African
American Democrats of Montgomery County (AACDMC) Questionnaire
Responses from Marc Elrich July 14, 2002
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Voting Rights and Representation
The following are AADCMC critical issues. Beneath each
question please briefly explain how you would address this issue. List any
activities or legislation that you have supported or sponsored in the past
which help clarify your answer.
Minority parents have voiced concerns about special needs
and gifted and talented programs. Is there a basis for their concerns? If no,
please elaborate. If yes, how would you address their concerns?
As a teacher
I believe the concerns are legitimate. Whatever the “intention” of special
education, the reality is that students who are placed in special education
programs rarely catch up and rarely make their way out of them. Instead of being programs that allow the
schools system to provide remediation and support, they are too often a
permanent placement. The achievement
gap that identified the student is rarely closed, even after receiving years of
special education. I believe we need
more aggressive remediation of students who are not performing on grade level,
but that the students should not be required to have been identified as
eligible for special education to get those services. I favor putting more resources in schools for the purpose of
providing additional support to students who need the help.
I believe
that we identify too many students as G&T, even when they are not,
regardless of race, often to quell concerns that parents have about what
regular classrooms are like. I’m in
favor of teaching a more rigorous curriculum to all children, and setting the
same high expectations for all students.
Parents shouldn’t have to worry about their child being in a “regular”
classroom. Children shouldn’t have to
be identified as G&T to receive a rigorous academic education. I teach fourth grade. I teach non-G&T, almost entirely
minority classes. In math for example,
I teach the fourth and fifth grade curriculum to all my students and have a great deal of success doing
it. This year I again placed a third of
my students (normally can place 20-25% above) above grade level by year end,
whereas none were above at the beginning of the year. A G&T label is not a qualification for exposure to, nor a
requirement for success in, a rigorous academic program.
At the same
time, I’m aware from talking to parents and to older students that there are
assumptions, by others, that students are forced to carry as baggage. My own son, who attended Blair, made it
clear that all children are not treated the same and that some students enter
school to the assumption that they will not perform on par with their white
peers. We need to examine the who gets
in G&T programs, how it’s decided and evaluate whether there’s a difference
in how students with similar grades are offered different opportunities in
school.
There is an achievement gap between minority and majority
students. What is your plan for eliminating this gap?
The
achievement gap has been allowed to persist for far too long. For most of the last forty years, efforts to
reduce it have been half-hearted and focused on gimmicky curriculum changes
rather than serious investment in programs that would make a difference. At the same time the curriculum, in
particular the latest revision, has become more minimalist in it’s requirements
and threatens to create a two-tiered instructional system that, 50 years ago,
would have been labeled separate and unequal.
As a
teacher, I’m committed to closing the gap and there are concrete steps we can
take that will make a difference.
Reduce class size.
K-2 should be capped at 15-17 students per classroom, grades 3-5 at 20
and grades 6 and above at 25. Smaller
class sizes make teachers more effective and provide students more time with
the teacher. Class size reduction is the
most effective program shown to be effective in improving outcomes. While it is most effective in early grades,
the reality is that most students have not benefited from recent changes in
this area, meaning that they are products of the old system. Our high failure rate and the persistence of
the gap across grade levels indicates the need for immediate action beyond the
Early Childhood Initiative and the K-2 class size reductions in targeted
schools.
Provide academic assistance based on needs that don’t
require a special ed evaluation. A
student should not need a special ed label to get assistance when they are
falling behind. The fact that they
don’t have a special ed label doesn’t mean that they don’t need the help. We need to be pro-active in identifying and
helping at-risk learners.
Allow grouping practices that are designed to bring students
to grade level, but don’t allow grouping that becomes the equivalent of a
tracking system. The grouping of
students for whom targeted remediation and support is needed should be for the
purpose of giving them the skills to perform on a par, and doing the same work,
as their peers. The earlier we
intervene, the less this should be needed in the upper grades. The real is key providing students with
necessary reading skills and fundamental math skills, upon which all subsequent
course work is based. The fact that so
many students are put into low groups year after year is a serious problem. That pattern points out a flaw in the
system. It focuses on a student making
only a year’s progress. Once a student
has fallen behind, making a year’s progress only insures that they will
continue to lag behind.
Strengthen the curriculum. The curriculum needs to have the same expectations for all students. It needs to be rigorous and challenging, and go beyond preparing students for functional assessments. In my view, the alignment of the curriculum with the state outcomes (which were basically minimal standards that were tested on the MSPAP’s) was, and is, a serious mistake. One of the ironies of the current system is that for years the goal was to close the gap, so we looked at the CRT’s, the CTBS’s the SAT’s and saw the gap and thought we could close it. After all, why should minority students perform differently than white students on these tests. But recently, faced with a failure to close the gap, new energy has gone into creating tests that will make the gap disappear through lower standards, creative scoring and by aligning the curriculum to teach to these new tests. This is the wrong way to close the gap. I believe that all students have the ability to meet the same standards on all tests they are given, and that we were right in focusing on why the gap was persisting on these tests.
