Traffic Safety

As a dad, every day I’m worried about traffic safety. My wife and I ride with my two kids on the back of our e-bike every day in all weather, so all these things are personal to me.

I’m a former transportation staffer on Capitol Hill, where I worked for Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In that role, I expanded funding for bike lanes and improved road safety. I support separated bike lanes, sidewalks that are accessible, and traffic calming wherever we can get it. We can’t stop traffic from existing, but we can use affordable and proven strategies like bump-outs, curb extensions, and speed tables to manage traffic in a way that keeps our kids safe. As part of our climate efforts, we should deprioritize car traffic, and prioritize walking, biking and transit. 

For example, I support:

• A city-wide transportation plan to consider options to improve traffic safety, including one-way streets, hourly restrictions and congestion relief for streets affected by cut-through traffic.

• Installing new all-way stop signs at the intersection of Eastern and Walnut, an intersection which has lots of safety issues as it exists. 

• Addressing the safety issues at the Laurel Ave streetery with barriers so that cars and kids playing are separated from each other.

• Bike lanes and sidewalk improvements on Maple Ave to connect Sligo Creek Parkway to downtown Takoma, and to keep kids walking to school safe.

• Fixing the Carroll Ave bike lanes, which are currently painted incorrectly.

Housing & Development

Everyone agrees that housing is too expensive in Takoma Park, and that we need to invest in affordable housing. The question is how to make it actually happen. We’re five years removed from the city’s adoption of the Housing and Economic Development Plan and we’ve got little to show for the laudable goals laid out by that plan. It’s been 40 years since any major multifamily housing has been built in our city. I’m with Vice President Harris on this one – we can’t just think, study and talk about housing – we need to start building it. 

I am strongly supportive of new multifamily buildings, ADUs, duplexes and triplexes and would support their construction just about anywhere they might fit. I’ve been a renter most of my adult life and support expanding rental opportunities in the city for all income levels. The city is currently considering four tax credits to incentivize investments in new housing and reinvestments in existing affordable housing, and I would vote for all of them. You can’t be serious about climate change without supporting opportunities for people to live and work near transit in major cities.

I’ve heard from many people interested in the fate of the former Washington Adventist Hospital campus. Like 6 of the 7 members of council, I would have voted for the Minor Master Plan Adjustments (MMPA), which provides for future mixed-use development of that site. It’s probably not infallible, but no plan is. What’s important is that we move forward on welcoming new neighbors and protecting existing residents.

Regardless of how you viewed the Takoma Junction development, the fact is that our city didn’t come out of that process looking like a place to invest money. We’re not going to get any new multifamily housing or reinvestment unless we show an ability to work in a good faith effort with partners at the county and state level, and with the private sector as well. At People’s Book, I think we’ve shown that we can have new things while maintaining our community character. That’s the perspective I would have on council as well.

Taxes & Budget

As someone with a business and a home in Takoma Park, I am uniquely sensitive to the tax burden of working and living here. I pay a lot of taxes! I’m happy to play my part in keeping our city moving, but also understand the impact that increasing property tax bills can have, particularly on residents with a fixed income. 

You may have heard Mayor Searcy talk about the rather unpleasant budget discussion we’re going to have to have in 2026, when we face a fiscal cliff. We’ll have to make tough decisions on city services, tax rates, and how to get on a sustainable budget path. Part of that conversation requires diversifying our tax base in a way that gets us more stability and doesn’t rely nearly exclusively on single family homes. Other nearby jurisdictions have done so successfully, and I believe we can as well. Growing the pie means we can all have a piece. And who doesn’t like pie?!