Candidates not listed below either declined to participate, or did not submit responses. We encourage you to ask the candidates in your ward any unanswered questions.
Questions 3-10 on the questionnaire were Yes/No questions (with the option of skipping any of those questions). Because very few candidates participated, we opted not to include the Yes/No section. The full questionnaire can be found here.
1. Please List Your Name, Ward, and the Position For Which You are Running. (Campaign websites linked to names).
Jessica Landman, Ward 1 City Council
Roger Schlegel, Ward 3 City Council
Tony Kyere, Ward 4 City Council
Ambroise Agosse, Ward 6 City Council
2. Please provide the names of any City of Takoma Park committees, commissions, or task forces on which you have served, including City Council. Also list any neighborhood, community, or tenant associations for which you have held office.
Jesssica Landman, Ward 1:
Takoma Park Complete Safe Streets Committee; Montgomery County Vision Zero Equity Task Force; Takoma Junction Vision Study Stakeholder Advisory Group; Takoma Central District Citizens Working Group (Takoma Park MD representative)
Roger Schlegel, Ward 3:
Pinecrest Community Association, President; Executive Committee Member. Takoma Junction Task Force. City Manager Search Committee. Parking Management Task Force.
Tony Kyere, Ward 4:
President of Park View Towers Tenants Association.
Ambroise Agosse, Ward 6:
I am the current vice president and the traffic committee member of the New Hampshire Garden Citizens Association, Board member of the Takoma/Langley crossroads Development Authority, Member of the Climate Action Coffee group
11. What are your ideas for making real progress toward racial equity in our City?
Jessica Landman, Ward 1: Implement policies to prevent displacement, using City’s (limited) planning/zoning powers; use data on tree cover & sidewalks/traffic calming plus demographic info to prioritize pedestrian and other infrastructure improvements, using an equity lens; explore how to retain library services at current temporary location once the library re-opens by budget priority-setting; keep NH Av Rec Center in prime working order while advancing its upgrading/replacement, as a City priority.
Roger Schlegel, Ward 3: Seek 95%+ voter participation by all ages 16 and older. Remove barriers to access of residents of color to information, meetings, assistance, and legal recourse. Schedule meetings at venues and times, with advertisement and translation, that don’t reproduce inequitable participation patterns. Use existing social networks to proactively grow BIPOC residents’ influence. Build the institutional muscle to recalibrate white residents’ claims of urgency so as to allocate time and resources equitably.
Tony Kyere, Ward 4: Protect our rent stabilization law. Require 50% of new units on Hospital Hill to be affordable housing.
Ambroise Agosse, Ward 6: This requires an approach that includes advocacy and community engagement. Support local and minority-owned businesses, school programs that aim to help people of color succeed. Participate in community events focused on racial equity topics. Partner with or volunteer for local organizations working on racial justice issues like CVT and provide them with financial support. Encourage diverse representation on city boards for leadership positions like I am doing by running for Ward 6 city council.
12. What additional steps should the City Council take to address the climate emergency?
Landman, Ward 1: Coordinate stormwater management on watershed basis, across (public/private/ jurisdictional basis) holistically, coordinating with other jurisdictions affecting TkPk; clearly define native trees using best eco-practical definitions; plant/approve planting of suitable food trees (nuts/fruits) and support food forests; ramp up program to encourage mulching & not raking leaves where practicable (also lowering city DPW costs); explore solar roof @ Junction lot via outside funding; maintain City EV chargers and fix the broken ones ASAP.
Schlegel, Ward 3: Use media and convene groups to help residents shift to new appliances, HVAC, vehicles, or landscaping, go solar, use alternative transport, garden, tend to trees, rainscape, or grow food forests. Partner with MC, UMD for green careers and businesses. Reward mature trees with a stormwater fee credit. Develop a twelve-year plan for alternative transportation dominant locally. Support new, green infill development with housing for all income levels to reduce regional trips. Set and track targets.
