Alan Bowser for Montgomery County Planning Board

409 Deerfield Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

July 16, 2009

Mr. Phil Andews, President
Montgomery County Council
Rockville, MD 20850

Dear Mr. Andrews:

I write to ask your support for my appointment to the Montgomery County Planning Board.

As you know, this is the fourth time that I have been invited—by the County Council—to interview for possible appointment to this most important public body.

Beginning in 2006 and every year since, I have had detailed discussions with County Council members, individually and before the full Council, about my professional experiences and my knowledge of planning and development issues in the County. My conversations with the Council on these numerous occasions have always been cordial and constructive and have greatly enhanced my knowledge of key issues and the opinions of Council members. I take this process seriously and I have welcomed the very supportive comments made by you and your Council colleagues about my integrity, experience and knowledge.

Of all the candidates being considered this year, I believe that I am the best prepared and most qualified for appointment to the Board.

As you know, the Montgomery County Council has already indicated its confidence in my ability and integrity by appointing me twice to the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board and, more recently, to the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services Advisory Committee.

I also have the confidence of the County Executive. I have been appointed by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett to the Silver Spring Arts & Entertainment District Advisory Committee and the County Executive’s African American Advisory Group.

The Planning Board, for its part, has invited me to participate as a Member of the Montgomery County Planning Board Functional Master Plan Advisory Group for the Purple Line—the most important contemporary transit issue for the County.

Of all the candidates being considered this year, I have the most professional experience in housing, transportation, energy & environmental issues, having worked for more than 30 years in the public and private sector as an attorney, economist and senior executive.

Of all the candidates being considered this year, I have the most experience in the Montgomery County community-at-large, and my community outreach is unrivalled. In addition to my service on the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, and as its former chair of its Neighborhoods Committee, I serve as a member of the Steering Committee, Northwest Park Oakview Weed & Seed Program, as President of the Park Hills Civic Association, and as President of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. I have worked, closely with colleagues throughout the County, to enhance community building relationships with members of the African, Caribbean, Asian, and Latin American communities, especially in the Long Branch, Takoma Langley, and New Hampshire Avenue communities. And, as mentioned to you and your colleagues in an earlier communication, I have founded two innovative and popular blogs in support of the Montgomery County arts & entertainment community as well as neighborhood revitalization in Silver Spring.

With regard to key planning and development issues in Montgomery County, I have the most direct and practical experience of any of the candidates for appointment to the Planning Board in 2009. I have worked closely with staff members of the County Council, the County Executive, and the Planning Board, along with members of the development and civic community, on a host of critical issues, ranging from the Purple Line to affordable housing to historic preservation to parks & recreation to environmental protection.

I have been an active participant in discussions on the mode and alignment of the Purple Line, the design of a new headquarters for the Planning Board, the design of the Silver Spring Library, reuse of the Sligo Golf Course, Fenton Village revitalization, the revision of the County’s Growth Policy, the revision of the County Zoning Ordinance, and several of the proposed master and sector plan revisions.

Of all the candidates for appointment to the Planning Board, I have the most extensive history of cooperation with the private sector, having worked closely with the business and development community on many central business district projects in Silver Spring, through my service on the Arts & Entertainment District Advisory Committee, the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, and the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc.

Of all the candidates for appointment this year, I have the longest and most continuous history of active and positive engagement in public policy issues in Montgomery County. I am proud to have been endorsed for this appointment by many, many members of the Montgomery County community, many of whom have sent you letters of support of my candidacy.

I believe that I am the most qualified and best prepared of all the candidates and I respectfully request your support for this appointment. I hope that you will recognize the depth of my preparation, the scope of my knowledge, my commitment to the County, and my longstanding interest in this position.

Sincerely,

Alan S. Bowser

cc: Members of the Montgomery County Council