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The holiday season presents an opportunity to reflect, and to realize just how fortunate we are for all our blessings. As we take a step back from our daily grind and enjoy precious time sharing annual traditions with family and friends, it's a reminder of what truly matters in our lives, individually and as a community.
This has been quite a year for me personally, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the faith you've placed in me to serve on the Montgomery County Council, and the humbling opportunity to represent the only place I've ever called home. Over the past year, I've been reminded of the incredible talent and treasures we have in our community, and have never been more certain that our near-term problems pale in comparison to our long-term possibilities.
As we enter a new year and begin a new term on the County Council, I want to wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and a happy new year. Here's to family and friends, and to working together in 2019 to build an even brighter future.
Sincerely,
Last week was our second in office, and we continued to hit the ground running by introducing our first bill -- a sensible fix to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy for businesses that provide downsizing and estate sale services to our residents.
This is an opportunity to be responsive to our small businesses that are the lifeblood of our local economy by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy. It’s about limiting the scope of well-intended legislation, so it adequately protects the public, but does not inadvertently hinder our businesses from growing our private sector economy.
I was proud to work on this legislation with Council Vice President Sidney Katz and thank Council President Nancy Navarro, and Councilmembers Hans Riemer and Gabe Albornoz for their co-sponsorship. The full Council public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on January 15th.
Left: Repaired sidewalk Right: Reopened section of Woodmont Avenue
In order for residents to trust government to get big things done, we have to prove we can get the small things right. We are already seeing results from our December 5th walking tour of downtown Bethesda. The awesome team at the Bethesda Urban Partnership repaired a brick sidewalk we identified during the walk within 24 hours.
A few days later, a long-closed section of Woodmont Avenue next to a construction site was re-opened to pedestrians thanks to the work of top officials from County agencies who joined us on the tour. We also worked to get a sidewalk cleared on Old Georgetown Road that was restricting access to pedestrians and those with strollers or in wheelchairs. We will be steadily working through the rest of the issues on our “punch list” and have received a number of excellent additional suggestions since the tour.
Please reach out to us if you have safety or quality of life issues that we could help solve in your neighborhood. Our focus will continue to be on providing District 1 residents with the world-class constituent service you expect and rightfully deserve.
Council President Nancy Navarro last week announced that I will be the Council Lead for Parks, supplementing my role on the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee. I’m thrilled with this opportunity to safeguard and improve upon our 37,000 acres of parkland.
Capital Crescent Trail
I know we can continue our progress by promoting more urban, green, and open civic spaces, dog parks, and other types of amenities that will make our community an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Please join us at our first community conversation to kick off the year. Democracy is a dialogue, and as we develop an agenda for our first year on the County Council as well as prepare to make budget decisions, we’d like to hear directly from you. This is an opportunity for you to share your concerns and for us to discuss important local issues specific to your neighborhood. We look forward to listening to you and learning from you. Hope to see you at 6:30PM on Thursday January 24th in the All Purpose Room at Burning Tree Elementary School (7900 Beech Tree Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817).
If there are community events or meetings we should know about, please reach out to us. Additionally, we are updating our records of HOA, condo, and civic associations. If you have any current names or contact information you’d be willing to share with us, please send them to Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov or call our office at (240) 777-7828 so that we’ll be able to coordinate better with your community.
From left to right: Matt, Cindy, Andrew, Aaron, and Rose
Office of Councilmember Andrew Friedson
100 Maryland Avenue|Rockville, MD 20850
240-777-7828
Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/friedson/
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