Expand the Early Childhood Initiative and put in place wrap
around services, including family supports, so that children come to school
prepared and able to learn. The issues
that affect the emergence of learning skills include more than academics.
Provide more before school and after school programs. Too many students go home to empty houses
because their parents work. Often they
have the responsibility for care of their siblings. Many students don’t have the time to homework at home, or their
parents aren’t able to help them. After
school programs can provide additional support, particularly academic support,
that will insure that students can successfully complete assignments out of the
classroom.
HOUSING 
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What initiatives do you propose to build and finance
affordable housing (rent/own) for low and middle-income residents in Montgomery
County?
I’d support
more stringent application of the MPDU requirements to stop developers from
buying their way out. I’d support low
interest loan programs and down payment assistance to help make home ownership
possible. I will support expansion of
the current level of funding for affordable housing because it’s not enough to
even come close to meeting the needs that exist.
I think we
need to place greater emphasis on retaining the affordable housing stock that
exists. Each year we are losing more
houses from the affordable housing stock than we can build, so that we end up
with a net reduction in housing supply.
Many of the existing affordable units can be purchased and rehabbed and
maintained as affordable housing at a lower cost per unit than the cost of
producing new units. So I think we need
to put greater emphasis on retention of the stock we do have. If we can do that, then Iíd like to see more
work with tenants to help them buy their existing units so that they become
owners and have the opportunity to build equity.
In Takoma
Park I’ve been a strong proponent of affordable housing and rewrote the laws on
tenant opportunity to purchase. We now
have four buildings where the tenants, low and moderate income and
predominantly minority tenants, are in various stages of trying to buy their
buildings. If they are successful,
must units will be purchased for between $55,000 and $75,000, something that is
impossible to match with new construction.
The City is
also working closely with non-profits.
We have projects with Victory Housing and MHP that have involved helping
them acquire rental property which they will be able to keep as affordable
housing. Finally, Takoma Park is the
only Maryland city with rent stabilization.
Our council has had a twenty year commitment to maintaining the stock of
affordable housing through the program.
We have 4,000 rental units that could not be replaced if they were
allowed to rent at market value, meaning that thousands of families could
easily be displaced if rents weren’t controlled. I’m proud of my city and my record in leading the effort to
preserve affordable housing.
Do you support initiatives to create equal access to quality affordable housing for "all" senior citizens?
___x___Yes ______No ______Not Sure
I would support monitoring of county programs to ensure that
access to housing programs is based on need and that all applicants receive
similar treatment in terms of level of funding, and the type and location of
housing made available to them.
CIVIL RIGHTS/JUSTICE Back
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Would you support a Civilian Police Review Board in the
County? If no, explain. If yes, what would be its structure and how would it operate?
I do support the creation of a Civilian Police Review Board, but without changes in State law, it’s difficult to create a board with sufficient powers. I think the board should be a civilian board with adequate investigative authority and should have the power to make recommendations to the Chief of Police regarding disciplinary actions that might be warranted. In Takoma Park we looked at how such a board might work and, after talking with frustrated members of the Prince Georges County Board, came away feeling that a Board would be hamstrung under current law. I will be willing to work with efforts to change the state law because I’m convinced it’s possible to balance the rights of officers with the rights of the public to have accountability.
Legislative and executive actions must be taken at all
levels of government to eliminate "racial profiling." What actions would you take to eliminate
racial profiling?
I think the
County needs to monitor on an on-going basis and should do an analysis based on
different parts of the County. I’d
envision the results being analyzed by an independent outside review agency and
by the Civilian Review Board.
Minorities face glaring disparities in the application of
the death penalty. Would you support legislation that would abolish the death
penalty?
___x___Yes ______No ______Not Sure
I don’t support
the death penalty for numerous reasons and will support and testify in favor of
any state bill that proposes doing away with it.
What is your general philosophy on protecting the civil
liberties of all citizens, while at the same time curbing illegal and unlawful
activity?
I think
that the fundamental rights guaranteed us in the Bill of Rights are not to be
tampered with. I oppose secret courts
and the use of police powers that violate those rights. If there is sufficient evidence to warrant
such intrusions, then there should be sufficient evidence to allow law
enforcement agencies to get proper authorization from the courts. The granting of extraordinary police powers
to the State concerns me. Our own
history shows all too well how those powers can be abused, i.e. the internment
of Japanese Americans during World War II, the efforts to infiltrate and
disrupt the Vietnam anti-war movement and the civil rights movement. The latter efforts were done in absence of
the legal authority to carry them out.
