Q&A: Six Questions for Jane de Winter

Jane de Winter is a candidate for an at-large position in the Montgomery County Council. She is one of nine candidates running for four positions.

Patch: What are the two issues you think are most pressing in Montgomery County?

Jane de Winter: As in the country at large, the most pressing issues in Montgomery County are the economy and the economy. The effects of the economic downturn and its impact on our county's revenues, ability to provide services, and maintain our quality of life is overarching.

As a Ph.D economist, I would bring to the council a deep understanding of the budgetary process and how the decisions we make today will impact our future quality of life.

Patch: What are the two top transportation priorities for the county?

JD: I am 100% supportive of building the purple line. It will provide a much needed east-west link to major job centers. The Corridor Cities Transitway and transit improvements along Rt. 355 to serve White Flint and the imminent BRAC project are critical.

The County must implement transportation plans that promote public transit and cultivate future generations of transit riders. Future jobs and housing should be located near transit corridors; and our focus should be on "walkable" communities where more and more people can live, work, and play without getting into an automobile.

Patch: What is your assessment of education in Montgomery County? What needs to be changed?

JD: As past President of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs and as a member of the County Commission on Children and Youth, I have particular expertise as an education advocate. Our greatest responsibility as elected and appointed public officials is to prepare our youth to be tomorrow's citizens, public employees, doctors, mechanics, engineers, artists, and parents. We must prepare them to be ready for their future roles as the leaders and backbone of our own future society.

To accomplish this, we must provide the best school environments and the best qualified teachers possible to all of our children so that all students can reach their full potential. 

Despite efforts to close the achievement gap, graduation rates for students of color and students affected by poverty have fallen even more behind other students.  The lack of a high school diploma affects individuals' ability to make a good life for themselves and the economic well-being of everyone in the county. Keeping students engaged, providing support, and making sure that each student believes in their future is vital to us all and to our economic future.

Sustaining the quality of education in Montgomery County in the face of limited resources and competing priorities will be our greatest challenge in the years to come and will require creative solutions, and working in close partnership with non-profits, the business community and our elected delegation in Annapolis and Washington.

Patch: What are your thoughts on addressing the budget crisis in Montgomery County?

JD: We must be smarter in how we spend the County's money. In the immediate future, everything is on the table but believe it is prudent to see how the cuts made to the FY11 budget play out for a couple of months to determine whether there are areas that just could not sustain any further cuts. 

In my opinion, it will likely be necessary to forego COLAs [cost of living adjustments] and request a waiver of Maintenance of Effort again in FY12.  Efforts to find inefficiencies and consolidate operations should continue, but it is not clear that significant savings could be produced for FY12 as there may be some upfront costs necessary for long-term savings.

In the long run, our spending should only grow at the feasible long run growth rate for economic activity. There are virtually no industrialized nations that grow at a 7, 8, or 9% rate over the long run. When revenues grow faster over the short run we have to have the discipline to apply the revenue to one time expenditures such as additional infrastructure investments, or one time expansions. In my mind, it is also unfeasible to continually rely on tax rate increases or new types of taxes to support ever higher spending growth rates.

I believe there are several steps we need to take. We must increase the tax base by attracting and creating more jobs which will result in an increased property tax base due to the resultant commercial development. A key to attracting and creating jobs is to make it easier to get things done in the county.

As baby boomers retire, resulting in the reduction of residents in the workforce, we will need to take deliberate steps to attract highly qualified workers to our county; provide opportunities for the underemployed to acquire skills (such as the ability to speak English well) and certifications that will increase their earning potential; and ensure that all our youth graduate from high school ready for job training or college. New workers will require housing which will also increase the property tax base.

These are longer term strategies, although I believe that efforts to shorten the development approval process, increase the earning power of our workforce, and increase the graduation rate could start immediately.

Patch: How would you assess the job done by the current council?

JD: I think the council has been well-intentioned in their response to the crisis, but there have been multiple problems. The economic indicators were apparent, but they were caught unaware and have been playing catch-up ever since. This cannot happen in the future. We have to be smarter, we have to work as a team (which has not been the case) and we have to learn to say no when it is prudent, while being mindful of protecting our most vulnerable citizens.

We will be profoundly changed by this crisis and by our changing demographic. The new council must be prepared to deal with how our county is changing, and have the skills to prepare accordingly. Politics as usual will not serve us well.

Patch: Any parting words to voters in Montgomery County?

JD: When your readers make their choice for Council-At-Large on September 14th, I ask them to consider my background and what I would bring to the Council.

Leadership: As the president of our County's' largest child advocacy group, I represented a membership of 52,000 and spoke successfully on behalf of the needs of 140,000 school children.

Knowledge: With a Ph.D. in Economics, and as a researcher of economic policy I would bring significant budgetary expertise to the council. There is no more room for bad decisions or a learning curve.

Commitment: I am not new to this County, nor do I see the Council as a means to higher office. I have raised my four children here and educated them in our public schools. I hope to continue my service to this community on the County Council.