Gerald Cichy News Today

A pair of new faces has been appointed to planning board in Montgomery County, Maryland.

We endorse Mitra Pedoeem for appointment to the politically unaffiliated seat on the Montgomery County Planning Board. Here’s why we like her, and why we couldn’t endorse a Republican applicant.

In the week since all five members of the Montgomery County Planning Board abruptly resigned, the county council, which can appoint and remove those board members, is working to “move forward,” according to council president Gabe Albornoz.

The Montgomery County Council announced Wednesday that it had accepted the resignations of the entire county Planning Board. It’s the latest chapter in what has been a turbulent few weeks for county planning officials.

The resignations by Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson, Vice Chair Partap Verma, Commissioners Gerald Cichy, Carol Rubin and Tina Patterson are effective immediately.

Montgomery County’s planning board, responsible for guiding growth in the Maryland county, resigned after months of controversy.

Montgomery County’s Planning Board has been the center of a tussle over how, or if, this diversifying county should change or grow. Now that the entire board has stepped down, what happens next could shape the county’s future for years.