Kyere, Ward 4: Get outside experts to review if Maple Ave and all areas draining into Brashears Run could withstand 24” inches of rain in 18 hours. Develop a real climate impact strategy based on the results of that study.
Agosse, Ward 6: The city can take several additional steps on top of the current one to address the climate emergency and maintain its leadership. Update the Climate Action Plan to set more ambitious targets to incorporate new goals for carbon sequestration, energy resilience, biodiversity protection, comprehensive infrastructures for best flood management. Assist businesses and residents, including those in multi-family housing, to access renewable energy, and to install solar panels.
13. As with other City projects, the cost of the library renovation has increased dramatically. If elected, how would you work to address City project cost overruns?
Landman, Ward 1: I would oppose launching any additional capital projects until the Library and Community Center/police station building project is fully completed; seek to address any additional space needs for City staff through rental of space rather than construction of additional buildings; consider creating a task force of local volunteers who are experts to brainstorm innovative ways to obtain an updated/improved recreation center that would not involve the City directly in providing construction oversight and is budgetarily neutral.
Schlegel, Ward 3: Project proposals and components should emerge from and align with long-term strategic objectives identified by the City. Fiscal and environmental sustainability and equity commitments should constrain and shape designs. Prioritize functionality over ornamentation. Factor in operating and staffing costs. Understand and respect site and situational constraints (e.g. groundwater, access) at the start of the design process. Do not backtrack once committed so as to limit delay-induced cost overruns.
Kyere, Ward 4: First, balance the budget and require city council to live within its means. Second, begin the budget review process earlier so residents can get involved earlier and demand accountability from council members.
Agosse, Ward 6: It sounds too late for me to take strong and serious action to address this matter. To serve as an example for the futures decision makers, we will take responsible those who approved the projects without appropriate and strong studies especially environmental study. However, I will do the projects re-evaluation for cost effectiveness, eliminate needless activities and support finding grants programs and other resources to cover the gap.
14. The City in recent years has had to use reserve funds to pay for expenses. At the same time, property taxes have risen to levels that make it difficult for some residents to stay in their homes. If elected, how would you address these challenges?
Landman, Ward 1: Work with the City Manager to mandate a ‘constant yield’ budget as annual starting point; support CM on management/task metrics to evaluate staffing needs, and efficiency options; re-assess vehicle buying by exploring leasing to reduce costs & expedite fleet electrification; explore equipment-sharing with other cities (like Rockville does) to save on costs of infrequently-used equipment; revisit street maintenance schedules for options to adjust re-paving schedules when road conditions warrant.
Schlegel, Ward 3: Integrate strategic planning with the budget cycle. Use performance metrics; seek greater efficiency, perhaps by merging functions. Explore whether any services once provided by a bi-county City can now, since unification, be County-provided without losing quality or compromising values. Calculate how growth may affect revenue and costs. To close an urgent gap, resurface only as needed; extend replacement schedules; postpone hiring consultants. Don’t compromise equity; compensate workers fairly.
Kyere, Ward 4: We have to cut back on expenditures already!!! Particularly on police cars. We can’t raise property taxes any more. Homeowners in Ward 4 can’t afford to pay taxes now!!!
Agosse, Ward 6: I think a strong action is needed to stop increasing the city property tax as we are way over all other incorporated cities in the State. If elected, I will work with the city to first review the city budget process by giving more time to the city councils for amendment. Second, we will work to reduce city expenditures whereas is needed. And finally, I will support identifying other sources of income than keep putting pressure on the city property tax.
15. What is your vision for the equitable and inclusive use of the public land at Takoma Junction, given what we have learned about the constraints of that space in terms of traffic, open space needs, safety, and support of existing and planned local businesses?
Landman, Ward 1: Day to day the Junction provides vital delivery and parking resources for all of the Junction businesses (including 2 restaurants, the pre-school, the bike shop, the barber shop, the bakery, the butchery, the music school, the dress shop, the business center, etc). The space should (once renovations at the Co-op are complete) receive a makeover. Then the City should affirmatively encourage regular use of the site for City events that benefit residents and businesses with a welcoming locale for e.g. Earth Day, Xmas Market, break dancing contest, etc.
