Letter: Montgomery for All Recommends James Hedrick and Mitra Pedoeem for Planning Board

February 21, 2023

Montgomery County Council
Council Office Building
100 Maryland Ave, 6th Floor
Rockville, MD 20850

Dear President Glass and Members of the County Council: 

Montgomery for All endorses James Hedrick for the Democratic vacancy and Mitra Pedoeem for the unaffiliated vacancy on the Montgomery County Planning Board. Montgomery for All is a grassroots, community-led group advocating for sustainable and inclusive land use, housing, and transit policies in Montgomery County, Maryland. In evaluating each candidate, our elected steering committee considered the leadership and experience each would contribute on these issues.

James Hedrick’s extensive experience in affordable housing and housing finance, as well as his leadership as a community advocate with organizations like Montgomery for All and Action Committee for Transit, make him well-qualified for this role. His deep technical knowledge and thoughtful approach to housing, transit, and land use policy will be an asset to the Planning Board and Montgomery County as a whole. 

Mitra Pedoeem brings expertise in zoning, parks planning and administration, transportation, and master planning from years of service in county government. We appreciate her results-oriented approach welcoming transit-oriented development, reducing parking requirements, and zoning for denser housing as potential tools to address our housing shortage.

In questionnaires submitted to Greater Greater Washington, both James and Mitra expressed strong support for engagement efforts that affirmatively include those traditionally underrepresented in planning decisions. This kind of engagement is essential to ensure the Planning Board’s future decisions align with the diverse range of income levels and housing needs in our county.

We strongly urge you to select James Hedrick and Mitra Pedoeem for the current Planning Board vacancies.

Sincerely,

Ben Bradley
Kate Davidoff
Mike English
Alison Gillespie
Ryan Hardy
Jane Lyons-Raeder
Brandi Panbach
Dalbin Osorio
Sanjida Rangwala
Don Slater
Zach Weinstein

Steering Committee
Montgomery for All

…

Montgomery for All is a grassroots, community-led group advocating for sustainable and inclusive land use, housing, and transit policies in Montgomery County, Maryland. Montgomery for All is organized and supported by the Coalition for Smarter Growth.