I would be concerned that the granting of exceptional authority to
agencies could easily lead those agencies to decide what groups they deem to be
a threat, whether or not those groups are simply exercising their rights to
free speech and assembly. We even saw
hints of this attitude when members of this Administration equated opposing the
President’s domestic policies with creating divisiveness that aided America’s
enemies. I would hate to see that
extreme view become the practice of government.
Ar
___x___Yes ______No ______Not Sure
I’ve always
been a proponent of expanding youth programs and services, and a greater focus
on job training. Again, my record in
Takoma Park shows that I’ve been one the advocates for expanding youth
services. Most recently, I proposed
using bond financing to build a community center to better serve our residents,
particularly the young and the elderly.
The bond enables us to build a major facility with both recreation and
educational features and I supported it despite the fact that it requires
increased taxes to support it. You can
count on me to bring the same commitment to the County Council.
Regarding
job training specifically, we need more technical education programs in our
high schools. We leave students who are
not going on to college, totally unprepared for the world of work when then
leave school. We need course work that
makes it possible for students to prepare themselves for work when they leave
high school. The school system should
be working with the trades and with the high tech council to develop training
programs that offer something more than the ability to work at McDonalds. This is currently not a priority because the
school system prefers to pretend that everyone is and should be going to
college. We have a large number of
students who are not taking that path and while I believe that the core
curriculum should leave them prepared to go on to college should they choose
to, the school system needs to do more prepare them with the skills they will
need when they enter the workforce.
VOTING RIGHTS and REPRESENTATION Back
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The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy. What
steps would you take to ensure that minority voters fully participate in the
electoral process and are not prevented from exercising their constitutional
right to vote?
Fortunately,
Montgomery County is not Florida. The
biggest problems that I’ve witnessed are locations of polling places that put
people who use transit at a disadvantage and the hours of voting. I’d favor making election day a paid
holiday. We could extend the polling
hours, extend voting over two days, or vote on weekends when more people are
not working. I would support any effort
aimed at increasing voter participation.
I think the State and County took positive steps with the new voting
machines.
At the
broader level, the creation of districts that offer minorities a chance to win
election is important. That’s why I
opposed the original effort to change the state legislative districts 18 and 20
boundaries so that while Dana Dembrow was moved out only to be replaced by
another incumbent. I thought that the
creation of an open seat should have been left to the voters to fill and I spoke
out and testified against the boundaries that were later thrown out in court.
I’ve been supportive of Dr. Murray’s campaign in District 20.
HEALTH CARE
There are disparities in the availability of quality health
care for low-income and minority populations in the County. What initiatives would
you design to eliminate these disparities?
I think the
County made a serious mistake with the privatization of health clinics that
reduced health care availability for our low income residents. I support the state legislation that created
health care access for children and I will support its expansion to cover all
uninsured residents. I’ve spoken for
and am a member of the statewide coalition pushing for health care reform and
the creation of a statewide system of universal coverage.
In the meantime, the County needs to make sure that we have
adequate available health care and that people are not turned away because of a
lack of providers or a lack of ability to pay.
I’d favor doing a needs assessment in the county, and then crafting
legislation that will allow us to get health care to the 100,000 plus uninsured
county residents. I also think it’s
critical that we use schools as access points to get services to students and
their families. We often see health
care needs at school, when parents are unable to take their children to doctors
unless a situation gets bad enough to warrant a trip to the emergency
room. This is no way to provide health
care. You can be sure that if the
children aren’t accessing health care, neither are the parents. If it means re-establishing clinics, or if
there’s an equally effective way of using private practitioners, I will support
funding that insures health care is available to those who need it.
Maryland is experiencing a crisis in the availability of
mental health services. Why do you think the crisis exists? How would you
remedy this situation?
The mental
health crisis exists because funding mental health services is a low political
priority at all levels, from the feds, down to the state and the county. Maryland chronically underfunds mental health
care while knowing full well that the level of funding is inadequate It’s not
an oversight, it’s deliberate. So we
need to pressure the State to do more.
But in our
current crisis it is irresponsible and morally unacceptable for the County to
refuse to provide funding that would keep clinics open and able to serve the
existing population. This is even more
critical as gray zone patients are about to be cut loose by the State and will
not be able to maintain coverage on their own.
Regardless of who is ultimately responsible, the County’s posture of
letting these needs go unmet is unsatisfactory. The level of funding required to ensure the viability of these
services will not break the county budget.
In fact the county just lobbied and got Annapolis to let the County give
a $16 million tax break to Discovery (following $50 million in tax breaks
granted to Marriott Corp. in recent years).
