Former Montgomery County CM Craig Rice’s “Appointment” to a “Special Projects Manager” position is the latest in a recent history of revolving door politics and “Friend to Me” favoritism.
Great work by Adam Pagnucco at MontgomeryPerspective.com for exposing Council Bill 4-23E, which has yet to be voted on.
In a nutshell, The County Executive wants to set up a “special projects manager” position and hire on the former Council Member (term-limited) Craig Rice, a Democrat who represented “Up County” (Germantown, Montgomery Village, etc) for twelve years.
Elrich wants this position within the Office of the County Executive to get $175,000 a year plus benefits. [Please see our earlier post about just how much MoCo Govt Admins and Department “Leaders” are taking home as compensation.]
Pagnucco writes: “The executive branch had options for bringing him in that would have passed muster. It’s also worth noting that Rice made no endorsement in last year’s county executive primary so Elrich cannot be accused of rewarding a political ally.”
But Craig Rice is the definition of an ally and friend to Elrich. In fact, Elrich gushed over Craig Rice just this past January on Twitter:
And in January he [Elrich] also spoke in his taped “weekly message” about Rice’s mother and her health scare.
It is clear Craig Rice is a friend to Marc Elrich. Maybe he isn’t an outright “political ally” the way, say, former Democratic State Senator (and current Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer) Richard Madaleno was or is. But it is clear this is a close friend to Mr. Elrich.
It was Mr. Madaleno who was the lone speaker at this rushed Council bill hearing to promote Craig Rice to this new “position”.
And taking it full circle, it was Mr. Madaleno who came before the County Council (and Craig Rice) in 2018 as Elrich’s Budget Director nominee. Rice asked him a series of fluff questions, and then made some comment about the prior Budget Director being “difficult to work with”. Of course he [Rice], and the full council, then voted to approve the nomination.
Unfortunately, this kind of ‘revolving door’ politics isn’t new to the MoCo machine, but it does seem to have gotten more blatant, post Term Limits Ballot Initiative (enacted 2016).
Former Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner, for example, joined other local Democrats in setting up ‘DMV Strategic Advisors LLC’ – an “All-Star Consulting Shop” according to Maryland Matters. DMV Strategic Advisors “also announced that it has set up strategic partnerships with two national firms that work on affordable housing – Healthy Companies and Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.” that same month (December 2018).
Enterprise Community Partners Inc. has conveniently gotten work/contracting on the “equitable development near the Purple Line, the new light rail under construction.”
It is a small, seemingly fun club to be (the former MoCo local politician club).
MoCo taxpayers, county residents and business entrepreneurs just aren’t invited.
