{"id":12905,"date":"2020-05-26T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=12905"},"modified":"2020-05-25T22:21:35","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T02:21:35","slug":"former-allies-spar-in-kensington-mayoral-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=12905","title":{"rendered":"Former allies spar in Kensington mayoral debate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bcecUFeCALo\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>from a correspondent<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subdued it was not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Candidates in Kensington\u2019s June 1 mayoral election met in a virtual debate over the weekend and clashed about the quality of development in town, enforcement of town regulations, and civility in Town government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The debate took place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform and revealed sharp differences between the two candidates \u2014 the two-term incumbent, Tracey Furman, and her immediate predecessor, Peter Fosselman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=12838\">erstwhile allies<\/a> and both said at the outset of the 70-minute debate that they agreed on many subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It didn\u2019t take long for disagreements to become apparent, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mayor was notably pointed in her criticism. At one point, she accused Fosselman of \u201cmaking this stuff up\u201d \u2014 a reference to his criticism about a lack of civility in Kensington\u2019s official life. Furman also took issue with Fosselman\u2019s emphasis on enforcing Town regulations on such matters as graffiti and illegal signage, saying she thought he \u201cwould like to live more in a gated-type community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The candidates disagreed at some length about the type and quality of <a href=\"https:\/\/tok.md.gov\/redevelopment\/\">development in Kensington<\/a>, which has about 2,500 residents and a recent tradition of mostly sedate local politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fosselman asserted that \u201cwe are on our way to becoming a senior center\u201d for Montgomery County, noting that two housing projects for older people have been approved and another is under preliminary review (but may not be exclusively for seniors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can do better than what we\u2019re getting,\u201d Fosselman said, adding that the Town should seek out developers and encourage them to take on attractive projects. He noted a section of town familiarly known as \u201cGasoline Alley,\u201d behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/kvfd.org\">volunteer fire department<\/a> on Connecticut Avenue, \u201cis long overdue for redevelopment. It would be perfect place to establish a brewery, a distillery, a restaurant-incubator with condos on upper floors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another prospective project he mentioned was a community center with a pool, perhaps with a secondary use such an education center. \u201cWe need to put a plan in place and make these things happen,\u201d said Fosselman, who was Kensington mayor for 10 years until stepping down in 2016. He added it is essential that proposed projects be reviewed by the Town\u2019s advisory <a href=\"https:\/\/tok.md.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DRB-Committee-Process-Guidelines-2019-12-10.pdf\">development review board<\/a> before they reach the mayor and council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furman, who is in her first competitive race for mayor, responded by saying Fosselman\u2019s comments about Kensington\u2019s becoming senior center for the county were \u201ca little bit misleading.\u201d She noted that one of the projects, the 135-unit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mccafferyinc.com\/portfolio\/modena-reserve-kensington\">Modena Reserve<\/a> on Metropolitan Avenue, hard by CSX Transportation railway tracks, will be \u201ca luxury senior facility\u201d and that two 1930s buildings nearby will be rehabilitated as part of the project\u2019s amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another, <a href=\"https:\/\/bethesdamagazine.com\/bethesda-beat\/development\/kensington-residents-appeal-approval-of-senior-living-development\/\">more controversial senior housing project <\/a>on Knowles Avenue, near the congested intersection with Connecticut, will be for people aged 62 and older. \u201cThese will be vibrant people that move in,\u201d Furman said, noting that a retail or mixed-use project at the site would create even more vehicular traffic than senior housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furman said the Modena and Knowles projects \u201care just going to be great additions to our town and they will fit within our sector plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She also noted the <a href=\"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/planning\/communities\/area-2\/kensington\/kensington-sector-plan\/\">Town\u2019s sector plan<\/a>, which was revised and updated in 2012 after considerable controversy, imposes building-height restrictions that render some prospective projects \u201cnot economically viable.\u201d She said she supports height limitations but noted they \u201cmake some of the projects that people want more difficult to get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furman\u2019s \u201cgated-type community\u201d remark came in response to Fosselman\u2019s comments that enforcement of Town code provisions has been wanting. He said he advocates enforcing regulations, which Townspeople backed, to \u201cmake the town look better than ever. I don\u2019t find cars parked on grass, overflowing trash cans, and graffiti a nice-looking place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To such criticism, Furman said, \u201cI know from Pete\u2019s perspective, he would like to live more in a gated-type community where you tell everybody what you should be doing and what you shouldn\u2019t be doing. \u2026 I find our residents don\u2019t want that type of code enforcement. They want things to look nice but they\u2019re not interested in the heavy hand of government. And so I try to find that balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She added: \u201cPete has definitely been my biggest critic. I hear it all the time. But I also hear that we\u2019re doing a great job and that the town looks terrific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The candidates also disagreed whether discourtesy and incivility have intruded into Town government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we have a civility issue,\u201d Furman said. \u201cI was kind of taken by surprise by that because I think our Council meetings have been quite polite. \u2026 I don\u2019t see what Pete sees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In reply, Fosselman said, \u201cAbsolutely, we do\u201d have a civility problem. \u201cPeople are dismissed, they\u2019re disregarded, they are cut off, interrupted \u2014 that\u2019s apparent if you watch videos of Council meetings,\u201d where the mayor presides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt has to do with the way people are treated,\u201d Fosselman added, \u201cand there are a number of people who can attest to being treated very poorly, either at Council meetings, [in] making calls to the Town staff, or in any number of situations where they\u2019ve requested things and have been dismissed. And that\u2019s not something I can make up.\u201d He said he often heard such complaints when he went door-to-door early in the year, informing Townspeople he was planning another run for mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furman disputed Fosselman\u2019s complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen Pete says, \u2018I\u2019m not making this stuff up,\u2019 he is making this stuff up because I have not received those calls. People are not treated that way,\u201d she said and cited complaints about graffiti on a county bridge in town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have seen the graffiti on the bridge and it has been reported to the county, and the county will get to it. We are in a pandemic where it is difficult to get people out to do things right now. And that\u2019s one thing that Pete doesn\u2019t have, is patience. He doesn\u2019t understand when other people have other work that they have to do. And it will get done. But I, for so long, I\u2019ve heard \u2018a lot of people are saying.\u2019 Well those people are not saying it to me. And I have suggested that he refer them to me and he never does. Those people don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The debate was moderated by Sean McMullen, a former Town Council member who posed questions based on queries townspeople submitted in advance. On most questions, the candidates were permitted no more than 60 seconds to reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not counting Town staff and others associated with producing the debate, about 65 people logged in to follow the encounter on Zoom. The mayoral debate was followed by a virtual forum for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=12844\">three candidates for two seats<\/a> on Kensington\u2019s Town Council. They are: Brigid Hill-Zayat, a one-term incumbent; Nate Engle, a newcomer to Town politics, and Jon Gerson, who served a term on the council in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uXka4HnD59c\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The elected positions are part-time and non-partisan. Kensington\u2019s day-to-day activities are overseen by a town manager and his staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>from a correspondent: Subdued it was not. Candidates in Kensington\u2019s June 1 mayoral election met in a virtual debate over the weekend and clashed about the quality of development in town, enforcement of town regulations, and civility in Town government. The debate took place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform and revealed sharp differences between the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=12905\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Former allies spar in Kensington mayoral debate<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[1492,924],"class_list":["post-12905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kensington","tag-pete-fosselman","tag-tracey-furman"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4mKJE-3m9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12905"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12907,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12905\/revisions\/12907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}