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We recognize it may be difficult to attend a town hall event due to work or family obligations. To make it easier to connect, we will now be hosting some new events that hopefully are more convenient for you.
First, our “Friedson Live” online chats on Facebook will ensure that you can join us from the comfort of your home, office, or wherever you have internet access. Join us next Wednesday at noon and simply tune in to ask your questions and make comments. To access our live video, log on to Facebook, search for the official Councilmember Andrew Friedson Page (@CouncilmemberAndrewFriedson), and access the Facebook Live video posted on the Page’s timeline.
Second, if mornings are more convenient, we'd love to see you at one of our "Fridays with Friedson." Grab a cup of coffee or tea and chat with us as we meet at various restaurants and cafes around District 1. Our first "Fridays with Friedson" will be on March 22nd at 8:00AM at Tally Ho restaurant.
We look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events or at one of the many other opportunities to come.
On February 5, our first piece of legislation, Bill 40-18, passed with unanimous support of the Council. This bill was a sensible fix to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy for businesses that provide downsizing and estate sale services to our residents.
Shortly before taking office, local small businesses brought to our attention the hurdles they were facing with the County's reporting requirements. These requirements were meant to apply primarily to pawn shops, not downsizing companies helping to sell their clients' items on site. Working with our Police and the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection, we were able to find a win-win solution, helping businesses while maintaining protections for the public. Thanks to Councilmember Sidney Katz, co-lead sponsor, and the entire County Council for their support to get this over the finish line.
We will continue to search for commonsense ways to improve the County's business environment, especially for the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our local economy.
I spent Valentine’s Day morning with the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy & Environment Committee successfully fighting proposed cuts and delays to key District 1 transportation projects.
Thank you to the Friends of White Flint and The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce for testifying in support of maintaining funding for the new White Flint Metro entrance, which will help us fulfill the vision of a more walkable, transit-accessible, and vibrant Pike District that can and should be a catalyst for the County's economy.
Special appreciation to the South Bradley Hills Neighborhood Association for its testimony, petition drive, and continued advocacy to move forward with the Bradley Boulevard project. In addition to providing safe pedestrian and bike connections to downtown Bethesda and the Capital Crescent Trail, this project will tackle the significant drainage issues residents have been facing.
Thank you, as well, to all who have advocated for improvements to Seven Locks Road, where sidewalks and safe crossings are needed on both sides of the road around a number of religious institutions and recent redevelopment at nearby Cabin John Village.
Earlier this month, we held our first Municipal Leaders Breakfast with mayors, commissioners, councilmembers, and managers from all around our district. District 1 is home to 12 municipalities, so it is imperative that we build partnerships with towns and villages to best serve all of our constituents.
This will be an ongoing conversation that we look forward to continuing in order to achieve our common objectives for our shared District 1 community.
It is often the case that the most uncomfortable conversations are the most critical. In order to successfully and inclusively move forward as a community, we have to honestly reconcile our past.
We can never overlook Montgomery County's own troubled history of violence and discrimination against African Americans -- including George Peck, who in January 1880 was arrested, abducted, and murdered by lynching at the hands of a mob in Poolesville. Local historian Tony Cohen and the Historic Medley District provided a walking tour earlier this month of the places where Peck’s lynching happened and gave a detailed account of this moment, one of the saddest and worst in our County's history.
In January, I joined all of my Montgomery County Council colleagues to support a resolution creating a Remembrance and Reconciliation Commission. This Commission will work to create monuments with the help of the Equal Justice Initiative at the sites of Gregory Peck's lynching and the lynchings of John Diggs and Sidney Randolph, who were abducted from the Montgomery County Jail in Rockville at the site of what is now the Council Office Building. We must always acknowledge these acts of racial terror and mob violence.
Proclamation honoring the Montgomery County Chamber on its 60th Anniversary
Montgomery County’s success depends on the success of the businesses that call it home. We must grow a private-sector economy that allows us to maintain our high quality of life and government services while providing career opportunities so families can to afford to live here. The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce supports County businesses every day and we were happy to honor them with a proclamation on their 60th anniversary.
More than 96 percent of businesses in the County have 50 or fewer employees, making small business big business in Montgomery County. On February 7, we were honored to join the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the ribbon cutting for IGNITE Good Health, an expanding woman-owned health and fitness business in Bethesda. Just last week, we spoke at a meeting of the Montgomery County Small Business Association about the Council’s role in enabling their businesses to thrive and grow.
IGNITE Good Health Ribbon Cutting and Montgomery County Small Business Association Meeting
February 11 was my first meeting as a member of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). The focus was on MCEDC’s plan for national outreach, updates on business retention and recruitment efforts, and assessing the market in the County for co-packing and co-manufacturing facilities.
We’ve been out and about, including a first-of-its-kind full Council public hearing on the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan. We are grateful to Council President Nancy Navarro for moving the public hearing to a senior center along the Veirs Mill Corridor, in the community it will impact, instead of the typical setting at the Council Office Building in Rockville. It’s another example of how we’re truly bringing the Council to the Community and it was clear the location helped engage residents who may have never considered testifying in Rockville to come and share their views.
Bus Tour of the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan and Public Hearing at the Holiday Park Senior Center
Healthcare Discussion at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church and Meeting with Leaders of the local Village Movement
Lunch with MDOT Secretary Rahn and SHA Administrator Slater and Council Committee Meeting on Metro at Silver Spring Civic Center
CCACC Lunar New Year Celebration and Meeting of West Montgomery County Citizens Association
It is truly an honor and privilege to represent our extraordinary community on the County Council.
As always, we hope you will continue to keep in touch and reach out to us with any issues.
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