Community Vision for Takoma (CVT) is endorsing longtime City Councilman Jarrett Smith to be the next Mayor of Takoma Park. The City election will be Tuesday, November 8th.
After considering the public records of all three candidates, including our observations over many years attending City Council meetings, and the responses on the CVT candidate questionnaires (see below), Jarrett Smith is our clear choice for Mayor.
If you wish to learn more about Jarrett, or support his candidacy, go to smithfortakomapark.com.
Jarrett has been the moral compass of the Council for the past ten years, often bravely voting in the minority to stand up for what’s right. Notably, he was one of only two Councilmembers, with Peter Kovar, to vote in 2018 against sending the unsafe and deeply-flawed Junction plan on to the County for approval. And he was the only Councilmember to join over 100 residents in a letter pointing out the racial equity implications of the proposed Junction plan.
Jarrett has pushed back against increasing taxes and the expanding budget, and against doubling the pandemic relief funds used to pay for library project cost overruns, and he has taken a righteous stance on many other issues. He has worked with quiet dignity for many years for the residents of his ward, while also engaging deeply with issues affecting all wards of the city. His many accomplishments include helping to found Lunch and Learn (a program supporting disadvantaged students with food and tutoring), and spearheading the successful Flower Avenue Green Street project. He also introduced the first City resolution on racial equity.
Jarrett has the most extensive leadership experience. He has served on the Council the longest (10 years) of any of the three candidates, having been elected for five consecutive terms by his constituents. He has also served as a leader in the county and state Municipal Leagues with elected officials from other cities. He is currently completing a Masters in Public Administration from UPenn.
Like half of all City residents, Jarrett Smith is a renter, and knows firsthand the challenges renters face. He served two terms as Chair of the Takoma Park Commission on Landlord Tenant Affairs (COLTA) before running for Council. He is a staunch advocate for protecting our rent-stabilized apartment stock, and for expanding affordable housing.
We encourage you to listen to all the speeches at the City’s Nominating Caucus last week. Residents stood up (starting at 1:45:00 on the video) to extol Jarrett Smith’s breadth and depth of knowledge, his nationwide network, his support for low-income residents and children and renters, his commitment to fiscal responsibility, his dedication to listening, and his many achievements.
We also encourage you to read the questionnaire responses below. Keep in mind that the two sitting Councilmembers are prohibited (we presume by the City Attorney) from saying anything about the on-going lease of our public land at Takoma Junction. It appears that Seth Grimes would keep the door open to a new plan from the same developer (NDC). And a reminder that even after the City Council voted unanimously to disapprove the Junction plan, Seth Grimes went to the Planning Board and urged them to approve it (at minute 2:31:30).
Jarrett Smith, Questionnaire Responses
Q1 What is your position on how the City should proceed to the the impasse at Takoma Junction? Do you agree that the City must promptly end the current agreement to let NDC rent the lot? Why or why not?
As a sitting councilmember, I am limited in what I can say about NDC due to legal concerns. I can say that the Council is evaluating all of its options.
Q2 What is your vision for the equitable and inclusive use of the public land at Takoma Junction now, 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?
We have learned that use of this space must be a consensus. We need to host gatherings open to the entire community, and lead discussions to explore the endless possibilities at Takoma Junction, a prime location with so much potential. Together, I believe we could plan a destination for residents from all over our county, DC, and Prince Georges County. With a talented reputable nonprofit developer and a forward-thinking city like ours, we could build something unique. The process Public Works used for consensus on the Flower Avenue Green Street project should be used at Takoma Junction.
Q3 Do you agree that the City should survey residents to determine our needs for government services, and which services should be provided by the City, versus which services could be provided by the County? Why or why not?
Yes, I think residents should be surveyed on all the services that the city of Takoma Park currently provides. This will give everyone an opportunity to be heard. This type of survey would serve to document what our residents want and allow us to measure every offering from a financial perspective. On my watch, Takoma Park will operate in a fiscally responsible manner while delivering the services that have been prioritized by our very own city’s residents.
Q4 Do you think that the City has responded adequately to the climate emergency, or do you think we should take stronger action on issues including stormwater, city vehicles, preservation and expansion of the tree canopy and green space, and green construction of city buildings? What changes would you propose and what targets would you set?
The climate crisis is facing the entire globe. But we are a resilient city and forward-thinking when faced with challenges, and we must continue to lead and innovate in addressing climate change. We must continue our weatherize program and seek additional federal tax credits and grant programs for home energy efficiency. At every opportunity, the city must communicate ways to employ energy-efficient appliances, fuel-efficient or electric cars, solar panels, reduce wastewater, compost, recycle. And I have supported solutions to the stormwater threat, a byproduct of climate change, for years.
