The Washington Post Endorses Hans Riemer! Add your name to my growing list of supporters: I Support Hans Riemer Watch Hans Riemer: The Movie Volunteer Now Dear friends & neighbors, My job was to mobilize young people for President Obama My name is Hans Riemer. I live in Silver Spring with my wife Angela and our toddler, Henry. I am running for one of four At-large seats on the Montgomery County Council. Montgomery County is a great place to live. Our quality of life comes from a community that has world class education and high quality housing. We have protections in place for our natural environment and we welcome new residents. Its a great place to work, to retire, to raise a family. But we can't take it for granted any more. If we do not work hard to change direction, so much of what we cherish about Montgomery County will begin to unravel. I am running because I can help turn things around. What has gone wrong? We are falling behind as an economic leader. Our revenue base has cratered. We have made promises we can't keep and we are forced to slash our school budget, transit services, our social services safety net. Our social values are put to the test. The time is now to reposition and recharge Montgomery County for a new era. I believe I can bring change in several important ways. First, I will get more people involved in County affairs. I will organize a new politics that embraces the dynamic and diverse county that we live in. There is a new politics of grassroots engagement taking root and it has to grow here in Montgomery County, too. I helped bring it to life on the Obama campaign---I know how to do it and what it can accomplish. A handful of interest groups and a few hundred people make all the decisions in Montgomery County. I am running a campaign that will position me independently in order to put you, the residents, first. Second, I will reposition the County as an economic leader in our region and in the global economy. The frightening projection for the future of Montgomery County is that the jobs that we create here will be lower-wage retail and service jobs while our neighbors create high-paying professional jobs. If this happens we will gradually lose our tax base. It will produce a downward spiral in our quality of life because we will not be able to provide services to our growing and diverse population. Our harmonious community will become more divided and there will be more social conflict over scarce resources. This must not happen. Third, I will bring my progressive values to bear on fiscal and budget reform and economic development. We choose to live in Montgomery County for a reason, and for most of us it is because of our community values. We do not want to race to the bottom. We need to protect services for our most vulnerable residents, ensure that new jobs and housing are planned with the highest levels of environmental sustainability and transit service, provide education and training so our residents will get the best jobs, and engage everyone in the process to ensure we get the best outcome. These are big challenges and it is going to take some new blood on the council to get the job done. We need leaders who can work together as a team when they need to, who can disagree without becoming enemies, who can put Montgomery County first. I can win, but I need your help---please take a lawn sign, make phone calls, organize your neighborhood, send $25 as often as you can. Thank you and please don't hesitate to contact me directly--my email is hans@hansriemer.com and I want to hear from you. Thank you! Hans Riemer Montgomery County Democrat