Schlegel, Ward 3: The site now hosts forest, stormwater protection, and a packed parking lot serving local businesses. The parking supply, in relation to the district, seems comparable to that in Old Town. In the short term, a solar cover, tree plantings, and a removable stage/dance floor could be added. In the mid term, efforts to reduce car trips could open up space onsite for a circulator shuttle hub. Longer term, the airspace above the lot could accommodate affordable housing because the City owns the land.
Kyere, Ward 4: People who park in the Junction should pay for parking. A portion of the parking lot should be used for new small businesses, mainly local businesses.
Agosse, Ward 6: I think and believe we can come up with a very modern commercial property that benefits both the city and residents by working together with all parties to design a new project for that land. I mean an inclusive planning process is needed to properly address this matter.
16. What do you think the City should be doing to improve the safety of our communities?
Landman, Ward 1: For traffic, we should prioritize addressing the highest risk routes to schools using an equity lens. For crime prevention, we should continue to build police/business relationships (like with Walgreen’s) and prioritize enforcement of city ordinances at sites that are trash-strewn or vacant and unlit, thus attracting crime, and we should explore tax policies that discourage leaving lots or buildings vacant or in disrepair.
Schlegel, Ward 3: Incentivize more active neighborhood/tenant associations. Ease processes for block/ tenant parties and regularly scheduled play-street closures; build relationships to promote safety. Improve traffic safety with intersection tweaks, speed limit reductions and “5 MPH when people are present” zones. If needed to break patterns of persistent localized crime, position mobile surveillance cameras. Pursue safety objectives across jurisdictions through memoranda of understanding and celebratory events.
Kyere, Ward 4: Create a summer jobs program for teens, especially teens living along Maple Ave. Make police walk their beats and ride bikes instead of zooming around in their cruisers. Make police come to our Tenant Association meetings so they can see what our safety problems are.
Agosse, Ward 6: We should strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the community through regular assessment, meetings, joint community initiatives by running educational campaigns on topics like personal safety, reporting suspicious activity, crimes prevention tips and adapt strategies based on residents’ feedback. Install fixed and more mobile security cameras in strategic areas to deter crimes. Partner with community organizations to address specific safety concerns and leverage their expertise.
17. What do you think the City should be doing to prepare for the arrival of the Purple Line?
Landman, Ward 1: Code enforcement & tax incentives should target vacant/unmaintained sites to fix/rebuild them; work w/ Purple Line Coalition to address/minimize impacts, help neighborhoods & businesses; work w/ MoCo on innovative housing/development projects that protect our small businesses and create new housing/retail in appropriate spots, with ample community outreach; explore redevelopment of the McLaughlin School as, e.g., senior housing + daycare, creating local jobs & housing.
Schlegel, Ward 3: Engage residents, businesses, and property owners in visioning for New Hampshire Avenue, which will link Purple Line and Red Line via BRT. Plan to integrate new development with existing neighborhoods, respecting buffers and using Open Space funds to acquire connecting parks and paths. Pilot a public-private circulator shuttle to link key nodes and stations. Use benches, water fountains, shade tree planting, and optimized hill-climb routes to encourage walking and biking to/from the Purple Line.
Kyere, Ward 4: The city needs to better protect walkers and bikers all along the Purple Line. It is too dangerous even if you’re in a car. The city needs to have meetings to explain tenants rights to people who live there.
Agosse, Ward 6: To prepare, the city should consider a multi-faceted approach that addresses transit access, economic development, community needs, and environmental impacts. Assess and upgrade existing infrastructure such as roads and public facilities to handle increased usage. Develop strategies to manage increased traffic including potential parking zones. By addressing these areas proactively, we can leverage the benefits of the Purple Line while minimizing negative impacts on residents and businesses.