The Politics Hour
Local politicians learned one thing very quickly this week: there was no escaping the "Snowpocalypse." Winter weather wreaked havoc on every corner of our region, and local leaders often found themselves the target of public anger. Join us for our weekly review of the politics, policies, and personalities of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Guests
Resident Analyst; NBC 4 reporter; and Columnist for the Current Newspapers
Montgomery County Councilmember (D-District 1)
Acting Commissioner, Virginia Department of Transportation
President, The Washington Teachers Union
Related Links
Politics Hour Extra
Washington Teachers Union President George Parker said that the union is "very close" to reaching a contract agreement with the DCPS. Howard University Law School Dean Kurt Schmoke has acted as a mediator throughout the negotiation process. Though Parker declined to name a specific timeframe for signing, he said that the terms of the contract as it stands now will "...give [teachers] what they need in order to do the job they've been asked to do."
Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner discusses lessons public officials learned from this week's record-breaking snowfall in the region. Berliner responded to Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein's argument that area officials should have been more forthright with the public in communicating that more efficient snow clearing can't be accomplished without raising taxes.
Comments
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I think it is quite absurd that people are angry at local civic leaders over the snow removal.
There are plenty of things truly wrong with local and national politics but this isn't one of them.
For an area which doesn't experience much snow in a typical year I think the job done in Mayrland and Virginia (I haven't been in the district since the storm) is BETTER than could reasonably be expected.
About a year before I came to this area ('96) the DC area was shut down for a week from 6" of snow (that was pathetic). Since then the area has gradually gotten better, and these days civic snow removal is quite good.
Three days after the big storm last weekend most roads I tried were passable and in decent shape.
If people have the unreasonable expecation of faster removal they better pony up a LOT more (in tax dollars) for a bigger snow removal staff and more equipment. Most of both of those would be idle in most years resulting in a lot of wasted public spending.
The fact that they were able to borrow and organize crews so quickly is marvelous, and in a year where local municipalities have already spent their snow removal budget AND are in a fiscal deficit I think they did an amazing job.