TOMORROW: Montgomery County Council Debates Leggett's Controversial Corporate Welfare Plans for Lockheed & COSTCO

PLUS: Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez & Kensington Residents Sound Off

[ WATCH THE COUNTY COUNCIL SESSION LIVE ONLINE ]

CORPORATE WELFARE ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA: Tomorrow, the Montgomery County Council is taking up a package of budget items requested by County Executive Ike Leggett. Two readers flagged that at 10:20 am TOMORROW, the Councilmembers will be taking up items #62-63, labeled simply Economic Development and Economic Development Fund:

VIDEO: Montgomery Councilmember George Leventhal Slams Steve Silverman on Ike Leggett's Lockheed Martin Welfare Plan

PLUS:  SEE VIDEO COMMENTARY FROM VARIOUS COUNCILMEMBERS ON LEGGETT'S PLAN

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice has been tracking the strange saga of Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett's repeated efforts to give Lockheed Martin nearly $1 million from the government treasury -- in exchange for nothing at all. He previously sought County Council approval for his corporate welfare plan, but the nine-member body balked at the idea. Two years later, he has re-packaged the welfare plan as an economic stimulus measure, and is trying once again to spend money on mindless corporate welfare. Montgomery County resident Jean Athey, has a new column at the Foreign Policy in Focus website, that explains some of the political context to the Lockheed controversy.

Most County Councilmembers have expressed disapproval at the idea of using economic stimulus dollars to give a single, profitable corporation a tax rebate. But even some who oppose the Leggett plan are still open to the idea of permanently implementing a tax break for Lockheed Martin. Below, we provide several video clips of Councilmembers expressing their opinions on the Lockheed welfare plan:

MARYLAND JUICE CAMEO AT COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETING: Last week, Maryland Juice reported that the proposed Lockheed tax giveaway was debated during a County Council PHED committee meeting. We have now obtained video footage of the April 26th meeting and are amused to see that Maryland Juice's advocacy against the Lockheed welfare plan was a topic of discussion (see below).

OMG: 3rd Term for MoCo Executive Ike Leggett? // Plus, County Analyst Calls Lockheed Martin Welfare Plan "Inappropriate"

UPDATE: The rumors about Mr. Leggett weighing a third term must be true. Maryland Juice just received an email indicating a new blog has emerged called "Leggett Watch." The only substantive post so far complains about Mr. Leggett trying to pass an ambulance fee after it was rejected at the ballot. But the introductory post provides some clues:

Welcome to www.LeggettWatch.com. This blog will serve as a collection and reference point for all of the shady things that Montgomery County exec, Isiah Leggett, does. Good old Ike is constantly doing shady things and yet always seems to get a pass from the media and the citizens of Montgomery County. Hopefully having a record of his shenanigans will help voters make a better decision come election time. Don’t forget folks, the county executive in Montgomery County has no term limits!

Amazingly, rumors are swirling that Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is currently floating trial balloons to see if he is viable to run for re-election as County Executive. Yesterday, Maryland Juice celebrated 300,000 pageviews on our blog, but we also took the opportunity to preview a few 2014 primary match-ups -- including the Montgomery County Executive's race. Two readers quickly mentioned that in spite of past statements indicating he would not seek a third term, Mr. Leggett is now considering just that. Wow.

Below Maryland Juice discusses the horrifying possibility of a third term from Mr. Leggett (or Doug Duncan for that matter), and we also update readers on Mr. Leggett's current obsession with corporate welfare for Lockheed Martin.

READ: Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett's Constituent Letter to Opponents of Corporate Welfare for Lockheed Martin

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice is not quite sure why Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is obsessed with giving away nearly $1 million of tax cuts to profitable defense contractor Lockheed Martin -- in exchange for nothing. The County Council previously rejected this idea, but Mr. Leggett tried to push the pork barrel line item through the back door by calling it an "economic development" grant. Notably, the expenditure of tax dollars is not expected to generate any new jobs or economic activity. In a letter that appeared in The Washington Post, Council President Roger Berliner noted that this defect would make Mr. Leggett's proposed welfare plan an inappropriate use of economic development dollars.

But the Leggett administration doesn't want to let this issue go. Maryland Juice just received the following copy of a letter that County Executive Ike Leggett is sending to residents who wrote letters of complaint about the Lockheed welfare plan. Note that many of the arguments in Mr. Leggett's letter have been roundly addressed in Council President Berliner's response. In a new argument, Mr. Leggett suggests that those who oppose his corporate welfare plan are somehow being "unfair" and taking out their anti-war feelings on Lockheed Martin. Well, I never....

In any case, Leggett's letter is being circulated by the County's Economic Development Director Steve Silverman (see email and letter below).

MoCo Executive Ike Leggett Seeks $900K Tax Break for Lockheed Martin // ACT NOW: No New Jobs Projected!

