[RP TownTalk] Legislative Session/Delegate Key Issues

[Alonzo Washington]

Councilman Ebbler,

It was a pleasure speaking with you and other residents this morning at the
Riverdale Park Town election.  As the newest Delegate for the 22nd
Legislative District, my priorities are to create 21st Century schools,
increase access to higher education for low-income families, create jobs
for our youth, and, as you pointed out, establish a vibrant local economy.

Through my years of working on the County Council, as the Chair of the
Gateway Arts District Management Team, and knocking on doors of District 22
residents, I've learned that the local economy and high wage employment is
a top priority, of course following our school system.

I believe that Maryland needs to improve on support for our current small,
minority and women owned businesses by offering tax breaks and benefits to
grow their businesses. We need to encourage young entrepreneurship by
creating incubators that will support them and reduce or eliminate the fees
for starting a business, which I understand is a burden for starting
a business with little to no capital. Finally, it’s imperative that we
encourage growth by incentivizing and retaining businesses in lucrative
industries such as technology, cyber security, and life sciences here in
Prince George's County. I firmly believe that this is a positive step
towards creating a vibrant and sustainable local economy.

It is my priority as your state representative to collaborate with
municipal officials like yourself, the County, and business leaders to
build a thriving and sustainable economy. Following the 2013 Legislative
Session, I held a Municipal Meet and Greet, in which I invited all the
Mayors and Council Members of District 22 to get a better understanding of
their town’s key issues with respect to the local economy.

During that meeting, we had the Maryland Department of Business & Economic
Development <http://www.dbed.maryland.gov/Pages/index.html> (DBED) speak on
the best methods to developing and attracting small businesses, and we had
the Maryland Department of
Transportation<http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/2012HomeContent.html>(MDOT)
provide an overview of the Transportation Bill and how it would
benefit the construction of the Purple
Line<http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/News/Releases/2013April11_MTA_Private_Sector_Input_RedPurpleline.html>(supporting
local businesses) and Highway User Revenues (critical revenue
for our municipalities).

In addition, the County Executive's Office, as well as the County's
Department of Transportation, updated municipal officials on the permitting
process<http://www.gazette.net/article/20121011/NEWS/710119853/der-to-split-into-separate-permitting-code-enforcement-agency&template=gazette>,
which is key to creating a healthy business friendly environment. If you
would like more information on what was discussed at the Meet and Greet, I
would be more than happy to present you with the packets that DBED, MDOT,
and my office distributed.

I believe Riverdale Park is a great community, with great potential to be
an economic engine for this area. The town is doing a great job of managing
the Cafritz Project and the MARC Train Town Center.  It is my goal to work
with the Town to bring state resources to assist in the efforts to
bring businesses to empty storefronts, reuse vacant commercial space, and
renovate the Town Hall.

Currently, my office is aggressively and constantly researching policy
ideas to produce data to support my legislative and policy agenda. My
legislative philosophy is to work with all forms of government and private
entities, before introducing and implementing policies, to understand how
it would affect them. Once my agenda is finalized I will present it to the
public for feedback.

Councilman, I really appreciate this opportunity to solicit my opinion and
ideas. I know that these ideas aren't the silver bullet. But as you know,
we have a lot of work to do and we can only be successful if we collaborate
and partner on key issues. I'm here to partner with you, and energized
towns like Riverdale Park, to move our towns, county, and state forward.
 I'm looking forward to continuing this discussion, however, I would prefer
an in person conversation or an open meeting. It eliminates ambiguity and
confusion.

Thanks again for this opportunity, and if anyone has any questions or would
like to meet to discuss how we can work together to make District 22 the
best place to live, work and invest in MD, please do not hesitate to
contact me directly.

Sincerely,


Alonzo T. Washington

Maryland State Delegate




On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Jonathan W. Ebbeler <
jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com> wrote:

> Delegate Washington –****
>
> ** **
>
> Thank you for posting on our local bulletin board – please feel free to
> post the same information on the University/Riverdale Park Patch as well.*
> ***
>
> ** **
>
> One item of particular personal interest from the letter you linked to is
> that one of the top 5 key issues identified was a “Vibrant Local Economy.”
> Could you please expand on that from a policy point of view of what
> initiatives you have either passed, proposed, or are currently working on
> that specifically addresses this goal as they pertain to Riverdale Park in
> particular but District 22 and MD as well?****
>
> ** **
>
> I bring this up because often times there are unintended consequences from
> policy objectives if not coordinated directly with the folks that are
> ultimately responsible with the implementation and dealing with the
> aftermath of well-intentioned goals.  We welcome state-level attention and
> participation with our local efforts that are well underway of the
> continued re-vitalization of Route 1 and Kenilworth and the re-vitalization
> of our historic town center that is bringing new tenants into long-vacant
> retail parcels.****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> Respectfully,****
>
> ** **
>
> Jonathan****
>
> ** **
>
> Jonathan W. Ebbeler****
>
> 4711 Oliver Street****
>
> Councilman – Ward 1, Town of Riverdale Park****
>
> Chair, Economic Development Committee ****
>
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