On January 30th, 2023, the Rockville Mayor and Council will hold a hearing in regard to a recommendation from the City Charter Review Commission that the Rockville City Council should be expanded from a 5 member Mayor and Council to a 7 member Mayor and Council.

King Farm Citizens Assembly is supportive of this Mayor and City Council expansion. Rockville has grown and expanded and become more diverse over the years. The Council should be expanded to allow more representation, diversity and voices to be heard.

On behalf of the KFCA President, the Assembly is sending a letter to the Mayor and Council in advance of this public hearing. Additionally, KFCA President, Barry Jackson, will speak before the Mayor and Council during the hearing to communicate the desire to see this expansion come about in the 2023 election rather than wait for 4 more years.

If you support this recommendation, please contact the Mayor and Council at mayorcouncil@rockvillemd.gov with a simple message – “Please expand the Mayor and Council. We need a larger Council to reflect a modern Rockville. Please vote to expand it now rather than wait for 4 more years.”

This recommendation won’t solve every issue with representation that Rockville has. But it is a start. Other recommendations to be discussed at a later date include dividing the Rockville Council into geographical districts, ranked choice voting (RCV), translating election documents into other languages used in Rockville and expanding who can vote.

The Charter Review Commission made many other recommendations in their recent report. You can read it at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/46600/2022-Charter-Review-Commission-Report

Please contact the president@kingfarm.org or externalaffairs@kingfarm.org with any questions or comments about this issue or others.