Phyllis Marcuccio for Mayor

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1. What is the Mayor’s position on Choice Hotels?

Mayor Marcuccio supports Choice Hotels and a fair deal for the citizens. Mayor Marcuccio has always been a strong proponent of bringing the Choice Hotels headquarters to Rockville, and is proud for Rockville that Choice Hotels is relocating here. The Choice Hotels issue came up at several meetings of the Mayor and Council, and Mayor Marcuccio consistently supported bringing Choice Hotels here. There was a legitimate difference of opinion about how much the City should be asked to contribute to the incentive package, compared to the contributions of the County and State. Mayor Marcuccio felt that the $1.7 million expected from the City of Rockville shifted too much of the cost onto the backs of Rockville taxpayers. In contrast, her opponent was willing to “give away the store,” and is now claiming that the City contribution is only around $600,000. The fact is, however, that according to the City of Rockville, the Montgomery County government, the State of Maryland, and Choice Hotels itself, the City’s contribution is $1.7 million. Whom do you believe?

Mayor Marcuccio supported bringing Choice Hotels to Rockville. As always, she was simply trying to get the best possible deal for the Rockville taxpayers.

2. What is the Mayor’s position on the City’s debt?

Mayor Marcuccio supports City infrastructure but knows that the bill has to be paid sooner or later. Mayor Marcuccio is aware of the fact that the City pays a whopping $5.6 million a year just to service its current debt. She knows that the City cannot afford to keep borrowing and spending ad infinitum. Her opponent has accused the Mayor of being too conservative fiscally. He says that she should be willing to borrow ever-increasing amounts of money for projects that the City can’t afford. Her opponent thinks that the City can borrow its way out of its budget problems. Mayor Marcuccio knows better, and so do the citizens of Rockville.

3. What is the Mayor’s position on development in the City?

Mayor Marcuccio will protect our schools and roads from rampant overdevelopment. Mayor Marcuccio believes that development should be rational, not haphazard, and should be done in tandem with adequate school and road capacity. She strongly supports the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, an important zoning tool to keep schools and roads from being overwhelmed by inappropriate development. In contrast, her opponent supports weakening the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. He has tried (in some cases successfully) to write special loopholes into our zoning ordinances in order to favor his pet development projects, to the detriment of our quality of life. Examples include Beall’s Grant II, which the Maryland Court of Appeals found to be in violation of the city’s zoning laws; a parking lot in a historic district residential zone, against the vote of our Historic District Commission and our Planning Commission; and the Silverwood apartment complex adjacent to the County Waste Transfer Station, ignoring the objections of the Montgomery County Planning Board and County Executive. Mayor Marcuccio believes in preserving our neighborhoods and quality of life, and will protect our City from rampant overdevelopment.

4. What is the Mayor’s position on RedGate golf course?

Because of Mayor Marcuccio’s leadership, we still have a wonderful amenity and it doesn’t cost the City a penny. Her opponent voted (on 3/28/11) to shut down the golf course and to discontinue the very RFP process that has now produced this newly-adopted lease agreement. If her opponent had gotten his way, RedGate would have been shut down by now, with no possibility of this current agreement ever coming to fruition. If her opponent had gotten his way, the 140-acre green space at RedGate would now be a “sitting duck” for inappropriate development. Fortunately for the City, Mayor Marcuccio, along with Councilmembers Newton and Britton, insisted upon seeing the RFP process through to a win-win for everyone. The City still has its land, its golf course, and will see a profit from the deal.

Mayor Marcuccio has stated that she would oppose any sale or lease of parkland that would result in a loss of green space. Obviously, this particular lease will preserve the green space at RedGate. Her opponent’s claim that she has been inconsistent in this regard is blatantly false.

5. What is the Mayor’s position on “rebranding” the City of Rockville?

Mayor Marcuccio opposed the idea of “rebranding” the City as a waste of taxpayer money. She voted against hiring the consultants in the first place, and voted against the subsequent “rebranding.” Her opponent voted to spend $75,000 of taxpayer money on this foolhardy scheme. To add insult to injury, her opponent ignored citizen input and voted for the slogan that was the citizens’ least favorite choice.