Gajewski Announces Run For Re-Election
Jul 23, 2009 11:05 - 16 Comments
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Yesterday, Rockville city council member Piotr Gajewski announced he is running for reelection.
Piotr, who is a frequent attendee at our monthly Rockville Roundtable gatherings made his announcement at yesterday’s lunch.
He said that he could have had an event with food, friends, and family as he did when he ran two years ago, but he decided Rockville Central’s lunches bring a group of people together who “are passionate about Rockville.”
Not to mention we asked about his plans at the last one he attended — and he was coy. So we wanted to know!
Yesterday the Gazette mentioned he would be making his plans known at our event.
Gajewski briefly outlined the issues he considers a priority. When he first ran for City Council in 2007, he said he was concerned about refuse and recycling system changes and the ongoing Fios installation issue. At yesterday’s lunch, he very briefly described his priorities if reelected.
Here is the introduction to his campaign from the Gajewski website:
Beautiful, safe neighborhoods and great City services delivered with a smile are Rockville’s trademarks. But effective government should not mean runaway taxes. Gajewski has provided the key leadership to lower Rockville’s tax rate and, most recently, cast a swing vote to actually decrease City spending.
Gajewski has also been the strongest voice on the Council in support of a more open and transparent government. He has lead the effort to decrease the use of closed sessions and was the first councilmember to hold regular Townhall Meetings to reach out to Rockville residents.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Rockville Roundtable is a monthly, informal lunch where anyone is welcome and there is no set agenda. We started it in February 2008 and have been getting together every month since then, with few exceptions. It’s not a political event, but we do discuss issues that affect the City and we welcome all who have issues they want to talk about. For a quick recap of yesterday’s lunch see this article.
Rockville Central does not endorse candidates. Gajewski’s announcement at Rockville Roundtable does not in any way indicate support of his campaign. It’s also important to note that attending the lunch is in no way the same thing as attending a campaign event. In all, four candidates for office were at yesterday’s lunch and all of them had a chance to speak. But the main focus of the lunch was a rich and deep discussion of Rockville Central’s comment policy.
For our part, we are pleased that a candidate would respect our work and the fair, safe spaces we have tried to create in order to choose to announce at our event.
This article was written by both Cindy Cotte Griffiths and Brad Rourke.
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Dear Mr. Rourke,I was absolutely despondent over your decision to shill for Council Member Gajewski. I read your blog once in a while and recently saw the notice for the Rockville Roundtable. I was planning on attending (for the first time), when I got copied on an email that originally came from you, speaking of the round table and promoting Gajewski’s council run.First, I’m not so sure about Mr. Gajewski himself. He’s seems rather arrogant and has been discourteous to many citizens and fellow council members.Also, Mr. Gajewski had every opportunity to announce his candidacy at the townhall meeting you reported on. He could have announced anytime, before or after the roundtable. I didn’t come because I didn’t want to become a “defacto-supporter” of Gajewsi’s by attending. I guess he needed a higher body count than the seven he got at his own meeting.Mr. Rourke, are you really “fair and balanced” or do you have your own favorites for whom you subtly (and not so subtly) promote?Bob Johnson
Bob, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know that there was controversy over this topic. After thinking it through, I stand by my decision to say “ok”, which I gave a great deal of thought to.This “political” piece of the lunch was a very small aspect and if you want to know more about the real meat of the event I’d >encourage you to read this article.
In any event, I am glad you are willing to engage with me on the issue rather than simply reject Rockville Central out of hand.
I only have three points I’d like to make, which aren’t about me defending myself but instead are meant to clarify a couple of things:
First, the Roundtable was in no way a campaign event. It happens every month, and candidates as well as office holders have attended in the past. There were four candidates who attended this particular lunch. I know for a fact that some attendees are definitely NOT supporters of some of the candidates who came.
Second, the email I believe you are talking about was a heads-up email to people who are regular attendees of Rockville Roundtable. I felt that since Gajewski’s plans had been divulged in teh press, that I owed people a forewarning so they could understand the context.
Third, we try our best to be fair, and try to bend over backwards to be open about all aspects of what we do here. I do think it is possible to have personal preferences and still be fair to those who hold opposing views. In fact, on a personal basis I have found myself perhaps giving more of a platform to views I disagree with, simply to ensure I was being fair. So while I understand your misgivings about subtle bias, I believe the antidote for that is openness and comments just like yours, designed to keep us honest.
Thanks again for your note.
Bob, so what if Poitr “seems rather arrogant” to you or has been “discourteous to many citizens and fellow council members.” Maybe some of them deserved it. Based on the rumors that were flying around, I was hoping that he would run for mayor. I think Poitr’s plan of getting rid of the city manager (or at least lessening his responsibilities) and changing Rockville’s charter to a strong mayor should be considered. Maybe Mr. Gajewski could make the trains run on time.
I don’t believe simply reporting that Piotr is running makes Brad a “shill” by any stretch. The blog has reported when every candidate has announced in exactly the same fashion.You may want to read the blog more often or review the older posts.
