Three finalists for Montgomery County Planning Board chair were interviewed on Tuesday.
Candidates Peter Fosselman, Artie Harris and Hans Riemer answered questions from county councilmembers.
Last October, all five planning board members resigned after controversy and a vote of no confidence by the county council. An investigation showed that allegations of a hostile work environment at the board are unfounded, Council President Evan Glass previously shared in a statement last month.
During Tuesday’s interview, Riemer said “job one” is “resetting those dynamics and putting the best foot forward, building an effective partnership with the council, building a board dynamic that is healthy and collaborative and maybe even fun.”
“First is building a team of trust, and if you build a team of trust, you will have good outcomes, with people willing to tell you when things are going well, when they’re not going well because they know you’ve got their backs,” Harris said, referring to Planning Board members and board staff.
Fosselman said “a lot of repair” is needed internally to support staff and that it is also important to collaborate with other agencies and branches. He added the importance of showing respect, saying, “You do not become unprofessional, call people’s names, become negative or embarrass people in front of others.”
Fosselman is currently director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services. Before that, he was Master Plan Ombudsman for the Office of the County Executive. He was Mayor of Kensington from 2006 to 2016.
Harris is vice president of Real Estate at Montgomery Housing Partnership. Previously, he was a vice president at Bozzuto Development Company.
Riemer was a county councilmember from 2010 until last year, when he was term-limited. He was chair of the council’s Park and Planning Committee and ran for county executive in last year’s election. He is a senior consultant in the loan programs office for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Glass said the council will take a week or two to deliberate and will then come back to make decisions. The eight finalists for Planning Board commissioner were interviewed Tuesday afternoon.