UPDATE: A local activist points out that the County Council has scheduled public hearings on these budget proposals at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD.  The dates and times are: 1) TUE 4/10 @ 7:00 pm, 2) WED 4/11 @ 1:30 pm, 3) WED 4/11 7:00 pm, 4) THU 4/12 @ 1:30 pm, and 5) THU 4/12 @ 7:00 pm. You can sign up to testify in advance by calling (240) 777-7803.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? - The Examiner's Rachel Baye reports that Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett is proposing a $900,000 taxpayer subsidy for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Notably, the successful multinational company had four back-to-back profitable quarters in 2011, during the recession. Their revenue every quarter last year ranged from $548 million to $698 million. Meanwhile, the County Executive is slashing services for the needy, struggling to find money to revitalize Wheaton, and undermining the county's commitment to smart growth and transit funding. Are they really now proposing taxpayer-funded corporate welfare for Lockheed Martin? REALLY?

Tell the County Council & Economic Development Director Steve Silverman to reject Ike Leggett's proposed waste of tax dollars: The email address below will forward your message to all of them at one time.

Email All 9 Councilmembers & Steve Silverman using the address below:

MontgomeryCounty@LockheedWelfare.com

To be sure, the profitable multi-national company may be facing a reduction in Pentagon contracts -- but the wars had to end eventually, and hopefully they planned for that outcome, like a good corporate manager would, right?  Especially since the troop drawdowns have been discussed for years.

But even putting that aside --  Lockheed is not planning to add any jobs or increase spending in Montgomery County. That leaves many taxpayers wondering what is the purpose of a $900,000 taxpayer giveaway to a wildly profitable company? Can Economic Development Director Steve Silverman offer any articulable economic development or job-creation goals? Can they be backed by any metrics?

There are plenty of small businesses and local employers who are facing issues during the recession, but somehow Lockheed -- which has a much greater ability to weather tough times -- is the proposed recipient of limited County funds. Listen to the ridiculous rationale reported by Ms. Baye in the Examiner:

EXAMINER: Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett wants to give Bethesda defense giant Lockheed Martin a $900,000 tax break while raising taxes on residents and businesses.

Leggett proposed the grant in his fiscal 2013 budget to refund two years of county "hotel-motel" taxes, which Lockheed pays for its Center for Leadership Excellence, a 300,000-square-foot conference center and lodging facility that opened in March 2009. The taxes cost Lockheed about $450,000 a year, said county Finance Director Joe Beach.

The tax should not apply to Lockheed Martin because its facility is used for employees only, said company spokesman Chris Williams.

"We can't be in the business of having one of our major corporations believing that the county and the state is treating them in a way they believe is unfair," Leggett said. "It could have them decide that they're not going to build and enhance what they already have here."

Lockheed Martin does not have any current plans to expand, Williams said....

Leggett's new plan is a tax rebate that could be renewed annually.

In addition to the rebate, Leggett's budget proposal includes a property tax increase and energy tax extension, as well as higher bus and parking fees.

Amazing. Can County leaders really be this tone-deaf? We've seen multiple examples of corporate welfare from Maryland politicians for projects where there appears to be little to no provable benefit for taxpayers. Why is this administration hell-bent on giving money away to companies that aren't creating jobs? The Examiner provides a chart of the other amazing uses of MoCo's economic development dollars:

Source: Examiner.com, Rachel Baye "MontCo executive offers Lockheed Martin $900,000 tax break"

ACT NOW - EMAIL YOUR OFFICIALS: It seems the only accountability for this kind of ridiculous waste of tax dollars is political accountability. Maryland Juice has created an email address that allows you to email all nine members of the Montgomery County Council and Economic Development Director Steve Silverman. Please tell them to oppose welfare for Lockheed Martin:

Email the MoCo Councilmembers & 

Economic Development Director Steve Silverman: 

MontgomeryCounty@LockheedWelfare.com

"REJECT Welfare for Lockheed Martin" 

MontgomeryCounty@lockheedwelfare.com forwards to:

• MoCo Economic Development Director Steve Silverman
• Councilmember Phil Andrews
• Councilmember Roger Berliner
• Councilmember Marc Elrich
• Councilmember Valerie Ervin
• Councilmember Nancy Floreen
• Councilmember George Leventhal
• Councilmember Nancy Navarro
• Councilmember Craig Rice
• Councilmember Hans Riemer

Blog Preview: Redistricting, leadership battles and an early look at 2014.

As Maryland Juice prepares to launch, I thought I'd give a quick preview on the initial content we want to highlight. I've begun reaching out to elected officials and Maryland politicos for the inside scoop on what's not being covered, and there's a lot of juicy content out there! So here we go....

On the Radar:

• State legislative and local redistricting: [Bartlett vs. Harris] vs. [Kratovil vs. Democratic Party]
• An early snapshot of the 2014 races: Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, County Executive and more!
• Jockeying for leadership positions: What's happening to Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Mike Busch?
• Random thoughts: Will the DC suburbs displace Baltimore as the anchor of political power in Maryland, curfew politics, and more.

If there are other topics you think we should be poking around on, please reply in the comments, or email david@marylandjuice.com.