The issues
The keystone of the Jacobs campaign is direct democracy. The voters will decide issues in Montgomery County if they choose to take power into their own hands by electing me.
My views on the issues are of relatively minor importance as I will have the same one vote towards deciding the outcome of any given bill that any other Montgomery County voter has.
Still, since I will be able to sponsor bills as a councilman, many voters may wonder what ideas I have to add to those requested by the citizens.
Given this understandable curiosity, I give you my three main goals beyond the overarching revolution of direct democracy.
Extending Library Hours
- All county libraries will stay open until 9:00 PM Monday-Friday. Does it make sense to close one hour after students get out of school? Working adults don't even get that one measly hour. This is a colossal waste of resources paid for with tax dollars.
- Sunday Hours of 1:00-5:00 PM will be put into effect all year, not just during schooltime. Shouldn't Montgomery County encourage reading during students' leisure time?
Affordable Housing
- Establish a low-cost loan fund from which homeowners may borrow to install separate entrances into basement apartments.
- Basement apartments without entrances were banned in 2002 by the county council but they failed to provide a means by which homeowners might finance the construction needed to restore them to the housing pool.
- Homeowners receive income, the county gains revenue by taxing that income, the renters get affordable housing. Everyone wins except developers who make no money from this new source of housing so you shouldn't expect to hear about this solution from the current council members of the 'End Gridlock' team (see http://www.neighborspac.org/2006-update.htm)
Traffic Congestion Relief
- Traffic Light Synchronization - The single most cost-effective method of congestion prevention according to the Transportation Planning Board. This is done poorly in Montgomery. I would take an aggressive hands-on approach.
- Traffic Sensors - Install more so we do not wait unnecessarily at dozens of traffic lights for cars that aren't there needing to go through the intersection.
- Grade-Separated Intersection Improvements - We could have built more than 40 of these for the cost of the $7.00 toll-road Inter County Connector. These give us East-West congestion relief and North South as well at no extra cost. It's odd that the County Council used grade-separated interchanges on Route 29, but did not use the same cost-effective method to alleviate congestion going east and west. (see http://www.konterra.com/layoutview.html for the likeliest reason)
