Contacting Councilmembers 2006-2007

Contacting Councilmembers in Montgomery County, MD

2006/2007

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

Special Needs Collection 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)
Council Standing Committees

CONTACT INFORMATION
Mail
Council Phone Numbers
Email

Montgomery County Council Website

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:
        Montgomery County Council Website
• 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 Marilyn Praisner, 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:
  Montgomery County Council Website

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 — Roger Berliner, Lead for Libraries
  
  • Bethesda Library
    
  • Chevy Chase Library
    
  • Davis Library
    
  • Little Falls
    
  • Potomac
    
    
• District 2 — Mike Knapp, Council Vice-President
  
  • Damascus
    
  • Germantown
    
  • Olney
    
  • Poolesville
    
    
• District 3— Phil Andrews
  
  • Gaithersburg
    
  • Quince Orchard
    
  • Rockville
    
  • Special Needs Collection (at Rockville)
    
  • Twinbrook
    
    
• District 4— Marilyn Praisner, Council President
  
  • Aspen Hill
    
  • Fairland
    
  • Wheaton
    
  • White Oak
    
    
• District 5— Valerie Ervin, Lead for Environment
  
  • 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)
    
    
• Marc Elrich, Lead for Juvenile Issues, Takoma Park
  
  • Long Branch Library
    
  • Takoma Park Library (subsidized city library)
    
    
• Duchy Trachtenberg,
  
  • 
    
  • 
    

• George Leventhal, chair
  
• Duchy Trachtenberg
  
• Roger Berliner, Lead for Libraries
  

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:
        Montgomery County Council Website
• 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)
  
  

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  COUNTY COUNCIL STANDING COMMITTEES:

  Council committees customarily meet on Mondays and Thursdays. During the Council budget seasons (January through June), committee sessions are held more frequently.
  
  Education (ED)
  
• Jurisdiction: Issues relating to Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College
• Members: Michael Knapp, Chair; Phil Andrews; Valerie Ervin
  
  Health and Human Services (HHS)
  
• Jurisdiction: The health and human services agencies; libraries; the arts; culture, and the humanities
• Members: George Leventhal, Chair; Duchy Trachtenberg; Roger Berliner, Lead for Libraries
  
  Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP)
  
• Jurisdiction: Economic and fiscal policy; spending affordability; County Government administrative departments; cable and telecommunications issues; technology issues; personnel and compensation issues; procurement policy; oversight of interagency teams on training, public information, procurement, and PEG (public, education, and government) cable television channels
• Members: Duchy Trachtenberg, Chair; Marilyn J. Praisner; Roger Berliner
  
  Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED)
  
• Jurisdiction: Master Plans and amendments to the zoning laws; issues related to parks and recreation, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Montgomery County Planning Board; historic preservation; economic development; housing, and agricultural preservation
• Members: Marilyn J. Praisner, Chair; Marc Elrich; Nancy Floreen
  
  Public Safety (PS)
  
• Jurisdiction: The criminal justice system, including the Police Department, State's Attorney, Sheriff, the Courts, the Detention Center, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission; Fire/Rescue and Animal Control.
• Members: Phil Andrews, Chair; Michael Knapp, Marc Elrich, Lead for Juvenile Issues
  
  Transportation and Environment (T&E)
  
• Jurisdiction: Water and sewer issues and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; issues relating to environmental protection and conservation, including forest conservation; solid waste issues, including the incinerator and landfills; issues relating to State and County roads and streets, including snow removal and street lighting.
• Members: Nancy Floreen, Chair; George Leventhal; Valerie Ervin, Lead for Environment
  
  

  Council Website

Contacting Councilmembers 2006-2007