Cider, Seniors, and College Loans in Maryland

David Martin: This is the good government show.

Laurie Ann Sayles: We have been working to get bipartisan progress done. We’ve been able to do it at a city level. We’ve been able to do it with Naco, and there’s no reason why we can’t send a congressional leader to Washington to do the same work. But we do have initiatives where we are having our young people connect with our seniors to help bridge that communication, divide.

So I’ve been nicknamed the Data Hound because I want to know, how are we evaluating our success if we’re spending money, our taxpayer dollars? I want to know how it’s benefiting the residents. I want to ensure that we are tracking our progress, and we’re evaluating our success as we’re going. And then we’re making adjustments as needed, if necessary.

You’ve got to have obey put that is on everything. Yes, yes. And a little bit of hot sauce as well.

David Martin: Welcome to the Good Government show. I’m your host, Dave Martin. On this episode, we’re talking with Laurie Ann Sales, and she’s the council member at large from Montgomery County, Maryland. And she’s already a to the good government show. We like that. Montgomery County is a Washington, DC suburb, and it includes the rather Tony suburb of Bethesda and the more rural city of Poolesville.

Listen to how Laurie and describes Montgomery. We covered a good government story in Montgomery about teaching tech to seniors, and that was back in July of 2022. Season two, episode three. Give it a listen and hear more about Montgomery County. I can wait. Okay. I’ll wait. There you go. Okay, good. Now you’re up to speed on my previous Montgomery County story.

All right, so you’re back. So, Lori and Sales, we talked about what’s going now in Montgomery, and we do update the work they’re doing with seniors in the county. We also talk about agriculture, specifically beer and her favorite cider. Turns out Montgomery is a producer of cider, beer and wine. We also talk about the challenges of paying off college loans for students, including herself.

She also talks about running for the U.S. Congress, although she did not win her race for higher office. She continues to serve the county, but listen to her reasons for running for Congress. It’s clear she had good government in mind when she considers run. So coming up, Montgomery County Council member at large Lori and Sales.

For the Good Government show is sponsored by our Co. That means our community. Our Co has found a way to make government more effective. Our Co provides the o u r platform, and this is an app that blends in-person and digital interactions to connect people with their government, their county, their town, their state. The Our Co app transforms meaningful conversations into reliable data.

They can turn results into projects and programs. The community has essentially already proved. It’s sort of like a flash poll by phone, but without the call. And in real time and wherever community members are, maybe they’re at their house or their office or, whether out just talking about local issues, maybe the choice between putting in more local busses or expanding the bike lanes.

Arco can get you an answer immediately with O, you are. You can engage your citizens or any group, learn what they want, and build programs and policies that advance your county, your job creators, your constituents. So visit our co.com. That’s o u r co.com and learn how they do it. And while you’re there okay. Demonstration.

After you get done with this episode hear more good government stories with our friends at how to Really Run a City. Former mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter, a Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.

Dot org slash podcasts.

Welcome, Laurie Ann Sayles of Montgomery County, Maryland. Welcome.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Hi, David. Nice to be here with you.

David Martin: It’s nice to be here with you. Thank you. Thank you for, stopping by and noticing us and knowing a little bit about it. Just tell us a little bit what your title is.

Laurie Ann Sayles: So I am a Montgomery County Council member at large, representing the largest, county in Maryland. we have a population of over a million residents, a budget of over $6.5 billion. And, you know, we have four of the nation’s most diverse cities. we have the biotech corridor of the region. And so we are doing some really fantastic things.

And I’m so proud to be able to represent our county here at the National Association of Counties Conference.

David Martin: Right. And your title is Councilmember.

Laurie Ann Sayles: I’m a county, which is.

David Martin: Which is Councilmember at large, which is roughly the equivalent to being a county commissioner.

Laurie Ann Sayles: County commissioner? That’s correct.

David Martin: That’s just what they call it in Maryland.

Laurie Ann Sayles: That’s what they call them in Maryland.

David Martin: we talked a little bit, several years ago with, I guess, a former colleague, Craig Rice.

Laurie Ann Sayles: My good friend, council, former council member Craig.

David Martin: Rice, and I understand he’s no longer council.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Member. No term limits passed. And so we are only allowed to, serve for three terms. I’m only in my first year of my first. My second year of my first term.

David Martin: Second year first. but prior to that, you were a city council person?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, I was a city council member in the city of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and served four years there as well. Served with the National League of Cities on the Economic Development Committee, and was nominated legislator of the year as well.

David Martin: Oh my.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, during the pandemic.

