Who's Leading Council Now?

So the leadership of our county council is changing hands.  I can't tell you if it matters or not.  Montgomery County Government is a mess -  the executive function is poorly organized, the budget priorities are misplaced, employee unions have too much influence and they are chasing away rich people and businesses faster than the ATF can sell guns to Mexican drug lords.  Higher taxes in the future are a certainty.  - so I'm not sure if the person sitting in the President's chair really makes a difference. 

But let's take a look at the change and see if we are heading in the right direction.

First, my own full disclosure: I'm bi-partisan.  I mistrust both parties, though I confess I trust Democrats less because they are the party of coalitions and will do anything to win but they do not care much for ideas that work for everyone.  Republicans tend to stick so closely to their ideas that they usually fail to achieve coalitions necessary to govern effectively.  At  least they're predictable.

Back to Montgomery County and our new Council President - Roger Berliner.

Based on my interactions with Mr. Berliner he is the consummate Democrat. (See perception above.)  Going further than purely coalition-building, Mr. Berliner strikes me as very representative of another Montgomery County stereotype - a wealthy liberal happy to spend money on liberal causes because it makes him feel good.  The only thing that makes him happier than spending money to assuage his own guilt is spending OPM (other people's money) to assuage his own guilt.

Though he's also a bit arrogant, that's the downside of his being the smartest person on the council.  In this, I see a positive.  If Mr. Berliner can avoid the smart-guy trap of thinking government can make things better for us and he knows how to do it best, the council may actually be in good hands.  He's well connected, a true believer in the Montgomery magic and an able leader.  We just have to pray he leads in the right direction. 

Stepping down is Valerie Ervin.  I confess to having not had much interaction with Ms. Ervin.  But here's what I learned from recent articles:

• She's drawn the ire of public employee unions by forcing budget compromises driven by - of all things - fiscal reality.
• She stood down the state by challenging the "maintenance of effort" requirement that mandates per-pupil spending by the schools.
• She led the council to consensus through challenging budget negotiations

She's practically a Republican!

Actually, in the cases above Ms. Ervin demonstrates a time-honored tradition of great public servants: she has sacrificed the partisan base that got her elected in order to do the right thing.  Some of the best Presidents you've never heard of did the same thing.  John Tyler, Chester Arthur and Benjamin Harrison all learned that there is no truth in the saying, "good governing is good politics."  They were all one term presidents.  Sadly, Ms. Ervin will go the same way.

So we're trading a tough, pragmatic deal maker for a bright but unrepentant big-government liberal.  What do you think?