gaithersblog.net

I just noticed this release on the City’s Website, which echoes the information in today’s Gazette.

Seven Candidates File for City of Gaithersburg Election
Posted 9/25/2007

Last night the Board of Supervisors of Elections certified seven candidates to run for three vacant City Council seats in the City of Gaithersburg municipal election on November 6, 2007. The terms of Stanley Alster, Geri Edens and John Schlichting expire this year. None of the incumbents will be running for re-election.

The seven candidates are Ahmed Ali, Shawn Ali, Jud Ashman, Cathy C. Drzyzgula, Wilson Lee Faris, Carlos Solis, and Ryan Spiegel.

City residents who are registered to vote in Montgomery County are automatically registered to vote in the City election. To confirm registration, contact the Montgomery County Board of Elections at 240-777-VOTE. The last day to register to vote is Monday, October 8, 2007.

This year Gaithersburg will permit “no excuse” absentee voting. In previous elections, absentee ballots were only issued to those individuals who would not be in the City when polls were open or who were physically unable to travel to a polling place. This year voters will not be required to give a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.

Applications for absentee ballots may be picked up in person at City Hall during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday), requested via telephone at 301-258-6310 or downloaded below between September 10 and November 6, 2007. Completed applications can be mailed or dropped off at City Hall, 31 South Summit Avenue. Ballots will be mailed to qualified applicants after October 8, 2007.

For complete election information please contact Sarah Paxton in the City’s Manager’s office at 301-258-6310 or visit the City’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/election.

• Absentee Ballot Application

From the City’s website:

Agenda - Mayor and City Council Meeting, 4/9/2007

Posted 4/5/2007

City of Gaithersburg
AGENDA FOR A REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007, 7:30 P.M.

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

III. INVOCATION

Reverend Charles Updike, First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg

IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council Held March 19, 2007

Background Material (pdf format)

V. CONSENT ITEMS
(resolutions for approval by the City Council that do not need discussion)

Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Contract for the Purchase and Installation of Emergency Equipment for Police Vehicles ($32,764)
Background Material (pdf format)

Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Contract for Repair of Culverts under Victory Farm Drive ($57,800)
Background Material (pdf format)

VI. APPOINTMENT

Resolution of the City Council Confirming Appointments and Reappointments by the Mayor to the Art In Public Places Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Community Advisory Board, Gaithersburg Senior Council, and Technology & Innovations Committee

Background Material (pdf format)

Resolution Establishing a City of Gaithersburg Ad Hoc Mayor and City Council Compensation Review Committee and Confirming Appointments Made by the Mayor of the City of Gaithersburg Thereto
Background Material (pdf format)

VII. PRESENTATIONS

1. Proclamation of the Mayor and City Council Designating April 3 through June 3, 2007, as “The 2007 Maryland Chiefs’ Challenge Campaign” in the City of Gaithersburg
2. Proclamation of the Mayor and City Council Designating April as “Municipal Government Works Month” in the City of Gaithersburg

VIII. PUBLIC APPEARANCES
(public is invited to speak on any subject that is not a public hearing topic on tonight’s agenda – each speaker three minutes)

IX. FROM THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL/ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Board/Commission/Committee Vacancy Update
• Upcoming City Events

X. FROM THE CITY MANAGER

1. Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) visit to Gaithersburg April 14 to April 18, 2007
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Meeting with Secretary of Transportation Porcari
   
   Background Material (pdf format)

3. Proposed Memorial in Honor of Those Who Lost Their Lives During Our Nations Wars/Conflicts
   
   Background Material (pdf format)

XI. PUBLIC HEARING

Ordinance to Amend Chapter 6C of the City Code Entitled “Elections” Article III Entitled “Absentee Voting” Section 6C-14 Thereof Entitled “Who May Vote” so as to “Permit Qualified Voters to Choose to Vote by Absentee Ballot Without the Requirement That the Voter be Absent From the City on the Day of the Election

Background Material (pdf format)

XII. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, AND REGULATIONS
(ordinances, resolutions, and regulations to be introduced or adopted following appropriate procedures required by the City Code, or resolutions that may require discussion by the Mayor and Council prior to approval)

1. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Contract for a Street Reconstruction Project ($762,000)
   Background Material (pdf format)

2. Resolution of the Mayor and City Council Awarding a Matching Grant to Kentlands Condominiums II ($758)
   Background Material (pdf format)

XIII. FROM THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS, CITY ATTORNEY AND OTHER STAFF

XIV. ADJOURNMENT

---

THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
WILL BE HELD MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2007, 7:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 31 SOUTH SUMMIT AVENUE

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UPCOMING COUNCIL MEETING AND WORK SESSION ITEMS
This list is not all-inclusive, and does not reflect priorities or scheduling

But is intended to provide a glance at future items to come before the City Council.