David Martin: Oh, that had to be a little difficult. What made you jump to county commission?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well, we had vacancies because of term limits and. Okay, my good friend, Councilmember Sidney Katz, who represented my district. I didn’t want to run against him. So the only alternative was to run for reelection or to run for one of the open seats. Okay. And I decided, to run for the open seat. I’ve built up a lot of relationships and done a lot of work countywide, and so had a lot of support to enter the race.

David Martin: I remember from talking with Craig, one of the issues that you have is a growing senior population, and you combine that with a lot of medical services and medical research that happens in Montgomery County. it’s the good government show. How are these things working together and how are the how are you helping the folks with the access and the folks that need it?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well, we have a, an aging advisory committee in the county. And so during the pandemic, we were able to set up villages, which is now a virtual, community for our seniors.

David Martin: And I used to zoom.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, yes.

David Martin: And so even your mother.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Even my while still working.

David Martin: On my mother, as am I as a mom.

Laurie Ann Sayles: And so the villages offer resources and connectivity, especially for our seniors who weren’t able to go to the activity centers or didn’t feel comfortable congregating in public spaces. Right. And so we are still working on resources. We just passed, our budget last year helped them get someone to coordinate all of their social media, to help with advertising events and information, for our seniors in the community.

And so a lot of our seniors need resources, not just for, food, but, recreation. They still want to work in the community. And so we provided opportunities to, you know, tell us what their priorities are. We’re about to hit budget season in a few weeks. And so we have.

David Martin: Your requested names.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Get your requests in now. And so I’ve been taking meetings virtually and in person to hear about the priorities that are most important to them.

David Martin: I’m going to get the name wrong. I can’t remember what it is. Senior Planet, I think, was the program that we talked about where it was teaching tech to seniors.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes.

David Martin: And we’re at that program still going on?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I’m not sure if that program is still going on, but we do have initiatives where we are having our young people connect with our seniors to help bridge that, communicate and divide.

David Martin: So what that is, is it’s gonna help grandma. Yes. Cell phone.

Laurie Ann Sayles: You know, the technology on the computers, social media.

David Martin: So you brought a little bit of this programing in house?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Definitely, definitely. Yes, yes.

David Martin: and is it working out for your senior population?

Laurie Ann Sayles: We believe it’s working. We have very good relationships with our seniors. We have meet and confers with our seniors every year where, they talk to us about their priorities and we’re able to also do proclamations. And so I did a proclamation to welcome our seniors and to, just show our appreciation for all of the wisdom and the groundwork that they’ve laid to create the opportunities for us and being part of the sandwich generation where I’m taking care of my parents, my parents taking care of my grandparents.

And then I have a daughter. And so, you know, people are living a lot longer. And I’m really glad that I get to continue doing this work as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee. And then even at the council, we have opportunities for employment for seniors who still have a lot to give, and I will still have a desire to serve the community as well.

David Martin: What are they doing?

Laurie Ann Sayles: They are helping us write legislation. They’re doing constituent services. and they’re really helping us stay connected with the community, and ensuring that their, prior ities are, you know, central to the decisions we make within our budget.

David Martin: So what else is going on in the county? What’s going on in Montgomery County?

Laurie Ann Sayles: What is going on in Montgomery County? So much, so much.

David Martin: So much.

Laurie Ann Sayles: So much. You know, we’re the biotech corridor of the region. And so, we’ve recently had a hearing with our Economic Development committee just talking about the sports industry and how we have an opportunity to, reimagine our green space. You know, we have a high vacancy rate in commercial buildings. And so we want to make sure that we’re repurposing those buildings.

And so I’m glad that we’re here to be able to talk with Congress about resources and grants to, you know, retrofit these vacant commercial spaces into residential units because we have a huge housing crisis. Over 30,000 units, are vacant.

David Martin: So this is just a fallout of less people going to the office, right?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Less people going to the office. leases are, you know, not being fulfilled and landlords still wanting to be paid. And this expenses, you know.

David Martin: And how does that connect to sports, exactly?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh, so for the sporting industry.

David Martin: Oh, different. Yes. Yes.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Different but similar. And so there are billions of dollars available in the sports industry. We spend millions of dollars sending our kids to Constitution Hall for graduations. But we’re seeing a lot of gains in, tournaments and, sports facilities we’re not able to take advantage of because we don’t have the facilities. And so now that we have.

