Letter: Ruben is a strong, woman leader
Let’s be fair—Ida Ruben did not set a negative tone for the District 20 Senate race, it was set by her challenger. In Jamie’s first District mailing, he decried the use of negative politics and proceeded to use them by accusing Ida of being an incumbent who is more interested in her own power than in the common good. Wow!
Ida has worked plenty hard for the common good, and Takoma Park and Silver Spring have benefited from it in a major way. When Montgomery College nearly left North Takoma and we persuaded it to stay, it needed very substantial funding to build a bridge and expand into South Silver Spring. This happened with Ida’s strength on the Senate side, to the benefit of Takoma Park and Silver Spring.
Also, when Takoma Park found itself in a jam over escalating costs with the Community Center, Ida came through with considerable funding that helped keep our taxes low. These are two of many examples.
Ida is no shrinking violet, and some are offended by this. She is a strong woman leader with tremendous vitality, independence, experience and ethics. She has accomplished much on many things we hold dear, including the environment, health care, education, and the Purple Line. While some people will vote against Ida because of her position on the ICC, they will not vote against Martin O’Malley and others who have the same position as Ida. I have always opposed the ICC, but I believe Ida’s strengths outweigh my disagreement with her on this issue.
We are a fortunate and unique District to have Ida Ruben as the President pro tem of the Senate and Sheila Hixson as the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. It’s in our best interest to keep them both there, working together, for as long as we can.
— Lorraine Pearsall
Takoma Park, MD