Basic Information
Democratic Party – running for Montgomery County Council District 6
Email info@omarlazo.com
Website www.omarlazo.com
Facebook facebook.com/lazo4council
Twitter @Lazo4Council
Other instagram.com/lazo4council
Questions & Responses (All Candidates)
1 – What lessons learned do you have since the start of the pandemic?
I’ve learned of the disastrous consequences of inequity on our society. I have also learned of the importance of having local leaders that are connected to and trusted by the community. I have learned the importance of working with our nonprofits and community organizations. During the pandemic I was on the ground working with our leaders and residents to rally to help our underserved. I donated and delivered food to people facing food insecurity. I organized vaccination drives at restaurants, schools, churches, we took the vaccines to the people. We quickly learned that we needed to take food directly to the houses of covid positive people because they were not supposed to leave their homes. I was out there volunteering for food insecurity, vaccinations, medical services, testing, along with all the other advocacy on all the board and committees that I serve on. Our community partners are the reason we
went from the worst vaccination rates to the best vaccination rates in the country.
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?
One of the issues that is most controversial in the County has been Thrive 2050. I think that as a county we should have done a much better job of doing community outreach and explaining what the plan is about and how it will affect us. This is a plan that affects everyone here in the county and we must make sure that if we are voting on something, that it is very clear to the residents as to how it will affect them.
3 – What do you think are the 3 biggest and most pressing issues facing our county in the next 4 years? Why?
I believe the 3 biggest issues for the next 4 years will be quality of education and getting our kids back on track. Second, will be to tackle the affordable housing crisis that we have in Montgomery County. Third, will be to focus on economic development in the county so we can grow our services and create a better quality of life for all our residents.
4 – What specifically do you plan to do in the 3 most pressing areas from Question 3?
I believe education will be one of the biggest issues. We are facing a very large teacher shortage right now and foresee many more teachers leaving the schools. The quality of our schools has been declining for years now and we must do all we can to improve our ranking. After the pandemic we are seeing that our kids are falling further behind, and the numbers are exponentially worse for our black and brown communities. We must look at the policies that are in place and make sure that they are inclusive to all. We must also provide incentives for our residents to follow a teaching career. I truly believe we should pay for the education of those that want to commit their lives to teaching our children here in the county. This will be a challenge for years to come.
Building more affordable housing is also one of the biggest pressing issues. We have had a deficit in affordable housing for years now and it has been growing year after year. If we want to grow our tax base to improve services and quality of life then we must take action to ensure that the people that work in our county, live in our county. We must make sure that we preserver the current levels of affordable housing and increase the number of units with all new developments. Too many times people knock down buildings only to put up luxury buildings with less affordable housing units than they had before. We must also expand programs that allow people to own their own homes, including down payment assistance.
Another pressing issue will be economic development. We are falling behind compared to our neighbors. We must use all the tools that we have to make sure that we have a pipeline for workforce training. The only way to attract large companies is to ensure that we have a highly educated and trained workforce. There needs to be a stronger collaboration between MCPS and our higher learning institutions so that we
start training our children for the jobs of tomorrow. We must make sure that all our residents have access to workforce development. Many people are reanalyzing their careers which creates a great opportunity to uptrain people in high paying jobs and industries.
5 – Would you consider supporting changes to 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?
I would consider open primaries and anything that will give a better voice to the
people
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 its lacking in the Up County and East County and compete with Northern Virginia?
To retain businesses in Montgomery County I believe we need to create a robust support system for our business that will work to offer access to capital and other tools so that we can help them expand. We must also have a network of business navigators/ambassadors that will connect you with trade unions and other organizations that will help you grow your business. To attract new business, we must make sure that we reduce the permitting process times so that businesses can open a lot sooner that it takes currently. Every month a business is not open is potential tax revenue that is going down the drain. I am on the Board of Trustees for Montgomery College, and we are in the process of opening an East Campus that I feel will be a great opportunity to spur economic development in the East County. That coupled with the campus in Germantown is also a great opportunity in attracting companies. We must make sure that our colleges are training our students for the jobs that the large corporations need. We currently are positioned to be world leaders in the bio sciences industry. IT, Internet security, and Artificial Intelligence are all industries that are in high demand. We must make sure that we are have the highly trained and educated workforce that will attract these companies.
2 – How will you hold developers accountable for past, present, and future infrastructure commitments (schools, transit, roads, etc.)?
I think that we must really take a hard look at the policies that we have in place that incentivize development in our county that bring no economic incentives to our county. We offer tax deferment, subsidies, tax benefits for many commercial buildings that will eventually sit there empty. We have millions of square feet of commercial space that sits vacant, yet we continue to construct more and more commercial space. We must make sure that any development takes a hard look at equity and the impact on the surrounding community. We cannot continue to build residential housing in areas where our children are taking classes in trailers because of crowding in schools. We must make sure everyone pays their fair share.
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?
I believe we need to work on training and hiring people directly from our community. We need to start at our schools and offer incentives including paying for the education of residents that want to follow a criminal justice career and commit to working here in the county. We need people that understand that are culturally sensitive to the differences that exist in our community. That can only be accomplished by bringing people in that are part of our community. We need to start by building those relationships with the children in the schools. We need look into school Cadet programs like the JROTC programs that will incentivize our own residents towards a career in the police force. In Wheaton, I have been working with the police to connect them with the community. We must nurture these relationships and rebuild the trust so that our officers can concentrate their efforts where they are most needed.
4 – What do you see as your biggest advantage or positive that you bring to the table over your competitors?
The biggest advantage I have over my competitors is that I have been a part of this community for over 33 years. I have advocated for Pedestrian safety and have helped leaded walking tours with other pedestrian advocates. I am 2nd -Vice President of the Wheaton and Kensington Chamber of commerce which brings me the support from the business community. My work on the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee and the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee has proven my commitment to the community for over a decade. I am on the Board of Trustees for Montgomery College, the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence that reinforces my commitment to education in our county. I am on the Board of Workforce Development for the County and work on workforce development through my work at Montgomery College, which is connected to my advocacy for economic development. I am on the Board of the Wheaton Arts Parade which is a continuation of my work for the Arts District. I am a member of Committee for Montgomery which advocates for legislation at the state
level. I am without a doubt the most well-rounded candidate running for District 6 and my roots in the community and advocacy on the local level are unapparelled. Being the true local candidate when you are running to represent a district is what separates me from the rest of the field.
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