Q5 What is your view of the current budget process? Do you agree that the budget process needs to become more transparent? Do you feel the City Council should do more to curb the continuous growth of staff and spending, given that the City population is not growing. Why or why not?
Our new City Manager has made the budget process more transparent, and the budgeting process much more rigorous, to allow for more scrutiny for each budget line item. As Mayor, during our budget planning cycle I will convene a budget committee with representation from residents, councilmembers, and representatives of our unions to ensure there is adequate participation. This committee will be responsible for a cost-benefit analysis to justify every city expenditure. We will budget as necessary to continue to ensure the services provided are based on city priorities it can afford.
Q6 Do you agree that the current “racial equity considerations” process on Council agenda items is ineffectual? What would you propose to create a more participatory and inclusive process to involve residents in City governance. What new steps should the City take to address structural racism?
Racial equity is one of the most important policy issues for Takoma Park, as and for the rest of the world. I would like to see our council and residents start at the beginning in preparing a strategy towards racial equity. This strategy would incorporate nationwide data to ensure we are taking a bottom-up approach and using the most comprehensive data to make decisions. As Mayor, any steps we take together to address racial equity as a city will be based on real and true information. These steps will be transparent, and they will be measured, so that we can truly begin dismantling structural racism.
Q7 Takoma Park has the greatest density of truly affordable housing in the county and is the only rent stabilization program. Would you work to do everything you can to protect this rent stabilization, prevent the displacement of low-income communities, and ensure that housing for home renters is safe and up to code? Would you advocate for creating more truly affordable housing at the Washington Adventist Hospital site, and the Washington-McLaughlin School site? Why or why not?
Rent stabilization is part of our city’s character; we have maintained this city amenity for many years. But affordable housing is a Nationwide issue. I am committed to ensuring that this is a smart growth city, and will pursue additional senior and affordable multifamily housing. The former hospital and school properties are great locations to begin planning town homes, apartment buildings, electric car charging stations, restaurants, and shopping, green streets, etc. I would immediately put two site exploratory committees in place to begin a process for these opportunities.
Talisha Searcy, Questionnaire Responses
Q1 What is your position on how the City should proceed to end the impasse at Takoma Junction? Do you agree that the City must promptly end the current agreement to let NDC rent the lot? Why or why not?
Given that I am currently on Council, I am limited in what I can say regarding NDC due to legal concerns. However, I can say that we are reviewing all options.
Q2 What is your vision for the equitable and inclusive use of the public land at Takoma Junction now, 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?
Again, given that I am currently on Council, I am limited in what I can say due to legal concerns.
Q3 Do you agree that the City should survey residents to determine our needs for government services, and which services should be provided by the City, versus which services could be best provided by the County? Why or why not?
We’ve learned from a number of community engagement activities in the City that a survey is not the best approach to solicit feedback from our diverse resident population. The City could conduct surveys, focus groups, and canvas multi-family building to understand what residents’ needs are. Special attention should be given to engaging residents in our multi-family buildings and immigrant populations. This information can be used to determine who should provide the service.
Q4 Do you think that the City has responded adequately to the climate emergency, or do you think we should take stronger action on issues including stormwater, city vehicles, preservation and expansion of the tree canopy and green space, and green construction of city buildings? What changes would you propose and what targets would you set?
I think the City is addressing the climate emergency. The City has projects that address the 2020 Climate Emergency Response Framework Resolution. The City used ARPA funds to make building upgrades. ARPA funds supported an apartment complex renovation to meet Green Enterprise Community standards. The City’s Library renovation will be LEED Gold. More work is needed on transportation. The City should maintain its targets/goals but we need to implement approaches.
Q5 What is your view of the current budget process? Do you agree that the budget process needs to become more transparent? Do you feel that the City Council should do more to curb the continuous growth of staff and spending, given that the City population is not growing? Why or why not?
I think that the budget process can be more transparent. I am in favor of having a resident committee to provide feedback on budgeting process and ways to increase clarity in how the budget is presented and identify ways to increase resident engagement on the budget.
Q6 Do you agree that the current “racial equity considerations” process on Council agenda items is ineffectual? What would you propose to create a more participatory and inclusive process to involve residents in City governance? What new steps should the City take to address structural racism?
I don’t think our “racial equity considerations” statements are sufficient. We have to consider equity first and not an afterthought. That means continuing to modify our community engagement approach. While on Council, I worked to transform our committee process and offer incentives to participation. Regarding structural racism, I think the City must continue to address recommendations from its public safety task force.
