When the Gazette's Janel Davis called to interview me about Joy Nurmi's appointment as director of the East County Regional Services Center, I was busy driving around Center City Philadelphia and getting lost. As a result, I'm happy that what I was quoted as saying was fairly coherent and not littered with road-related profanities.
I got a question about this yesterday, so I figured I'd clarify: Joy Nurmi would essentially be the Gary Stith (director of the Silver Spring regional services center, or jokingly, the "Mayor" of Silver Spring) for East County, though with different responsibilities. East County doesn't have any urban districts; there aren't any major development/redevelopment/public works projects like "the Turf" or the Transit Center to follow up on. But Nurmi will still serve as the liaison between The People and County Executive Ike Leggett - and since Leggett lives in Burtonsville, she'll have to answer to him as both superior and constituent.
And if she's looking for a house on the east side - which, I mean, she'd better be - I've got a real estate agent you should talk to.
"Given how sensitive the issues in the eastern part of the county are, the fact that someone who lives in Germantown would be representing us is not ideal," said Dan Reed, author of the Just Up the Pike blog about east county issues. "It's not the same as someone who lives here, has had their children in schools here."Check out the story in the Gazette - where I rub elbows with East County civic activists Stuart Rochester and Cary Lamari - here.
I got a question about this yesterday, so I figured I'd clarify: Joy Nurmi would essentially be the Gary Stith (director of the Silver Spring regional services center, or jokingly, the "Mayor" of Silver Spring) for East County, though with different responsibilities. East County doesn't have any urban districts; there aren't any major development/redevelopment/public works projects like "the Turf" or the Transit Center to follow up on. But Nurmi will still serve as the liaison between The People and County Executive Ike Leggett - and since Leggett lives in Burtonsville, she'll have to answer to him as both superior and constituent.
And if she's looking for a house on the east side - which, I mean, she'd better be - I've got a real estate agent you should talk to.
2 comments:
No doubt you have seen how Adam Pagnucco over a Maryland Politics Watch all but declared his own sanity a lost cause with his characterization of Ms Nurmi as being nothing more than a pawn in a power struggle between "Ike" Leggett and Nancy Navarro. You might want to read my commentary on that since I think it's pretty hilarious as well as on-point. Even Rocky Lopes almost called Adam an idiot, not that Mr Lopes would ever do such a thing, but he did come close.
Regardless of where she lives, Ms Nurmi is still one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of District 4, and I have no doubts that she'll do a great job.
That being said, I suspect that once she's had to commute MD-28/198 a few times at rush-hour, she'll probably start to think that a change of address might be in order.
I keep asking "how did we, as a society, get to be so crazy?" and one of the answers I come up with is "commuting on MD-28/198 is enough to drive anyone mad".
Responding to Adam's claim on MPW that Ike Leggett's appointment of Joy Nurmi -- and Adam sticks to his claim that Ms Nurmi is an unqualified Navarro opponent -- will do nothing but place a wedge between Leggett supporters and Navarro supporters, I respond:
And you will probably never let this comment see the light of day.
That's why I will repost it both at my blog and at JUTP.
You seem to be fixated on how this will impact Nancy Navarro, in the first part, and in the second part, you seem to be fixated on how this will impact Ike Leggett.
The problem you have here is that these things are not the issue.
The issue is how well are the constituents served. That's really the only issue; all else is sidebar.
Joy Nurmi will be an exceptional and high-value service provider and program omsbudsman and enabler. Try to think about the constituents for once.
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