Michael Bell
Wealthy progressives have an interesting personality duality: many of them put We Believe yard signs professing concern for the underserved, and simultaneously they struggle with entitlement.
I saw this myself as I took a drive around Chevy Chase Section 5 last November. Many of that area’s palatial homes boast yard signs demanding a “pause” in the re-zoning of single-family lots. Additionally, on election day that month, Section 5’s Precinct 07-05 voted 84% for Harris-Walz, 16% for Trump; 72% for Alsobrooks, 28% for Hogan. Why does a strongly progressive neighborhood so strongly object to zoning reform? After all, Biden-Harris promoted zoning reform, so why do these residents object?
Council Member Will Jawando summarized many of those objections in a recent statement: additional load on schools and infrastructure, market-rate housing doesn’t deliver affordable housing, and mitigating the impact of federal layoffs by the Trump administration.
Those are legitimate policy questions, but they are not the concern of wealthy progressives.
This yard sign says it all: this Section 5 homeowner wants to preserve her family’s lifestyle. It’s not about infrastructure, affordable housing, or federal workers; it’s all about her.
Folks, I have written many posts about the need for zoning reform and why zoning reform is the only way to deliver housing for all income levels. I’ve also written countless times about school vouchers to deliver education—even as an area is redeveloped to multi-family. There’s no point rehashing those arguments here. Instead, let’s look at Jawando’s pause from the perspective of Pavlovian conditioning.
The county’s progressives demanded a Purple Line, years behind schedule and way over budget; progressives paid disgraced Superintendent Monifa McKnight her severance pay and subsequently hired her at the University of Maryland; progressives keep large-scale employers out of Montgomery County; progressives demoralized the police force; the progressive teachers’ union is contributing to the school district’s decline and red-lining. None of these outcomes are to MoCo’s benefit.
Given the progressives’ mismanagement in general, and progressive CM Jawando’s record in particular, can we really trust his judgment in housing policy?
My forecast: the number of affordable housing units his “pause” will deliver will be equal to the number of passengers carried by the Purple Line by December 2026. In the meantime, Chevy Chase Section 5 will enjoy ample curbside parking and expansive back yards.