Well, this explains the preoccupation with exactly how many people were present at the Town Hall meeting. I was at the meeting, and I recall that Councilman Gajewski mentioned, in passing, that he hadn’t decided for sure whether or not he was going to run for reelection. So, I don’t understand making the assumption that he had some sort of obligation to make the announcement at a particular time, in a particular venue.As for anyone’s “arrogance”, I have seen the Councilman in several inflammatory situations, and he seemed to me to be the lesser of parties who were rude or condescending. I understand that there has been a lot of talk about resentment on the parts of a number of people who felt that they were not treated with sufficient respect, and I suppose that it’s very difficult to accommodate all parties, or to appear neutral at all times. While I agree that a certain amount of humility is desirable in our elected officials, it’s pretty low on my on criteria for qualification. I’d rather see genuine confidence on someone’s part, as opposed to false obsequity.To call Brad a “shill” is a true slander that I just can’t allow to pass without protest. Brad goes out of his way to open his blog to all viewpoints, and he spends a lot of time showing up for all sorts of events. The fact that he showed up at Councilman Gajewski’s Town Hall meeting probably has much more to do with the fact that the Councilman actually held the meeting and issued invitations, than with anything else. I can’t speak for the Roundtables, since I’ve never attended one myself. I’m not aware of any other Councilpersons recently having a Town Meeting, and if that was the case I would have endeavored to attend and to listen to what he or she had to say.
Brad, Theresa,I did read the prior posts and believe that it’s a valuable service that you report on candidates’ announcements to run for office. Also, I have no problem with candidates coming to a Roundtable lunch. In an election season, it is to be expected, even if a candidate wants to use the Roundtable as an opportunity to his political advantage. I understand you have no control over that.Where I believe you, Brad, crossed the line is in your July 22, 2009, 8:48AM email, where you stated, “You might have seen an article in today’s Gazette that says Piotr Gajewski is planning on announcing his political plans at today’s lunch. I wanted to just reach out to you to tell you a bit more about that.” And yes you even wrapped all that with disclaimers. However, in spite of the fact that, as you reported, several other candidates showed up, you give singular attention to Gajewski and did not mention any other candidate in your July 22 Roundtable reminder email.
I believe you are taking Brad’s comments out of the context that he put them in. As Brad plainly said, he wanted to give people a head’s up that Piotr was coming and that he planned to make an announcement, because not everyone sees the Gazette. For those who might have viewed the lunch as too political, they could choose not to go.That does not make him a shill. It makes him someone who does what he says–lets people know what’s going on and and that he cares about the tenor and makeup of the lunches.This really is a situation where anyone can show up without RSVPing in advance. Both Cheryl and Phyllis have come before and there’s no need to tell everyone who is coming. It’s very informal.
Hi folks, I just want to make sure there’s nothing secret going on here, so I have posted the text of the email Bob is referencing. >It’s here.
My intent definitely was not to single anyone out in a campaign sort of way. I regard non-endorsement as sacrosanct.
That said, I really had no idea that Phyllis and Cheryl would be there. I do recall that Waleed had mentioned he was coming and I should have put that in the email as context.
OK, I’ll be quiet now.
Mr. Thomas,I would rather have a courteous and civil elected official, than one who “makes the trains run on time.”Ms. Blalock,I have also seen the Councilman in several inflammatory situations and he’s usually the one yelling the loudest and saying hurtful things. Also, I guess this is where you and I differ, humility IS a highly desirable quality in our elected officials and it’s pretty HIGH on my on criteria for qualification. I’m tired of the bickering and discourse at City Hall. Thanks to this dysfunctional council, Rockville’s city government has become a bit of a laughing stock in the county. As far as other Councilpersons recently having Town Meetings, John Britton had one a few months ago, I think Phyllis Marcuccio was there too.Theresa,I took Brad at his word. As I said, my concern was not about the lunch itself, but Brad’s email. Brad only gave a “head’s up” about Gajewski’s announcement and did not mention any other candidate.
I addressed everything you said in my last response.
Everyone is making entirely too much of week’s Roundtable luncheon. We need to encourage others to VOTE in the Rockville City Election. There is a lot of discourse and the solution is to VOTE for the best candidates. We must be careful how we treat candidates because good people will not take on the responsibility knowing they will be treated unmercifully. Abuse is not acceptable.Let’s all remember we can AGREE to DISAGREE. Why is this so hard to understand? Opposing opinions does not require personal attacks. There are other more serious issues to address than who announced their candidacy. People need to be concerned with the unannounced matters.
The minute Piotr Gajewski alerted the press he was announcing his intentions for the 2009 election and the press showed up to cover the event, it was no longer a Roundtable gathering of civic minded friends getting together to discuss whatever topics arose. It was no different then others making announcements in pizza parlors. Some were perhaps conflicted…wanting to attend the monthly event as usual but not wanting to be seen by some as a supporter of Mr. Gajewski. Isn’t it a fact that most people that show up for these announcements either want free pizza or are supporters of the candidate? In this case, no free lunch. We are entitled to out opinion, that’s mine and the point is now moot, over and done.
JJ–you said: “Some were perhaps conflicted…wanting to attend the monthly event as usual but not wanting to be seen by some as a supporter of Mr. Gajewski. Isn’t it a fact that most people that show up for these announcements either want free pizza or are supporters of the candidate? In this case, no free lunch.”That’s preposterous. Perhaps people would go to learn more about the candidate? And given that there were two other Rockville candidate present and one state–what does that say about your theory?and..”We are entitled to out opinion, that’s mine and the point is now moot, over and done.”So, the discussion and debate is over because you say it is? Isn’t that bit dismissive and, perhaps, arrogant? Roundtables are monthly and there are a few more before the election, with plans to have candidate forums as well. So anyone who attends these is deemed a supporter? I think that’s a stretch.
Sorry…didn’t mean the debate is over. What I meant is the event is over…it happened. Of course I would encourage debate and discussion on this or any other topic posted on RC.
Stand Behind Our Decision {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/dBzkdYirSc_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”Stand Behind Our Decision ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/AviCzpW3PE”}}}
Dear Mr. Gajewski:i am wondering how you feel about changing the City’s policy on new construction to be like the County’s (link: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Council/PressRelease/PR_details.asp?PrID=5502 ) for people with disabilities and people who use strollers.