Thread by @janeplyons

Today the consultants are presenting their report to @MoCoCouncilMD. The primary focus so far is on concerns they heard about gentrification from compact growth and skepticism around prioritizing transit, walking, and biking.

https://twitter.com/janeplyons/status/1568224119845519360

The first councilmember comments, from Council President @albornoz_gabe: "We're not going to please everyone with this document... But we can't do nothing."

@hansriemer thanks the consultants and says it's clear "we need to do more, and we need to do better." He asks what engagement tactics were most effective. Answer: relationship building, paying people for their time, and a transparent and honest process.

"Compressed timeframes are the enemy of equity and justice," says one of the consultants. In relation to this, @nancy_navarro says she hopes her colleagues will entertain a follow-up discussion on the report.

I'm glad that a lot of this conversation today is about how we can do better in our community outreach processes going forward, because there's so much more the county can do better. Hopefully that will be a short-term, positive outcome of this #Thrive2050 process.

Next up, @willjawando talks about the movie Crimson Tide and the importance of having an authentic message. He says the county needs to institutionalize these best practices.

This hits, from one of the consultants: "One of the things that really bothers me about this field is, I tell people what I do and nobody knows what it is... That's part of the reason power has been preserved the way it has."

@RicePolitics makes the point that if the county is going to do outreach it needs to be ready to hear things it doesn't want to hear. He also says that setting up tables at community events is not the best time to engage people.

The County Council had multiple briefings on the Thrive outreach and drafting process going back to the very beginning where they had the opportunity to raise these concerns and direct the Planning Department to do differently. I wish they had said these things back in 2019.

"You rarely see someone carrying a 2x4 on a train," says @SidneyKatz4MC. You also hardly ever see someone with a household income above $75,000 on the bus.

@Andrew_Friedson talks about needing to find the core of distrust and dig deeper to build positive relationships, which will take time. "The key is that we institutionalize the changes we talk about here," and have real conversations about disinvestment and displacement.

Council President @albornoz_gabe ends by saying, "We will follow-up... and we will work aggressively to meet the timeline that had been set forth that we all agreed to as well." Good to hear.