Contacting Councilmembers in Montgomery County, MD

Know which district your Library Advisory Committee (LAC) or Friends of the Library (FOL) is in.

Special Needs Library is a systemwide service as is the Multicultural Service, the Children's Resource Center and the Noyes Library for Young Children, the Rockville Library might be appropriate for every one of the councilmembers since it is near where they work.

SOME ADVOCACY PROTOCOLS
Sending Emails to County Councilmembers
Meeting with Councilmembers

COUNCIL DISTRICTS, Etc.
County Councilmembers by District with Libraries Listed
At-Large Councilmembers
Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee (deals with Library Department matters)

CONTACT INFORMATION
Mail
Council Phone Numbers
Email

Montgomery County Council Website:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/index.asp
Montgomery County Council Agendas:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/agenda2005.asp
Montgomery County Council Email Addresses:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/councilm.asp

Some Advocacy Protocols

Sending Emails

Protocol

• Always include your name, address, phone number and email address, even in emails
  
• Here is a Montgomery County Council webpage with email addresses, etc. Copy/paste this into your browser window:
       http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/councilm.asp
• Cut and paste email is okay
  
• It doesn't matter so much if the emails are clones (copies of the same message).
  • Okay to send them as clones; okay to rewrite; best to send quickly.
  • Good to have local color though.
    

Process

• When you send email to George Leventhal, the Council President at:
       county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
  — Be sure to CC to the At-Large Councilmembers and to your District Councilmember:
       councilmember.LASTNAME@montgomerycountymd.gov
  
  
• When you send emails to your District Councilmember:
       councilmember.LASTNAME@montgomerycountymd.gov
  — Also CC to all At-Large Councilmembers:
       councilmember.LASTNAME@montgomerycountymd.gov
  
  
• Webpage with email addresses, etc:
       http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/councilm.asp

Meeting with Councilmembers

• Talk about the significance of the requested items
  
  • Convey impact of loss
    
    • give specifics— have "hard" numbers
      
    • tell a "story" — say how service is affected by the changes
      
  • Some kinds of anecdotal stories are better in a meeting than on paper
    
• All district councilmembers need to hear the message from everyone
  
• Ask this question: "Can you support this?" Be sure to get that commitment.
  
• If the answer to the above question is "No" ask what needs to be done to make a "Yes" answer possible.
• The more bodies, the better for visits. Even one or two people are good if they "report back"
  

• Have specifics that you want to achieve.
  
• Have a uniform message.
  
• Ask for everything you want (you may not get it all, so go high).
  
• Recruit as many kinds of groups and people as possible. Library support is community-wide; make that clear. Bring in neighbors, colleagues, civic groups, whatever, all are good.
  

Council Districts

• District 1— Howard A. Denis
  
  • Bethesda Library
    
  • Chevy Chase Library
    
  • Davis Library
    
  • Little Falls
    
  • Potomac
    
  • Special Needs Library (at Davis)
    
    
• District 2 — Mike Knapp
  
  • Damascus
    
  • Germantown
    
  • Olney
    
  • Poolesville
    
    
• District 3— Phil Andrews
  
  • Gaithersburg
    
  • Quince Orchard
    
  • Rockville
    
  • Twinbrook
    
    
• District 4— Marilyn Praisner
  
  • Aspen Hill
    
  • Fairland
    
  • Wheaton
    
  • White Oak
    
    
• District 5— Tom Perez
  
  • Kensington Park
    
  • Long Branch Library
    
  • Noyes Library for Young Children
    
  • Silver Spring Library
    

• Nancy Floreen, Garrett Park
  
  • Kensington Park Library
    
  • Noyes Library for Young Children
    
    
• George Leventhal, Takoma Park
  
  • Long Branch Library
    
  • Takoma Park Library (subsidized city library)
    
    
• Steve Silverman, White Oak area of Silver Spring
  
  • White Oak Library
    
  • Silver Spring Library
    
    
• Mike Subin, Gaithersburg
  
  • Gaithersburg Library
    
  • Quince Orchard
    

• George Leventhal, chair
  
• Tom Perez
  
• Steve Silverman
  

Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

• Leave a message on a 24 hour hotline at 240-777-7999
  
• General Information at 240-777-7900
  
• Legislative Information at 240-777-7910
  
• Public Hearings Sign Up at 240-777-7931
  

• Montgomery County Council Webpage with email addresses, etc:
        http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/councilm.asp
  
• Send emails to your district councilmember and cc to all at-large councilmembers:
       councilmember.LASTNAME@montgomerycountymd.gov
  
• It doesn't matter so much if the emails are clones (copies of the same message)