CPA Richard Gottfried Is Running For Rockville City Council: Profile

ROCKVILLE, MD — Richard Gottfried is a 62-year-old certified public accountant with 33 years of experience. He is also on the Nov. 7 ballot in the Rockville City Council race.

Gottfried is one of 12 candidates running to fill seven seats on the city council. The other candidates are Danniel Belay, Kate Fulton, Harold Hodges, Barry Jackson, Ricky F. Mui, David Myles, Anita Neal Powell, Paul Scott, Izola (Zola) Shaw, Marissa Valeri and Adam Van Grack.

Rockville City voters will also be casting ballots in the mayor's race, with Monique Ashton and Mark Pierzchala running for that office.

Related: Ballots For Rockville City Election To Be Mailed To Registered Voters

Patch invited each of the candidates running in the Rockville City Race to fill out a questionnaire about their campaigns. Patch does not edit the responses of candidates to its election questionnaire. The following are Gottfried's responses.

Name

Richard Gottfried, CPA

Position sought

Rockville City Council

Age (at the time of election)

62

Campaign Website

www.gottfried4council.com

Family: Names, ages and any pertinent detail you wish to share.

My wife is Stacey

Education

Georgetown University M.S. in Taxation

Occupation - Please include years of experience

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) over 33 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am a long-time resident who founded a tax practice in the City in 1990, I am a stakeholder in the City's future. Rockville is a great place to work and live. I am very concerned about the future of the City given that there will be a tremendous void of financial and institutional knowledge left in the wake of the retirement of Mayor Newton, Councilmember Feinberg and the recent resignation of the city manager. I believe that it is imperative that voters have highly qualified candidates from which to choose. I believe that I am one of those candidates, in fact, I have over 33 years of professional experience as a certified public accountant and 16 years of civic experience within the City, whereby I have established relationships with City, Montgomery County and state-elected officials in Annapolis. I believe that I am one of the few candidates that truly has the requisite experience to lead the City of Rockville into the future.

The single most pressing issue facing voters is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Hiring a new city manager and retaining an executive search firm to guide the Mayor and Council through the selection process.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am the only candidate who is a certified public accountant. Additionally, I have over 33 years of professional experience and the leadership skills that are essential to finding common ground amongst diverse opinions and stakeholders. Moreover, I have established relationships with the City, Montgomery County and state-elected officials as well as with leaders in business, not-for-profits and civic organizations.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

I would re-characterize this question so as not to undermine the public service of the Mayor and Council to our City but rather to point out the challenging circumstances through which they had to navigate during their term such as dealing with the pandemic and inflation.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

As a certified public accountant, there is a common theme amongst the several projects that are currently in progress in the City such as re-image Town Center, rehabilitate King Farm Farmstead, re-image Redgate Park, convert the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Master Plan to comply with our zoning ordinance, implement the pedestrian and bicycle master plans and to comply with the climate change plan and the one common theme is that it takes dollars to finish these projects. Therefore, this next term there will be a lot of competing stakeholders vying for the City's tax revenues and it will take a seasoned financial professional to balance the funding of competing priorities.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

• I am a certified public accountant with over 33 years of diversified experience
• I am a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• I haved worked for the "Big Four" global public accounting firms in New York City
• I have worked in leadership positions in not-for-profits as a director of finance
• I am a business owner of a tax pracitce in the City of Rockville, Richard Gottfried, CPA, LLC
• I was a former vice president of the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals
• I was a former president of my neighborhood association
• I am a member of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA)
• I have established relationships with City, Montgomery County and state-elected officials
• I was awarded the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award at Montgomery College

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best advice that my parents shared with me was that 90% of success is just showing up.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

• I am an Eagle Scout
• I was in the marching band (percussionist) at Syracuse University
• I am an adjunct accounting instructor at Montgomery College
• I founded a not-for-profit recreational tennis organization