Basic Information
Democratic Party – running for Montgomery County Council At Large
Email info@laurieannesayles.org
Website www.laurieannesayles.org
Facebook facebook.com/SaylesforMoCo
Twitter @LaurieASayles
Other instagram.com/councilmember_lasayles
Questions & Responses (All Candidates)
1 – What lessons learned do you have since the start of the pandemic?
Our county is a tale of two communities, the haves, and have-nots. The pandemic exacerbated what we knew about the issues and problems specific Montgomery County communities were experiencing pre-pandemic. For these communities, their lives became significantly worse. Montgomery County was not doing enough for these communities. I hope to respond and stand up for programs that address food insecurity, quality, affordable healthcare, and rental assistance.
2 – If you could go back and do one thing differently from what was done in the last two years in Montgomery County, what would you change?
To have Montgomery County do what we did in Gaithersburg during my tenure as a Gaithersburg City Councilmember. As a Gaithersburg City Councilmember, I am proud of the fiscal prudence the city practiced in managing the City’s $70M+ budget, exceeding grant allocations to partner organizations, sustaining and growing the 4th largest biotech corridor in the nation; home to five of the Pharmaceutical companies approved to research and develop life-saving vaccines for international distribution, all while maintaining a zero-debt budget and not raising taxes, during the worst economic downturn in our lifetime.
3 – What are the three biggest and most pressing issues facing our county in the next 4 years? Why?
Recovery from the pandemic, education, and affordable housing. These are the three most pressing issues because these are the issues that most impacted the most vulnerable communities during the pandemic.
4 – What specifically do you plan to do in the 3 most pressing areas from Question 3?
S.M.A.R.T. Government is my acronym for the policy agenda that will successfully position our County to compete in the future economy!
As a parent, lawmaker, organizer, and effective advocate, I will demonstrate my visionary leadership by focusing on the following key priorities:
- Strengthening 21st century learning from cradle to career and beyond
- Making a living in Montgomery County more affordable
- Advancing sustainable local food production in the Ag Reserve
- Recovering from the pandemic and revitalizing the economy
- Tackling climate change through multi-modal transportation infrastructure
5- Would you consider supporting changes to the electoral process such as open primaries or non-partisan elections in Montgomery County to allow 155,000+ registered Unaffiliated/Independents in Montgomery County to vote locally when it counts?
The current electoral process is not the best, and while I’m not opposed to an Open
Primary, we have a sound system.
Questions & Responses (County Council)
1 – What is your plan to attract and KEEP businesses in Montgomery County? How can we get more businesses across the county and especially where it’s lacking in the Up County and East County and compete with Northern Virginia?
I moved here because of our schools, and now they’re in the midst of one of the broadest learning gaps due to learning loss during the pandemic. My plan for attracting and retaining businesses in our County begins with creating an environment that supports the current business community while leveraging our county’s incredible resources to attract and grow new industries, our economy, and our workforce. Local governments should have a combination of programs dedicated to training and educating our future workforce in preparation for future jobs. Moreover, we should meet more frequently with the local
municipalities like Gaithersburg and regional partners in DC and Virginia, and Prince George’s County to better understand their approach to economic development. Additionally, entities like the County’s Economic Development Corporation, small business sectors, local chambers, and Visit Montgomery to better evaluate our effectiveness in growing our economy to pivot and adapt as needed.
2 – How will you hold developers accountable for past, present, and future infrastructure commitments (schools, transit, roads, etc.)?
Accountability and transparency must be part of the process built into the contracts we make with developers and allow the community to know about significant developments before they are created and have adequate time to weigh in before things happen.
3 – What do you plan to do about the increase in incidents of carjackings and homicides in the county and decline of applicants and morale in the police force?
We need more resources for our residents to have meaningful opportunities to build fulfilling lives outside of school hours. We also need to live in safe communities, and our officers should be able to live in the communities they serve. We need to work together to curb violence, increase community policing and build our police force from within the community by increasing career pathways into public safety. If we can have ROTC programs at every school, we should be able also to expand our cadet program to have a consistent applicant pool.
4 – What do you see as your biggest advantage or positive that you bring to the table over your competitors?
My experience as a lawmaker on the Gaithersburg City Council, coupled with my full-time career as a Strategic Communications Consultant and Senior Project Manager, span over 15 years of researching and devising solutions to tackle challenges at some of our nation’s most trusted institutions like the FDA, National League of Cities, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, NIH, Kaiser Permanente, and The Nature Conservancy. The City of Gaithersburg did well before and even during the pandemic. With so much turnover at the county level and the loss of institutional knowledge, more than half of our council will be new. I want to bring these best practices and my trusted, tested leadership to benefit the rest of Montgomery County.
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