Isiah Leggett - First Term As County Executive

First Term As County Executive

In the early days of his administration, Leggett took the lead on a number of controversial issues. To help alleviate transportation funding difficulties and move County transit projects forward, he proposed a statewide gas tax increase, a position he first articulated in his race for County Executive. This proposal, which happened in the midst of a state budget crunch and in response to high levels of traffic congestion in the county, was supported by the County Council but largely ignored by incoming Governor Martin O'Malley. Leggett continued to advocate for the increase throughout his term.

Leggett also solved a vexing problem involving a hiring site for day laborers from the city of Gaithersburg and the surrounding upcounty area. During the term of Leggett's predecessor Doug Duncan, Gaithersburg had struggled to find space within the city limits that the county could lease for use as a location where the day laborers could wait for employers. The owners of virtually all of the more than 30 sites considered by the city government had refused to grant a lease for this purpose, and in the one case where the property owner was willing to consider the use, the county's efforts to lease the property fell through after the property owner backed out. The debate became caught up in a larger national debate about the role of illegal immigrants in American society. Leggett located a site for day laborer center on county-owned land. Despite opposition from anti-immigrant voices, the Center has served hundreds of workers and employers without incident.

Additionally, Leggett came out in favor of a proposed partial moratorium on new real-estate development in the county. This moratorium was proposed by Councilmember Marilyn Praisner, and was intended to allow the County time to reevaluate and revise its growth policy. Critics of the moratorium expressed concerns that it might cause economic harm to the county, sending the message to the business community that the county was unpredictable. Despite Leggett's support, however, the moratorium law was altered so that it did not completely stop applications for new development but rather placed increased regulation on them while the county planning board and county council revised the county's planning process.