Of tax hikes, bloated budgets and canceling Columbus Day

From an endless cycle of unconstitutional lockdowns and shutdowns to a violent string of leftwing riots that engulfed our streets and cities to a presidential election outcome that will forever be shrouded in doubt and distrust, 2020 has been a year like no other.

And just when Montgomery County families and businesses thought it could not get any worse, the Democratic Montgomery County Commissioners are enacting a 5% property tax increase.

Since March, in the name of flattening the curve, progressive bureaucrats and their network of so-called “experts” have been telling us that we need to make sacrifices and tighten our belts. However, there appear to be two sets of rules: one for the people and another for the partisan politicians and policy wonks who exempt themselves from their own mandates to smother their constituents with money grab after money grab in order to feed their giant egos, subsidize their bloated budgets and bankroll their extravagant spending.

As your Republican Montgomery County Commissioner, it is my job to be a fiscal watchdog. In doing so, I have exposed an ugly pattern of wasteful spending in county government — most notably, the half-billion-dollar boondoggle known as the courthouse campus renovation. Time after time, I have aggressively opposed not only new contracts but amendments to existing contracts that seek to throw millions more at a construction project that reeks of patronage abuse and cronyism.

Adding insult to injury, the Democrat commissioners are not only looting our wallets but upending our way of life. Despite my objections, it saddens me to announce that the Democratic commissioners recently canceled Columbus Day as an official county holiday.

Although Democrats are responsible for raising taxes and erasing traditions, we must never forget that generations of weak and lazy Republican Party leadership paved the way for today’s liberals to take control of our county, our courthouse and our culture.

In 2021 and beyond, I will continue to be the conservative voice that families and taxpayers can trust to fight for commonsense government and traditional American values.

Merry Christmas and God Bless.