Long-time Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton addressed her constituents in her final “State of the City” address on Thursday, Sept. 21. Inside the historic Glenview Mansion, Newton praised mayoral candidate Monique Ashton while speaking about the successes and issues that Rockvile will face in the coming years.
Elected in 2013, Newton proclaimed her success in making Rockville a destination for young people and enhancing the education system in her discussion with attorney Brian Barkley.
However, she also acknowledged some of the challenges that will face the city’s new mayor in the coming years. Lack of affordable housing and overcrowding in schools were both mentioned as issues in Rockville.
In just over a month, Newton will step down from her nine-year term as the city’s mayor. On Nov. 7, constituents will vote for one of two candidates to fill the position: Ashton or Mark Pierzchala.
With Ashton in the audience, Newton declared her support for the current city council member. If elected, Ashton would become the first minority to hold the mayoral position in Rockville.
“I think Rockville needs the energy and creativity that Monique brings,” Newton said. “She has been an unrelenting, tenacious council member.”
Yet, Pierzchala championed his political experience over Ashton.
“There’s no way that Monique Ashton’s accomplishments [on the board] come anywhere close to mine,” Pierzchala said.
Monique Ashton
Ashton has served as a council member for four years, but Newton insisted that she has made a substantial mark on the community. In her time as a councilwoman, Ashton proposed the concept for the city’s Buyback program, which helped remove hundreds of ghost guns from the city.
The candidate stated that Rockville had a problem with unregistered guns in the past. She hosted the buyback event, which provided constituents with $100 or $200 gift cards in exchange for functioning weapons.
“I thought that it was not going [to be successful], you know, let’s test it out and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work,” Ashton said. “But it was wildly successful.”
Meanwhile, Pierzchala has served the Rockville council for twelve years. The longtime council member cited his successful opposition to the widening of the I270 highway, which was an issue mentioned by Newton at the “State of the City.”
Mark Pierzchala
Additionally, the long-time Rockville native is a small business owner and a member of the Greater Rockville Chamber of Commerce.
As Rockville has continued to grow, the preservation of small businesses has become an issue. While Newton spoke to the rising economy of the city, she also admitted the drawbacks of more corporations entering the fold.
“It’s hard for mom and pop [shops] when you have a big corporation that owns a REIT. They’re trying to pay back their shareholders as opposed to having real affordable space for mom and pops. That’s been a challenge,” Newton said.
However, the mayor also tried to challenge the perception that Rockville is not doing enough for its local businesses. She stated that in the last ten years, the city has handed out 3,492 total business permits.
While small businesses have still not fully recovered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rockville has attempted to put programs in place to assist their revival.
“In Montgomery County, we’re really good at working in tandem with [small businesses] to provide anything from the ideation phase… all the way up to ‘I need to scale my business and grow,” Richelle Wilson, Deputy Director for Rockville Economic Development Inc., said.
Along with businesses, housing prices have continued to rise in the city. According to the Council for Community and Economic Research, the cost of living in Rockville is estimated to be 135.8% of the national average, which makes it the 14th most expensive city to live in America.
“As you build more housing, we have to be more intentional about the affordability and attainability factor,” Ashton said.
“I’m mister housing in Rockville. I have huge wins on multiple housing fronts, including affordable housing,” Pierzchala said.
Nov. 7 will usher in a new face as the figurehead of Rockville, which Newton is pleased about.
The city will host candidate forums on Sept. 26, Oct. 5, and Oct. 12. More information about those forums can be found at this link.
