Summary
While I was an adamant supporter of Jarrett Smith’s first campaign for Takoma Park City Council in 2012, I have become increasingly disillusioned. My concern turned to alarm in September, when I contacted him about holding a candidate forum (which ended up taking place this week – see below) and he responded by disparaging his opponent and refusing to participate.
Smith has championed some worthwhile issues during his tenure (he is responsible for the city’s plastic bag ban, among other things), but takes too much credit for things he had little to do with (like the Flower Avenue Green Street project). And now he apparently believes his incumbency to be a right (rather than privilege), while making excuses for his own failure to directly engage residents. I have sadly concluded that Smith is an out-of-touch politician unsuited to serving Ward 5’s particular needs.
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A major reason I supported Jarrett Smith in his first run came from my concern about the lack of diversity in the ward’s meager civic engagement (with consistently lower voter turnout than in any other ward). Smith seemed to represent a fresh opportunity, because he lived in the northern part of the ward (where there’s been almost no engagement with or by residents) and is African American. I thought he would have a good chance at increasing participation within his neighborhood and among other people of color in the ward.
I had also been disappointed in the lack of proactive communication by previous councilmembers and spoke with Smith about the need for more outreach to generate engagement and he seemed to agree.
After being elected, Smith held one community BBQ, which may well have been the only community event he organized (he cited no others at the candidate forum). For a while, Smith sent out a regular an email newsletter about his and city council’s work, but those ceased two or three years ago, leaving us in the dark about issues pertinent to Ward 5 and Takoma Park.
During the past two years, Smith has not responded to many emails from constituents (this has been my experience and is corroborated by others), as well as from some public officials. Even on issues directly affecting us (e.g., the removal of some stop signs and a small chemical spill at Washington Adventist Hospital [WAH]), Mayor Kate Stewart and city staff have been quicker to respond than Smith and with more useful substance.
Ultimately, Smith seems to have stopped caring about engaging with his old neighborhood (I learned recently that Smith moved out of his that neighborhood some time ago and now lives on Garland Avenue – a non-contiguous part of the ward at the other end from where he had been). Perhaps his relocation led to his lethargy? Nonetheless, there is no evidence of concerted outreach during his second and third terms.
Notwithstanding my increasing disappointment in Smith, I was prepared to vote for him again this year, even though I found his opponent Amee Bearne compelling. (I’ll write more about Bearne tomorrow.)
Then, a month ago, I contacted Smith and Bearne to organize a Ward 5 candidate forum. Bearne’s flexibility was limited because she was on duty with FEMA in Houston following hurricane Harvey, tying her up until late October. When I asked Smith about making some time available then, he responded by disparaging Bearne and declaring: “I’m not going to go out of my way to accommodate my opponent.” When I pushed back he wrote: “Thanks for the offer, but I won’t be participating in any debate.” (He later changed his mind.)
I believe that Smith’s initial refusal to cooperate is a result of incumbent complacency. He apparently believes his city council seat “belongs” to him and considers any challenge to be illegitimate.
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Monday’s Candidates Forum
The discussion that took place this week at Washington Adventist University (which was expertly moderated by Takoma Voice’s Eric Bond), showed Smith to be disengaged on the ground, as well as full of excuses and empty promises. A recurring theme was the very lack of diversity in the ward’s civic engagement that led me to support Smith originally. Smith never acknowledged any failing on his part, instead offering rationales such as [paraphrasing]: it’s just as bad in other wards or (the opposite!) those other wards have advantages we don’t.
It amazed me when Bearne drew a contrast to Ward 4, where Councilmember Terry Seamens’s consistent interaction with residents has produced a dramatic increase in voter turnout. Smith claimed that this was entirely due to Terry’s wife Joyce’s work with a charity that distributes free food. As if the husband-wife team were bribing their constituents! Smith finished up that thought by declaring: “I am against free food.”
Here are other highlights of Smith’s forum performance:
- He claimed we can only secure a freestanding ER (after WAH departs), if the county and state cough up money. He neglected to mention that state law forbids almost all such ERs and, when challenged, referred to a “working group” (who? with what authority?) that is supposedly about to resolve the issue in Takoma Park’s favor. Count me highly skeptical. Regardless, without a change in state law, lobbying for money is wasted effort.
- Both at the October 23 citywide candidate forum and this week, Smith named “ending tax duplication” his top priority He ought to know better, since the matter has been studied and discussed ad nauseum, since the early aughts. Smith offers no concrete path to a different policy outcome, nor acknowledges that – in a heavily county-centric state – counties have no formal obligations in this regard: any gift from Montgomery County would be exactly that: a gift. In fact, the only aspect under Takoma Park’s control is whether to ditch services (like a police force and recreation department) which the county also provides. This could then result in a tax cut (which would be distributed how?). Is Smith proposing draconian cuts to city services for a tax cut? He doesn’t say. But his repetitive reference to his relationships around the county are not going to change state law.
- When Bearne challenged Smith on the importance of holding community events, Smith offered nothing from his past record nor any future plans. He cited only a particular neighborhood picnic that is not publicized much beyond a few blocks and which Smith has had nothing to do with organizing.
- Smith claimed that his work at the county level is both more important than and mutually exclusive of what he called “capacity building” (He never defined that term, but I gathered from the context that it really means door-knocking and holding community events.) I have to wonder, why can’t he attend intragovernmental meetings and work on the ground in our ward?
Jarrett Smith’s lack of interest in community-building and disregard for some who would engage him directly is disappointing. The sense of entitlement underlying this behavior and his sharply negative reaction to the idea of sharing a stage with his opponent are, for me, offensive.
Takoma Park residents ought to pour love on our councilmembers, who are barely compensated for their positions. But such service is an honor: the right to serve must be earned and earned again: no member of council should ever believe their seat is sacred.
Sadly, Jarrett Smith no longer qualifies to represent our highly diverse and extremely disengaged ward. Since our poor voter turnout is a significant contributor to our relative lack of power in city council, it matters. Since we have so many neighbors in need who have never even seen their councilmember’s face, getting someone in office who actually cares enough to introduce herself matters that much more. If I have to choose, I’d go for fewer meetings with county bigwigs that that do nothing for our residents and a lot more commitment to “capacity building” on the ground.
©2018 Keith Berner
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