April 16 Meeting:
Presentations 
- 3rd Qtr. Employee/Team Recognition Awards
- Proclamation “Arab American Heritage Month”
- Proclamation “National Crime Victim’s Rights Week”

Public Hearing 

- JOINT - Historic Preservation Element

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WORK SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT
Notice to the general public is hereby given that the
Mayor and City Council of the City of Gaithersburg will conduct the

following consecutive work sessions on:

Monday, April 23, 2007 to discuss:
Mayor and Council Travel Policy
Update on the Proposed East Diamond Avenue Redevelopment Project (Archstone)

Monday, April 30, 2007 to discuss:
The Gaithersburg Aquatic/Recreation Center Concept Plan

From the City’s Website:

City of Gaithersburg
WORK SESSION
Mayor and City Council

Monday, March 12, 2007
7:30 P.M.

• Receive an update from the Board of Supervisors of Elections in preparation for the upcoming City Election to include voting equipment and discuss the report from the Ad Hoc Election Participation Advisory Committee
  Background Material (pdf format)

• Receive Briefing on City Snow Operations with Special Regard to Pedestrian Safety
  
  Background Material (pdf format)

According to an article (on the second page) in today’s Washington Post, Bob Dorsey is questioning the results of last Tuesday’s primary against Phil Andrews:

Dorsey Questions Results

Rockville City Council member Bob Dorsey said Monday that his loss in the County Council primary to incumbent Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) was “suspicious” and he believes there may have been election tampering.

“I just don’t see any other explanation,” Dorsey said of the lopsided outcome in which Andrews won with 76 percent of the vote. Those votes don’t include provisional ballots.

Having seen a widely publicized simulation of a tampered election, in which Benedict Arnold defeats George Washington after electronic voting, Dorsey said his race seemed similar.

“Benedict Arnold’s margin of victory was surprisingly like my margin of loss,” Dorsey said. “There was too much in my case parallel with the contrived results.”

He added that people closest to him said that he had been “robbed.”

Dorsey brought up his suspicions after Mayor Larry Giammo announced during Monday’s City Council meeting that he no longer would support the electronic voting system for use in Rockville.

Andrews said he was a little surprised.

“If Mr. Dorsey had bothered to look at the absentee ballot results, which are cast on paper ballots, he would have found that the margin among the absentee ballots was the same as on the machines. That would strongly suggest to anyone looking at it that there was an accurate tabulation of the votes.”

Andrews defeated in Dorsey in 2002 as well.

In the same article, it also discusses Stephen Abrams’ flirting with the County Republican Party for a position on the November Council at-large ballot.

(revised)

According to The Sentinel,

State board of election officials say they are “looking into” recent reports that developer Aris Mardirossian may have run afoul of campaign contribution laws by giving more than $10,000 over the state limit during the current election cycle - but stopped short of calling it an investigation.

I’ve looked for campaign finance data for Gaithersburg City elections, but haven’t found a direct source. I did find a Gazette story that indicates that Mardirossian gave $500 to Henry Marraffa’s City Council bid in 2005, which I believe may have been the maximum for that campaign. Marraffa is a reliable supporter of development in the City, who is now running for County Council as a Republican in District 3, most likely against the man who may be his polar opposite, developer-phobic Phil Andrews. Personally I don’t think this is much of a choice; I have real concerns about both of them. It isn’t clear that Andrews pays much attention at all to Gaithersburg (Andrews was completely absent when Mike Knapp was trying to get a day labor center placed in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, conveniently outside his upcounty district) and may be too much of an outsider to be effective, while I expect that Marraffa would be happy if every last square inch of the county was developed. Well, perhaps that’s overstating it but from what I’ve seen on the City Council, Marraffa isn’t much into burdening developers. However, I do think that he does care deeply about Gaithersburg, and in that regard he’s probably a better choice. He’s also likely to provide some conservative balance to a County Council that is heavily skewed to to the left. In the end I’ll probably vote for him, as the anti-Andrews if nothing else.

Anyway, if anyone knows a good source for finance data for Gaithersburg City races, please let me know in the comments, or drop me an email.

It’s almost time for the annual Labor Day Parade. Given that it is a major election year for County, State and US offices — pretty much everything but President — with many of the races wide open, it should be a long parade. If you’ve never come for the parade before, expect it to be pretty lively, especially near the intersection of Diamond and Summit Avenues, where they set up the reviewing stand and you can expect all the bands and dancers to perform. If you want to keep track of your kids, or just want a quieter experience, come reasonably early and sit somewhere along Russell Avenue, preferably somewhere near Asbury Methodist Village; there’s lots of open grass where you can spread out blankets and lawn chairs, although the bands do start to get kind of tired by that point and it’s hit or miss as to whether they’re going to play in front of you. If you want to be down near Diamond & Summit, park in the city parking garage off Summit & Olde Towne Aves. If you’re headed for Russell, park in the neighborhoods along there (Brookes, Walker, Maryland, Montgomery) or at the Mall.

Update: Here’s an article in the Gazette about the parade.