Keep Politics out of Rockville's Memorial Day Parade

The City of Rockville allows candidates that are running for City Council positions, and that are certified by May 15th in an election year, to march in the annual Memorial Day Parade. This is an election year, and there are already five announced and certified candidates running for councilmember and mayor positions. All five candidates are members of a slate and will campaign as a team, and includes Councilmembers Tom Moore and Mark Pierzchala.

In the past, candidates have been limited to having 10 supporters march in the parade, and have had reasonable restrictions on campaign signs and banners that can be displayed in the parade. In other words, the City has granted candidates the privilege to participate in a parade remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. In return, they have asked the candidates to follow minimal guidelines so as not to turn the parade into a political campaign event.

At last week’s Mayor and Council meeting, Councilmember Tom Moore suggested that placing such limits and restrictions on candidates is a violation of their first amendment rights, and ALL parade participants should function under the same guidelines. Candidates running for office should be treated no differently than marching bands, Scouts, dance troupes, VFW chapters, etc. He believes there should be no restrictions on how many people march with candidates, that large banners and signs are okay, and said if any campaign can assemble 30 people to march with him or her...dancers and clowns and large noise makers...that would be an impressive campaign, and tell the people something.

The point of raising the first amendment as a means to give carte blanche to how candidates participate in OUR parade was never an issue for Mr. Moore or his running mate, Mark Pierzchala, when they ran for office in the past. It raises a number of questions in my mind, and I hope yours. Why now? Why should sitting councilmembers, who already announced they are running for reelection, be allowed to make changes to guidelines that effect this year’s election? Why should they be allowed to recommend and approve changes that would benefit not only them, but their entire slate of candidates? Why hasn’t the City Attorney done due diligence and researched the issue? A quick Google search shows most Memorial Day Parade organizers want to keep politics and campaigning out of the event.

I think that the resolution being voted on tonight is wrong. The parade should not become a platform for political campaigning. If the untested argument of first amendment rights is enough to get the resolution approved, then at a minimum, don’t allow sitting officials running for reelection to make changes to guidelines that will go into effect this election year, and make sure there are caveats that would prevent future candidates from turning the parade into a circus.

You can see the agenda, options and resolution for tonight's council meeting on the Rockville City website.