Gaithersburg’s city council prides itself on a startling level of harmony. Most votes are 5-0 and on Monday nights, an air of collegiality pervades city hall during council meetings.

Such civility can be seen as a positive quality. Certainly, Gaithersburg residents do not want the hostility and gridlock that prevail in the cities to the south (Washington, D.C., or Rockville — take your pick).

But dissent and debate can be healthy, especially in a city whose day-to-day operations are in the hands of a powerful and controversial employee, city manager Angel Jones. Complaints and problems are brushed aside as being outside the council’s purview, while questionable decisions (like offering a lame duck County Council member $84,000 to assess economic development) are made with little apparent consideration.

With a new economic development director on board, Gaithersburg must now begin crafting a specific plan to attract and retain businesses to build its tax base and spruce up downtown. The city needs to rethink its adequate public facilities ordinance so it will not be forced to turn away beneficial development. Communication with residents must improve and a persistent problem of dwindling employee morale must be addressed.

The Gaithersburg City Council needs a bit of stirring up and Tom Rowse, unafraid of controversy and to speak his mind, could do the job. He has taken an active interest in city affairs for many years and ran for city council in 2009. Rowse’s rough edges have smoothed a bit since his last run, but his passion for the city has not cooled. He has plenty to say about the way Gaithersburg operates, and little of it is flattering.

He wants to lower the property tax rate, bolster public safety, build a senior center and improve communication with residents, including a return to print advertisements for public hearings. He has the potential to bring both heat and light to the council.

Jud Ashman is an incumbent who deserves to stay. His signature accomplishment is bringing a book festival to the city. Now in the planning stages for its third year, this event involves young people through reading and writing activities, as well as drawing marquee authors. It has been good for Gaithersburg, and Ashman has solid plans to make it better. Ashman also developed the Alert Gaithersburg system and single-handedly revised the ethics code. He has been a leader in crafting growth and development amendments. Of the three incumbents, Ashman is the least inclined to turn a deaf ear to criticism.

Incumbent Ryan Spiegel also has a solid achievement (albeit less splashy than Ashman’s) in the city’s Bank On Gaithersburg program, which helps low-income residents open bank accounts and offers financial management classes and income tax assistance. It is the only such program in the state. Spiegel is bullish on constituent services; he’s the council member who will make sure your trash gets picked up. He offers a thoughtful pro-business perspective on issues from economic development to the adequate public facilities ordinance.

Incumbent Cathy Drzyzgula represents the city on such regional bodies as Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee, Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Policy Committee and Maryland Municipal League. However, her individual accomplishments on the council are scant and she admits to having few big ideas, preferring to assess and advocate based on the suggestions of others. On a council tasked with shaping a city in transition from country town to urban center, creative thinking and vision are essential.

The final candidate, Paula Ross, is energetic and opinionated. She is active in her Kentlands community and has positioned herself as a business owner who can represent corporate interests in the city. However, she and her husband have been dealing with tax and legal problems since 2009 that do not reflect well on her business acumen. If she can straighten out these issues by 2013, perhaps another run for a council seat would be in order.

The polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.