Q7 Takoma Park has the greatest density of truly affordable housing in the county, and the only rent stabilization program. Would you work to do everything you can to protect this rent stabilization, prevent the displacement of low-income communities, and ensure that housing for home renters is safe and up to code? Would you advocate for creating more truly affordable housing at the Washington Adventist Hospital site, and the Washington-McLaughlin School site? Why or why not?
I believe in rent stabilization as a vital tool to help maintain affordability in the City. However, it is important that the City also have funds available to support and advance the quality of housing in the City. The City has a housing shortage across the income spectrum. As we learned from the our recent briefing on the Takoma Park minor master plan, all types of housing is needed and I would support housing at the Washington Adventist Hospital and Washington-McLaughlin School sites.
Seth Grimes, Questionnaire
Q1 What is your position on how the City should proceed to end the impasse at Takoma Junction? Do you agree that the City must promptly end the current agreement to let NDC rent the lot? Why or why not?
Takoma Park should negotiate termination of NDC’s lease, absent a new development proposal acceptable to the city, the Planning Board, and other authorities. However neither NDC nor the city has lived up to contractual commitments. The city may be legally vulnerable and precipitous action to terminate NDC’s ground lease could be counterproductive. An NDC lawsuit would be expensive for the city and could prompt NDC action that would harm the TPSS Co-op. Let’s proceed carefully.
Q2 What is your vision for the equitable and inclusive use of the public land at Takoma Junction now, 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?
My responsibility as mayor will be to marshall a process that reelicits the range of community views and visions and organizes and distills them into an action plan. It will also be to improve larger junction conditions — to boost pedestrian, bicyclist, and road safety; to see to health of junction businesses, to make the junction an attractive destination — regardless what happens on the city-owned lot, and to promote business district vitality.
Q3 Do you agree that the City should survey residents to determine our needs for government services, and which services should be provided by the City, versus which services could be best provided by the County? Why or why not?
My work on the Takoma Park-Montgomery County service-duplication issue dates back almost 20 years! I served on the leadership team of the city Tax and Services Duplication Issues (TASDI) Committee, which solicited residents’ views on services that the city could turn over to the county and evaluated options. It’s a complicated matter involving many trade-offs. I’m open to being convinced that a service-duplication survey should be a priority now.
Q4 Do you think that the City has responded adequately to the climate emergency, or do you think we should take stronger action on issues including stormwater, city vehicles, preservation and expansion of the tree canopy and green space, and green construction of city buildings? What changes would you propose and what targets would you set?
The city would — shockingly — rely on offsets, “which at current GHG emissions levels would cost at minimum about $757,000 per year,” to reach net zero by 2035. This is a total cop-out. We must do better and take strong action on stormwater, fleet conversion, tree-canopy expansion, and construction. Public space planning is work in progress. Community involvement is key, with strong equity, representation, and inclusion criteria and changes and targets based on community and expert input.
Q5 What is your view of the current budget process? Do you agree that the budget process needs to become more transparent? Do you feel that the City Council should do more to curb the continuous growth of staff and spending, given that the City population is not growing? Why or why not?
Takoma Park’s budget process is backward. As mayor, I will turn it around with extensive up-front public-council-staff discussion of programs and services that will guide the city manager’s budget drafting. We should curb staff and spending growth and seek cuts based on a data-informed strategy. See, for instance, my 2020 article that notes crime trends down over 10 years, from 739 crimes in 2008 to 483 in 2019, unaffected by police understaffing. Cuts should possible.
Q6 Do you agree that the current “racial equity considerations” process on Council agenda items is ineffectual? What would you propose to create a more participatory and inclusive process to involve residents in City governance? What new steps should the City take to address structural racism?
My impression is that the city’s racial-equity evaluations are pro-forma, shallow, and often incomplete. Certainly they require more effort and then serious consideration of their determinations. I worked on inclusive processes during my council services. For an analysis, with points that still ring true, see my 2012 Race and Representation in Takoma Park, https://bit.ly/3eLdCPF. Regarding structural racism: I will advance discussion of various forms of reparations.
Q7 Takoma Park has the greatest density of truly affordable housing in the county, and the only rent stabilization program. Would you work to do everything you can to protect this rent stabilization, prevent the displacement of low-income communities, and ensure that housing for home renters is safe and up to code? Would you advocate for creating more truly affordable housing at the Washington Adventist Hospital site, and the Washington-McLaughlin School site? Why or why not?
I value and support and will defend Takoma Park’s rent stabilization while working to ensure that our city’s rental housing is safe and up to code. We do risk displacement, nonetheless, in part because a broad housing shortfall most seriously affects lower-income individuals and families. I not only would — I HAVE advocated creation of housing including affordable housing at multiple city sites and invite readers to visit sethgrimes.org/devlinks.