David Martin: All of these volleyball courts.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well, not necessarily volleyball courts, but indoor track fields, stadiums where we can have, concerts and we can have, soccer tournament or, you know, a baseball tournament, you know, or a gymnastics tournament. and then also have a venue where we can also use it throughout the year to host events, especially for our graduations.

David Martin: and, and Montgomery County is basically suburban Washington, D.C.. It’s the Maryland, Washington, DC border, right?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yeah, I call it suburban urban. Okay. Getting a lot more urbanized in parts of our county. Yeah. but, you know, the upper parts of our county are still rural. We have the largest ag reserve in the nation. we are also working.

David Martin: What are they growing?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh, they’re growing a little bit of everything. we are growing, you know, cover crops.

David Martin: We are what? Cover crops?

Laurie Ann Sayles: So cover.

David Martin: Crop? There’s not many. There’s not much ag going on in my neighborhood.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Okay, so cover crops are the crops that really replenish the health of the soil. Good. We also have commodities, you know, the corn, the soybean. Okay. And then we also have, you know, a growing, wine scene and, beer industries.

David Martin: So, yes, Virginia has a lot of wineries. So it’s the same, same region.

Laurie Ann Sayles: It’s a bit different. You know, we have wineries, breweries and cider. And so, which.

David Martin: Is your favorite?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I like cider is yes, I do. I do, yes, I’m not a beer drinker, but.

David Martin: I have a cider. Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Good. Hard cider. Definitely. Definitely. And we have some great farmers out there. And of course, wine. we’re definitely giving Virginia a run for its money. All right. and so we want to make sure that our agribusinesses are thriving. And we’ve, done a lot in agritourism, to really ensure that people know about, the agricultural.

David Martin: And they need the support of the government.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Right. And they need the support of the government, you know, with the.

David Martin: Kind of I’m all for government helping to build cider to help get cider made and more. So we.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Want to make sure the,

David Martin: Industry government is helping you, get a beer.

Laurie Ann Sayles: You definitely. We’re making it healthier. We’re making it more sustainable. And we’re also preserving that green space, which is beneficial to our environment. I mean, we call the AG reserve, the lungs of the community. And so ensuring that our farmers have places to continue to supply us with food, especially during the pandemic. You know, we had the Farm to food bank program.

So our farmers, need our support and I’m glad to be able to represent them.

David Martin: And, according to your card here, you’re also running for your next stop as you’re running for Congress, United States Congress.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, yes I am.

David Martin: What is wrong with Congress? What is wrong with you is that you have decided to, you know, move around in government.

Laurie Ann Sayles: on the good government show. And we need good government leaders in Congress now, there’s a lot of chaos, confusion and not a lot of good governance happening. And we need good government leaders to provide that. I want to provide that for the residents of Congressional District six. I have an incredible job representing the largest county in Maryland.

But when my congressman decided to vacate his seat to run for Senate, yeah, I felt obligated to bring good governance to the district that is my backyard, where I raised my family, where I served at the city council at the local level. And now I want to ensure that regardless if you’re in Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegheny or Garrett County, your voice will be heard in Congress and you’re going to have a representative that lives in the district and will represent your interests fiercely, fiercely.

David Martin: you have an intensity, look at your answer to that question, because, I got a little intimidated. I’ll be honest. I’m good. Yes.

Laurie Ann Sayles: And so I’ve been working, and.

David Martin: People have a picture. It’ll be up on the website. They’ll realize, see you’re tiger. Go ahead.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Sorry. And so we have been working to get by Partizan progress done. We’ve been able to do it at the city level. We’ve been able to do it with Naco. And there’s no reason why we can’t send a congressional leader to Washington to do the same work.

David Martin: So, so you’ve you’ve you’ve worked at the local government. Now you’re working in county government and you aspire to national government. What’s the difference in all three?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I mean, the difference to me is you have access to more resources, okay? The job doesn’t change. The responsibility doesn’t change. The accountability is the same. I just think some people forget who they represent. The further away from their community, they go.

David Martin: Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: and so having this foundation of representing my city, where it was nonpartisan, we didn’t talk about the letters behind our names. We just came together and fought for our cities, towns and villages all across the country. we wanted to make sure that housing became a reality. If you want to own a home, we want to make sure that good investments were made in the community that we delivered, for the bread and butter issues that matter to people.

People want their student, their kids to go to good schools. They want investments in headstart. They want when their kids graduate, they can find good paying jobs, and they’re not saddled with debt from colleges. and so and when they graduate, they want to have also investments in their community. And looking at this district, we talked about seniors at the start of this discussion.

