Politics & Government

Candidate Forum: The Big Issues

Budget issues and the Takoma Langley Sector Plan topped the list for many candidates.

Last night's Takoma Voice sponsored was full of opinions, but many of the candidates agreed on the big issues facing the city. We decided to focus on the answers of candidates in the contested wards. Here's what each candidate Wards 2, 3 and 6 had to say about what's going to be the most important issue for the upcoming council.

Mike Graul (Ward 3): Delivery of services and traffic. Focusing on smaller, fixable problems is a priority, according to Graul. "Things are not happening," he said. "Let’s look at the things we can solve."

Jeffrey Noel-Nosbaum (Ward 3): Traffic issues at Takoma Junction. The Takoma Park City Council needs to get more involved, Nosbaum said. They need to figure out the proper way to implement traffic calming measures, he said.

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Kay Daniels-Cohen (Ward 3): Delivery of services and communication. Through her travels around Ward 3, Daniels-Cohen heard that residents are dissapointed with city services, she said. The Ward 3 candidated said that's because there isn't enough enough communication between residents and city.

Lorig Charkoudian (Ward 2): Not one single issue. Charkoudian listed myriad issues facing the city including the environment, traffic, sidewalks, business development, the urban forest, public safety and tax duplicaton. But each issue had a common thread: how to deal with a shrinking budget. The process needs to be more data driven, Charkoudian, who has a Ph.D. in economics, said. The process needs to involve multi-year planning, she said.

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Tim Male (Ward 2): Tax duplication and the Takoma Langley Sector Plan. Takoma Park has to show that the services the city provides are better or different than ones provided by county, Male said. He cited recycling and trash collection, which costs the city $800,000 a year as not being as good as the county service. The city also needs to work with the county planning board to make sure the redevelopment of the Takoma Langley Crossroads fits the needs of the city, Male said. The county wants it to look like downtown Silver Spring, he said.

Fred Schultz (Ward 6 Incumbent): Takoma Langley Sector Plan and tax duplication. The redevelopment of the Takoma Langley Crossroads is going to impact the city for the next 50 to 70 years, Schultz said. "It's not just a Ward 6 issue," he said. Schultz even went as far as to say the redevlopment is as important as Takoma Park's historic fight in 1964 when the council and residents stopped the construction of a highway that would have bisected the city.

Barrie Howard (Ward 6): Takoma Langley Sector Plan. Howard has been outspoken about his opposition to changing the suburban makeup of the Takoma Langley Crossroads. For Howard, the new Commercial Residential Zoning that could affect the Crossroads would urbanize a suburban neighborhood. The Ward 6 candidate also wants to make sure residents in Takoma Park don't forget Ward 6 since it's racial and economic makeup is drastically different than the downtown area of Takoma Park.

Wards 1, 4, 5 and the mayoral race are all uncontested.


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