Field of 14 meets deadline to apply for Montgomery’s top planning post

A decision is expected within five or six weeks

Friday, June 2, 2006

The Montgomery County Council is likely to appoint a new Planning Board chairman within five or six weeks, council President George L. Leventhal said Tuesday.

If the council keeps to that schedule, Chairman Derick P. Berlage, who withdrew his bid for reappointment earlier this month, would stay in place only a few weeks after his term expires June 14.

The council will conduct public interviews for Berlage’s replacement, said Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park.

Five people submitted letters to the council before Wednesday’s deadline, bringing the total to 14.

New applicants are:

*Devin L. Battley, president of Rockville Harley–Davidson.

Battley attended St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa., was graduated from Ryder Truck Driving School and is a member of several civic and business groups.

*Alan Steele Bowser, a former deputy secretary of commerce and lawyer who represents clients before federal agencies and Congress.

Bowser is a member of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board and holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, a master’s from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s from Princeton University.

*Art Brodsky, an Olney activist and communications director of Public Knowledge, a group that advocates openness in the use of information technology.

Brodsky holds a degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and one in government and politics from the University of Maryland.

*David C. Gardner , a lawyer who lives in Ashton and is former president of the Greater Olney Civic Association.

Gardner has represented clients in land-use and zoning cases in the county. He holds a law degree from The Washington College of Law of The American University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, Orono.

*Michele M. Rosenfeld, who resigned in April from the job she has held since 1996 as the Planning Board’s lead attorney.

Rosenfeld has worked for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission since 1989. In her letter to the council, Rosenfeld said, ‘‘The Planning Board’s independence has been eroded by a blurring of the lines between County Council and Planning Board authority over the agency....”

She lives in Potomac and holds a law degree from The Washington College of Law of The American University and a bachelor’s from the State University of New York, Binghampton.

Other applicants include:

*Royce Hanson of Montgomery Village, director of the Center for Washington Area Studies at The George Washington University and a nationally respected planning expert who advised the council on how to fix the failures that led to hundreds of uncaught building violations in Clarksburg.

*John M. Robinson of Silver Spring, who has three years remaining in his second term on the Planning Board and would be eligible to serve as chairman for only three years.

*William R. Dodge, executive director of the National Association of Regional Councils from 1997 to 2001 and runs Regional Excellence Consulting from his home in Bethesda.

*Richard L. Claypoole of Silver Spring, who retired in 2005 as assistant archivist of the United States for Presidential Libraries.

*Thomas C. Snyder, former director of the Air and Radiation Management Administration of the Maryland Department of the Environment.

*Tiaa B. Rutherford, a member of the planning commission in Columbia, S.C.

*Wendell M. Holloway of Potomac, a member of the county’s board of (zoning) appeals and former lobbyist for Suburban Hospital and Ford Motor Co.

*Shelton Skolnick, a lawyer, civic activist and resident of Silver Spring.

*Gerald R. Cichy of Rockville, acting deputy administrator of corporate services for the Maryland Transit Administration.

Many council members declined to discuss the applicants in detail, saying they did not want to discourage anyone from applying or to ‘‘handicap” the field before all the contestants were known.

But two offered views of the contest.

‘‘I think we should get a fresh start,” said Steven A. Silverman (D-At large) of Silver Spring, chairman of the council’s Planning Housing and Economic Development Committee.

Silverman, who is running for county executive, said he would not support a current board member as chairman.

But he said he is ‘‘very impressed” by the work that Hanson did for the council.

‘‘Mr. Hanson’s seniority is a plus as far as I’m concerned,” Silverman said.

Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen said Hanson can ‘‘get the agency back to basics ... and would have the respect of all the stakeholders.”

‘‘My money is on Mr. Hanson,” said Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park.

Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton said the council needs to consider whether the terms of Planning Board members should be staggered so that there continues to be experienced members on the board.

Among the four part-time members, none is eligible for reappointment and, except for Robinson, their terms expire in or before 2008.