You’ve been in your new role as Council member for a year now. What’s been some of the biggest challenges you’ve had to deal with?

The biggest challenge being a Councilmember is balancing the County’s numerous policy objectives. My desire to create the most vibrant community possible, requires crafting policy that creates jobs and affordable housing, improves transportation, and increases access to child and health care. During my first year, I recommended that the Council consider an initiative to create a comprehensive full-day/full-year Universal Pre-K program in the County. The biggest challenge was to convince my collegues that a comprehensive Pre-K program, especially for low-income families, would have a significant economic benefit over the long-term and decrease the County’s expenditures for services such as Special Education and Juvenile Justice programs.

What are some of the accomplishments that you’re most proud of?

Some of the items I am most proud of are: crafting a new Pedestrian Safety Inititiative with the County Executive to expand funding for pedestrian safety, planning, and infrastructure that will create walkable communities; addressing constituent needs by establishing local offices and meeting with nearly all of the resident associations in District 5; implementing a Universal Pre-K pilot for 40 low-income families; and approving a new Road Code, which utilizes context sensitive design standards to decrease stormwater run-off and improve multi-modal transporation on new and re-constructed roads.

Silver Spring has undergone dramatic growth and change over the past 5 years. While the majority of this has been positive, there are still people who are scared of new development. What’s your response to this?

Development in Silver Spring near and around metro stations is the best way to get residents out of their cars, onto transit, build affordable housing, and improve the County’s economic base. If growth does not occur in our most urban areas near transit, it will lead to additional vehicles on our roadways and further exaserbate congestion. Maintaining the single-family residential communities surrounding the Silver Spring Central Business District and retaining existing and attracting new viable small businesses is critical to the vibrancy ofSilver Spring. I believe that ensuring Silver Spring’s future success requires additional development near metro to implement our Smart Growth policies and create additional customers for our existing and future businesses to thrive.

In looking ahead at your second year, what are some of the key initiatives that you hope to focus on for District 5 and South Silver Spring in specific?

Over the next year, I will work with the County Executive and Park and Planning to evaluate ways to connect downtown Silver Spring and South Silver Spring, identify opportunities to create new and preserve exisiting greenspace in the CBD and adjacent communities, improve pedestrian safety and infrastructre, pursue additional funding for Universal Pre-K, and adovcate for affordable housing and unique ground floor retail uses to be included in future Silver Spring development.

What role do you see SSSNA playing in the South Silver Spring community? OR What issues do you think SSSNA should address within the South Silver Spring community?

The South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association has done a great job activating and organizing the South Silver Spring community. The SSSNA should continue its active participation in Silver Spring’s development. Its unique composition of primarily new residents, allows the organization to effectively advocate for what is needed to make Silver Spring a dynamic community. You should continue to advocate for an increase in pedestrian infrastructure, connectivity, and safety, mass transit projects, such as the Purple Line, and ensuring that ground floor retail space is included in future mixed-use development projects so new local small-to-mid sized businesses can join Silver Spring.

To find out more about Councilmember Ervin and her initiatives, please visit us at:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/mem/Ervin/index.asp