If we can afford multi-million dollar corporate welfare, then we can afford
to take care of the welfare of our own citizens. I will support funding as needed to keep clinics open and able to
serve the population, until we are successful in getting the State to pay its
fair share.
TRANSPORTATION Back
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Do you support funding of a long-term comprehensive regional
transportation program that may include the:
Purple Line ____x__Yes ______No ______Not
Sure
Mid-County Connector _______Yes
___x__No ______Not
Sure
Expansion of County's Ride-On services ___x_Yes ______No ______Not Sure
I’m firmly committed to the expansion of rail through both the Inner Purple Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway. I favor additional parking at the Metro lots and expansion of the Red Line Metro at both ends, to Washington Grove in the west and to Olney on the east. I served 18 months on the Transportation Policy Review Task Force and all the studies we did showed that we cannot build our way out of congestion. We did identify almost $6 billion in local road improvements that would increase mobility at the local level. I support the Rte 28-198 widening that will give us a continuous east-west connector from Rockville to I-95.
We have a
serious gap we have to close because we were able to identify $9 billion in
road and transit projects that need to be done, not including the major
freeways that are being discussed. One
of the serious challenges, and the reason I’ve favored the local road/Mass
Transit approach is that the big projects provide little local relief while
consuming all the dollars that are available.
We’re going to have to stretch just to build the Inner Purple Line, but
it is doubtful that it will ever be built if it’s in competition with the ICC
and the Techway for dollars. And this
isn’t just a County problem. The State
faces a $1 billion dollar deficit next year that then balloons up to close to
$2 billion. If the State struggles for
funding, my priority is going to Mass Transit dollars and funding the Thornton
Commission. In the real world these are
the likely choices we will face, so we need priorities.
At the same
time we can reduce pressure on our roads by slowing down development and by
using the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance to insure that roads and schools
are in place before development is permitted to go forward. The other side of the transportation
question is how do we service the development that it spawns. When you have a 10 year back log on school
modernizations of almost a billion dollars, when you can’t provide adequate
public safety services and when you claim you can’t afford health care and to
keep mental health clinics open, it does not make sense to push for additional
new development that will only place greater demands on already limited
resources.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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Minorities have difficulty obtaining access to operating
capital for start-up business purposes. How would you address access to
capital?
I’d like to
see the County put more emphasis on small business assistance, both in the form
of loans and training. Almost
everything the County does is for the corporate giants on whom we have bestowed
tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks.
Meanwhile, in the current budget the executive has further cut the small
business program. Most businesses in
the County are small and most jobs in the county come from this sector, yet it
is the least supported. In order to
address the minority issue, we have to address the neglect of this sector
first.
If we can
increase funding, then we need to have the necessary assistance in place
through loan programs and through technical assistance that would help would-be
owners strengthen their business plans.
Beyond that we need to monitor who then receives assistance and we could
also examine local banking practices to see who receives loans, as is often
done when the Community Reinvestment Act is invoked to examine residential
lending patterns of banks.
What programs and services should be provided to encourage
and assist minority business entrepreneurship?
As I stated
above, we need a combination of loan programs and technical assistance programs
available.
In order to stimulate economic development and help
eradicate past discrimination, do you support contracting preferences in the
public sector for underutilized minority businesses?
_____x_Yes ______No ______Not Sure
I do support laws that give preference to minority and women owned businesses. In evaluating contracts it’s legitimate to allow extra points to be awarded for such businesses so that who we contract with is a better reflection of the community.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back
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Provide any other examples (limited to space below) that you
would like us to consider in the AADCMC endorsement process.
My
commitment to racial equality and social justice is long standing. In the 60’s and early 70’s, as a civil
rights activist, working to integrate the University of Maryland and exposing
and trying to stop university investment in South Africa.
I’ve served
15 years on the Takoma Park City Council.
I’m proud of being the driving force behind the city’s rent
stabilization laws which have allowed us to maintain our stock of affordable
housing and has prevented the displacement of thousands of predominantly
minority families. I’ve always argued that what we save a family in rent allows
them to put food on the table for their children. I proposed and succeeded in getting the City to hire community
organizers to reach out to the minority population, to empower and to help them organize even when the
results aren’t flattering to the city.
At the
county level I’ve been a proponent of the living wage, expanding county
services to reach those in need, greater funding to reduce class size and to
close the gap in minority achievement which is an outrage for a system that’s
been integrated for forty years. I’m
willing to lead, to say things that are true even when it makes people
uncomfortable, and as a candidate who won’t take money from developers, I’m
beholden only to the public interest.
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS--This question is for elected
officials only
Give examples of your support/recommendation of minority
appointments to state and local boards and commissions.