me is having a complete understanding of why we have a $300 million budget gap and looking at options for both addressing the gap and preventing the same conditions to be repeated that resulted in this shortfall.

7. The General Assembly is considering legislation that would enable Montgomery County to enact a public financing system for County elections. If this legislation is approved and you are elected, would you vote for legislation that would establish a public financing system for County Executive and County Council elections, and that would designate a dedicated funding source to adequately fund the system?

Yes, though in our current budgetary climate, I would need to see the projected costs of the system, the proposed funding sources, and the timeline for implementation (and whether it might have to wait until our budget crisis settles).

8. For the purposes of transparency, it has been proposed that each of you post your daily receipts and debts on line every 48 hours after the initial April 1st filing deadline. Will you agree to do that? What is your position on campaign finance reform in Maryland?

Posting receipts and debts every 48 hours is not manageable. Our Treasurer is a working mom and a volunteer. We can explore alternatives, though I generally find the Board of Elections schedule sufficient for such a short race.

On campaign finance reform generally – I support it. This is not an issue the County currently has control over, though I would be in favor of lowering contribution limits and prohibiting contributions from corporations and partnerships (though not from properly registered PAC’s).