The Gazette has given me its top endorsement.

As published in the October 26, 2011 edition, I have earned the top endorsement from The Gazette.  The Gazette said the following:

"The Gaithersburg City Council needs a bit of stirring up and Tom Rowse, unafraid of controversy and to speak his mind, could do the job. He has taken an active interest in city affairs for many years and ran for city council in 2009. Rowse’s rough edges have smoothed a bit since his last run, but his passion for the city has not cooled. He has plenty to say about the way Gaithersburg operates, and little of it is flattering.

He wants to lower the property tax rate, bolster public safety, build a senior center and improve communication with residents, including a return to print advertisements for public hearings. He has the potential to bring both heat and light to the council."
 

You can read the entire endorsement here:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20111026/OPINION/710269483/1014/opportunity-for-change-in-gaithersburg&template=gazette

I am also pleased to have the endorsement and active support of City Councilman Henry Marraffa, Jr. and JoAnn Schimke, President of West Riding Citizens Association. 

Videos 

I recorded the video below to announce my candidacy: 

A link to the candidate statement I recorded for the City of Gaithersburg:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUCW2vQMCD4
 

A video I recorded for the Gaithersburg Patch in April for Autism Awareness Month:   Teaching, Learning and Living with Autism
http://gaithersburg.patch.com/articles/teaching-learning-and-living-autism#video-5491545
 

About Me

I was born in Montgomery County, attended Magruder High School and graduated from the University of Maryland. My wife, Kim and I moved to Gaithersburg in 2000. Our 10-year old son, Cush, is in the Autism Program at Gaithersburg Elementary School.

I have been an involved citizen my entire life:

• Business consultant - providing accounting and consulting services to local businesses

• Neighborhood Watch street captain

• Former high school football coach and a substitute teacher in MCPS

• Past president and current member of the Lions Club

• Member of the Gaithersburg Economic and Business Development Committee

• Chairman of the Olde Towne Advisory Subcommittee

• Past member of Greater Gaithersburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

• Past member of the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board 

As a father of a child with Autism and a former care provider to my late quadriplegic brother, I have a personal interest in ensuring the needs of individuals with mental and physical disabilities (or as I prefer "special abilities") are met.
 

Why am I running?
 

My late father, a guidance counselor at Seneca Valley High School, taught me that you do not sit back and belly ache about the issues that are in front of you. Instead, you stand up and put your time and effort into changing the situation. In running for city council I am doing just that.  I believe Gaithersburg deserves better. Leadership, business sense and relationship skills are lacking on the current Council. As a resident, business owner, city volunteer and committee member, I have experienced first-hand the lack of listening and comprehension shown by the current Council. I feel Gaithersburg will benefit from my leadership, as well as my business and coaching experience when partnered with my desire to listen, care and work with residents and business owners.

The deterioration of Gaithersburg will define this election. The incumbents will talk about how the city is better off now than it was four years ago. However, the perception that Gaithersburg is not as great a place to live as it once was is our reality.

The council’s many mistakes have lead to this deterioration—in the past 16 months, they have allowed nearly 15% of city staff to leave, losing institutional knowledge in the process; blew the branding opportunity to call the nation’s biggest bioscience initiative Gaithersburg West; stood by as countless small businesses closed; allowed pockets of poverty and crime to deepen in several areas; let the APFO remain unchanged; harassed the city’s oldest church, expanded government by creating the HDC; and grew expenditures as revenues dropped by 20%.

We need to return to our citizens a way of life for which Gaithersburg was once known and admired.