To the Editor:
After a two-year battle with the County Executive, the Brickyard school site is back in the hands of the Board of Education. Now the Board of Education and the county are considering using this site as a location for a new school bus depot that could house approximately 400 school buses which would jam our local roads — especially Falls, River and MacArthur Boulevard. This is a very bad idea as the location of a bus depot at the Brickyard site would cause traffic gridlock in our community.
The Brickyard Coalition, a community civic organization representing the interests of numerous community groups and over 2,000 citizens and voters in Montgomery County has selected candidates it is endorsing in the upcoming June 24 primary election. The “Brickyard Ballot” endorsements were made after extensive evaluation of the candidates and responses to questionnaires.
The Brickyard Ballot recommends the following candidates. A brief explanation as to why we are supporting the candidates is included but more information is available at our website www.brickyardcoaliton.org.
Governor Doug Gansler and Lt. Governor Jolene Ivey: Gansler lives in Montgomery County and knows and understands our issues. We believe he would be a real asset to our community as Governor.
Attorney General-Brian Frosh: Currently our state senator from District 16, Frosh has proven good judgment on matters affecting our community and our state. He has been our friend as a State Senator and he would be a great Attorney General.
District 15 State Senator: Brian J. Feldman and District 15 Delegates Kathleen Dumais, David Fraser-Hidalgo, and Aruna Miller. All members of the District 15 delegation have been extremely helpful to the Coalition and were leaders in securing the letters from legislators to the County Executive and Board of Education. Keeps this great team working for you.
District 16, Senator: Susan C. Lee and District 16 Delegates-Bill Frick, Arianna Kelly, and Marc Korman. The incumbents, Lee, Frick and Kelly have worked with the Coalition and all signed the legislative letter to the Board of Education. We agree with the Washington Post that Marc Korman would be a valuable addition to this legislative team.
County Executive-Doug Duncan. Doug Duncan has provided strong support for an education farm at the Brickyard site to be used by the children of our county. He has pledged to seek community input and we appreciate his support in the Ten Mile Creek fight to preserve our future drinking water.
County Council At-Large (votes for four): challenger Beth Daly and incumbents Marc Elrich and George Leventhal. All have committed to oppose the location of a bus depot at the Brickyard school site. Both Elrich and Leventhal were very helpful during the Brickyard fight. We also need a Councilmember from the upcounty with a fresh perspective and new ideas and we agree with the Gazette that Beth Daly would be a great addition to our County Council.
County Council District 1-Roger Berliner. Berliner also has committed to oppose the use of the Brickyard site for a bus depot and he is working with the Coalition to find the best future use for the Brickyard site. He also worked for and voted to preserve Ten Mile Creek and our future drinking water.
At-Large Board of Education- Jill Ortman-Fouse. Jill has been endorsed by both the Washington Post and the Gazette, and would be a strong independent voice on the Board of Education.
For more information or to print out a copy of the Brickyard Ballot, please go to our website www.brickyardcoaliton.org. The Coalition members realize how critically important voter turnout is in this election primary and encourage everyone to vote on June 24. The election will be decided by the primary in most cases. In the general election, we will select four members of the Board of Education.
Brickyard Coalition Inc.
Directors — Curt Uhre, Maria Fusco, Keith Williams, Ted Duncan, Susan Shallcross Rufkahr, Charles Doran and John Phillips