GGWash endorses James Hedrick for Democratic seat on Montgomery County Planning Board

This month, the Montgomery County Council will appoint three people for the Planning Board, each of whom must be from a different political party. Here is our endorsement for the Democratic seat. You can also read our endorsements for the unaffiliated and Republican seats.

First, the questionnaires

Our endorsements are primarily based on the questionnaire that we send to applicants. Completing that questionnaire is a prerequisite in order to be considered for our endorsement.

We published all of the applicants’ questionnaire responses that we received (a blank version is visible here). It asks applicants 23 questions about housing, land use, transportation, and community input. Some of the questions are about issues in Montgomery County, like the newly passed Thrive 2050 plan and the widening of the Beltway and I-270. Others are more broad, designed to reveal how applicants think and how they would approach the many tradeoffs and wicked problems that arise in urban planning. We also asked applicants to respond to findings from this poll Data for Progress conducted last summer showing that most Montgomery County voters want to allow more types of homes in areas where you can only build a standalone house today.

For the Democratic seat, we endorse James Hedrick

GGWash endorses James Hedrick for the Democratic seat to finish the rest of former commissioner Carol Rubin’s term, ending in 2026. Of the five finalists, two did not complete questionnaires and thus were not eligible for an endorsement: Alex Ratner, who works for a energy efficiency nonprofit and current temporary board member Cherri Branson. We would have welcomed the opportunity to learn more about Branson’s views, as she has a long career in county government as a former councilmember and director of the Office of Procurement, and has generally been supportive of more housing and transit.

In addition to Hedrick, two other finalists responded, architects Raj Barr-Kumar and Brian O’Looney. Both are impressive leaders who share many of GGWash’s values. The first person of color to serve as president of the American Institute of Architects, Dr. Barr-Kumar has been a Planning Board finalist in the past. We were concerned by his lack of support for expanding the Parks Department’s Open Parkways program, which makes roads in county parks car-free; the program has gotten some pushback from residents, and new Planning Board members will decide what happens to it. O’Looney is a principal at Torti Gallas and Partners, a firm that specializes in designing walkable, urban neighborhoods. We liked O’Looney’s enthusiasm for missing middle housing, but disagreed with his prioritization of comments from civic associations and immediate neighbors over broader, more inclusive forms of public engagement like canvassing.

Hedrick brings the energy, vision, and ideas GGWash wants to see more of on the Planning Board, and in Montgomery County as a whole. A financial analyst who lives in Rockville, Hedrick has thrown himself into Montgomery County community life. He’s the vice president of the Twinbrook Community Association and a vice president of the Action Committee for Transit, sits on the steering committee for Montgomery for All, and ran for Rockville City Council in 2019. As chair of Rockville Housing Enterprises, the city’s public housing authority, Hedrick understands the challenges of building and managing affordable housing, noting in his questionnaire that RHE recently received 1,200 applications for four open units.

During the council’s finalist interviews, Hedrick displayed a deep understanding of the board’s current work. His questionnaire responses were the most thorough and thoughtful of the 12 we received for Planning Board seats, describing an “everything and the kitchen sink” approach to provide homes for people at all income levels. He supports a housing production goal of over 100,000 homes in the next 20 years, correctly understanding that we need to build more than the county’s target of 60,000 homes in order to reduce housing costs. To do that, he’s embraced a variety of solutions, such as legalizing duplexes and fourplexes, zoning for more homes near transit, and using county-owned land to provide affordable housing. He also acknowledges the need for programs that help people buy homes when prices are still out of reach, like down payment and closing cost assistance.

As a young father of three who regularly bikes and uses transit, Hedrick knows the challenges facing many Montgomery County residents now, from unsafe streets to slow buses and high housing costs. In response to the Data for Progress poll, he noted that poll data show “people policymakers often hear from the least – renters, younger folks, etc – are strongly supportive of having more housing options in Montgomery County,” and added that he wonders if his kids will be able to afford to live here as adults.

We also liked

There are two Democratic applicants who were not named finalists but we would have liked to consider. We first encountered Jacob Barker when he completed a transit diary for us describing his hour-plus commute on bus and foot to his job as an elementary school music teacher. And voters may remember bartender John Zittrauer from his council run last year, who as a renter has personally experienced how the county’s housing policies work – or don’t work. “Most of the county understands the need for more housing, especially those who will hopefully be living here longer and those who have had to look for an apartment,” he wrote. We hope they’ll continue to stay active in the county and apply for the board again.

Firsthand experience is important. We talk a lot here about the urgency of the problems different people face: people are looking for an affordable home or a more reliable trip to work right now. It’s disproportionately younger, browner, less affluent, or queer people who directly experience those struggles to build a life here. Meanwhile, Planning Board appointments tend to attract older, wealthier, more established people who may state a preference for walkable neighborhoods or denser housing but may be a little more insulated from actual policy outcomes.

What we are asking you to do

These are semi-endorsements: the Council appoints — voters don’t elect — Planning Board commissioners. But voters do put councilmembers in their seats, and constituents can and should tell them who they feel is the best applicant to serve on the Planning Board.

If you are a Montgomery County resident, we strongly urge you to tell the county council to appoint James Hedrick for the Democratic seat and Mitra Pedoeem for the unaffiliated seat. For the Republican seat, you should tell the council to select someone who they feel comfortable working with and having represent this county, and who will treat residents with the respect they deserve.

You can click this link to pre-fill all eleven councilmembers’ addresses; from there, please write a personalized message, and if that doesn’t work, use this link from the Council website. It can be quick! If you don’t mind, cc Dan Reed at dreed[at]ggwash.org so we can track how many of you contact your representatives.