King Farm's Barry Jackson Running For Rockville City Council

ROCKVILLE, MD — Barry Jackson is a 50-year-old, married father of two, who is on the Nov. 7 ballot in the Rockville City Council race.

Jackson is one of 12 candidates running to fill seven seats on the city council. The other candidates are Danniel Belay, Kate Fulton, Richard Gottfried, Harold Hodges, 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.

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 Jackson's responses.

Name

Barry Jackson

Position sought

Rockville City Council

Age (at the time of election)
50
Campaign Website
VoteBarryJackson.com

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

Tracy (wife), Pat (mother in law), 2 daughters in Richard Montgomery High School in 9th and 11th grades

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No. Although I work and have worked for non-profit organizations that enact policy change through advocacy work.

Education

1995 BA in Political Science from University of Memphis

Occupation - Please include years of experience

Nonprofit advocacy. 30 years of experience with policy change at the local, state and federal levels.Specialize in communications.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I am currently president of the King Farm Citizens Assembly - the largest HOA in Rockville with approximately 10,000 residents and 1400 homes. It is an elected position and I won election in 2020 and have served since then.

Why are you seeking elective office?

I love Rockville. The diversity, the services the schools and the feeling of community. It is a really great place. I want to be part of the City Council to ensure that Rockville has a great police department to ensure public safety, we continue to make it a priority for walkability and bicycling, we are forward thinking with our infrastructure and build for the future and that we grow our city smartly. I want a Rockville where we have diversity and inclusion in our business community and support ALL the cities businesses regardless of the neighborhood they are located in. I want a city that my daughters and your children will want to live in and can afford to live in when they grow up - and will want to raise their own children here. I find that I enjoy engaging with people and trying to solve their problems.

That is why I am running for Rockville City Council.

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

The single most pressing issue facing Rockville City voters is "public safety" and this is what I intend to do about it.

We have to get public safety right. The Mayor and Council have done a good job with putting together a police department that is doing a stellar job. Chief of Police Victor Brito is doing extraordinary work as is the entire RCPD. But outside pressures and attitudes have made it much more difficult to recruit new officers or keep qualified officers on the force. There is a real shortage of police officers in the country and agencies, counties and municipalities are scrambling to fill vacancies. I think we need to continue to fully fund the RCPD and find innovative ways to offer incentives for officers to stay on. We have a great community outreach program and a new mental health focus. All of that speaks to a solid foundation and if we get public safety right then I think we can build upon that foundation with all of the rest of the things we need to do to move Rockville forward.

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

Relevant Experience..King Farm has roughly 1/7 of the city's population living within the boundaries of King Farm. As KingFarm Citizen Assembly president I deal with pedestrian safety and public safety issues. In the past four years I have tackled transparency, beefed up our communication with residents, made it easier for residents to attend our meetings and made it easier for people to vote in King Farm elections. I am proud that King Farm's Board and Committee's now reflect the diversity our community. And I am especially proud of the support we give to the Swim Team, the Neighbors Village and various neighborhood-based foundations like the Mattie JT Stepanek Foundation.

We have two pools, a community center, landscaping, streets, alleys, sidewalks and street lights and more that the KFCA is responsible for and that requires working with the city to coordinate. I work closely with our Mayor and City Council and with many city staff like the City Manager or department heads. I especially work closely with RCPD to ensure that information flows freely and even have them to King Farm to provide periodic updates to our residents. It takes a lot of help to run a large organization like KFCA. We have a general manager and staff and a Board of Trustees and a robust committee structure filled with volunteers. It really is a small town in many respects. I will be able to take the experience, leadership and real results directly to the Rockville City Council.

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

I don't look at it that way. It isn't about the past or what people did or did not do. It is about Rockville's future and about working together to advance our shared goals of making Rockville a more inclusive, safe and affordable place to live, work, learn and play. That is what I'm focused on. I'm optimistic about Rockville's future and I think our best days are ahead of us.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Other governing principles of mine include:

• Transparency
• Communication
• Civility towards residents staff and my colleagues on the City Counci
• Engagement
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Constituent Service

I have other areas of focus that I feel very strongly about. These include:

• Public and school safety
• Seniors issues - aging in place, Neighbors Villages and access to the Senior Center to name a few
• Pedestrian/Mobility/Bicycling infrastructure and safety
• Promoting and Sustaining ALL of Rockville's Businesses
• Sustainable Initiatives and Future Needs
• Affordable and adequate Housing

These are just a few of the issues that I hope will be addressed when I am on the next City Council.

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

Bring People Together For Change. Working for legislative change at the local, state and national levels with the American Cancer Society and AARP.

Woodley Gardens pool. When Woodley Gardens Swim Club and Georgetown Hill Early School had a devastating fire in 2019 the Woodley Gardens Swim Team reached out to King Farm and asked to practice at our Bailey's Common pool. I led the effort to make this happen. Working with the Woodley Gardens Swim Team, the King Farm Board and with the residents around the pool we worked out a way for Woodley Gardens to use the pool for practices. It was a great example of communication, compromise and ultimately - being neighborly and helping a community in need.

Recovering from a stroke in 2011. Although I did recover the recovery process and lingering aftereffects of the incident gives me a perspective that I will take onto the Council.

Seniors Issues. As a Board member of Rockville Area Village Exchange (RAVE) I am involved in setting up and sustaining Neighborhood Villages around Rockville. This is a great grassroots program and one that I want to see grow and thrive. Finally I have been involved in the King Farm Citizens Assembly for nearly 20 years - the last four as president. That leadership of a community of over 10,000 people and 1400 homes, townhomes, condos and apartments has given me the experience and real results to prepare me for being elected to the Rockville City Council.

Finally I have been involved in the King Farm Citizens Assembly for nearly 20 years - the last four as president. That leadership of a community of over 10,000 people and 1400 homes, townhomes, condos and apartments has given me the experience and real results to prepare me for being elected to the Rockville City Council.

I am proud of our diversity in our neighborhood and the fact that under my presidency the HOA Board now is as diverse as the neighborhood itself.