Frederick County is the fastest growing county for seniors in the district, and so they’re going to need a lot more resources that the federal government is going to need to assist us with. We also have in Allegheny County, one of the most top ten dangerous cities in America because of the lack of investment in city. It’s, Cumberland, Maryland.

It’s the opioid epidemic that has ravaged the community. So investments aren’t coming, job opportunities are few and far between. And so we need good government leaders to share that information and to also bring back the treatment facilities and the resources to that community so they can, you know, regain their footing in the community and realize that we haven’t forgotten about them.

David Martin: You brought up something, and I wanted to get your take on this. you know, students aren’t saddled with college debt. There is a large portion of the population, voting population that thinks, hey, you took out the loan, you got to pay it back. What’s your response to that?

Laurie Ann Sayles: My response is that we want a thriving nation, and the amount of interest that people are being required to pay. When we are bailing out industries like the airlines, we are bailing out the banks, and we’re not bailing out the American people who are keeping our country running. I think it’s a disservice to our country. It’s a disservice to our taxpayers, and it’s a disservice to all of the businesses who want to tap into this community and our economy who can’t have, you know, the free flowing dollars from people who are too busy paying their loans or trying to keep food on the table because they have to pay these loans that have such high

interest rates, and we’re not making it easier for people to repay their loans, or making it easier for people to actually have a life after they graduate from college. And then we want them to go and work. We want them to start families. We want them to keep their babies.

David Martin: Buy a house.

Laurie Ann Sayles: And buy a house. Yes, yes.

David Martin: And I think there I think I’ve read some studies somewhere that said that, you know, if you get like a master’s degree, there are people that are literally dying still earning money on their college loans.

Laurie Ann Sayles: It’s crazy. And that’s intergenerational. There’s no way to build wealth when you have that ball and chain of compounded interest.

David Martin: Are you coming on your college loans?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh my goodness.

David Martin: Still pay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Still paying. So I know the struggle.

David Martin: Okay, I got.

Laurie Ann Sayles: A bachelor’s in public health and a master’s in public policy. Oh and so I’m going to continue to advocate for, you know, relief on repaying these student loans because I’m doing the good work of the American people. And so as a government leader, I don’t mind paying back my student loans, but I wish the interest rate would not be, you know, tied to inflation.

And it’s gone up instead of going down. And so it’s hard, so hard for folks.

David Martin: Did you enjoy college.

Laurie Ann Sayles: I loved college.

David Martin: What did you go to college?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I went to the University of Maryland, College Park, the flagship University of Maryland, same school that my daughter went to school, for school at and graduated with no college debt. And so I’m making it better for the next generation. And so if we’re able to do that and the opportunities that are afforded to her because she isn’t saddled with that college debt, totally differ from mine.

And so I had to continue working, working multiple jobs until I became an elected official. So, okay, I want to do the good work, but the American people need some help, just like our banks and just like the industries that were bailed out.

David Martin: I’m going to tell you a good story. I was sitting in I was we were here at the National Association Counties Convention in Washington, DC. And this morning, President Joe Biden, what’s he got was the featured speaker. And we were going through the security line and the I’m a rugby player, and I was talking to this guy, and he was wanting me down because I do this.

And I said, yes, if you play rugby for a really long time, you get new hips and a new day attack. We could use guys like, here he goes, no thank you. I said, why? Because I had enough of a football. I said, I played, he said I played at Maryland. Oh so you’re you’re a big protected by a Maryland football player.

So I was in good company. Yes.

Laurie Ann Sayles: You rather played rugby.

David Martin: Oh, good. Good, good. Where do you play?

Laurie Ann Sayles: He was an Army man, so he played around.

David Martin: Yes, yes. I wonder if I know. now we’re going to get to the heart of why it is you do what you do. This is our questionnaire about government. Your philosophy of government, and why you do what you do.

After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City. Former mayors Kasim Reid of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Seattle, Delphia and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.

Dot org slash podcasts.

So you’ve worked at the county. You’re now working at the county level? as a as a councilman, councilwoman at large. Prior to that, you were working in local government and you aspire to the Congress. Define good government.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Good government is government. That is for the people. By the people. I never forget the doors that I knock, the stories that I heard at doors across the community, and the people who spent their hard earned money to help me get mailers in the door, or ads in front of folks just to get my message out because they trusted me.

we need trusted, tested, experienced leaders who remember why they are serving, why they are running for office. At the end of the day, it’s all about the people, the people that put us in office. And I’m accountable to the voters, the taxpayers.

David Martin: How do you judge your success or your lack there of success? Not just elections, but, you know, like on a Friday afternoon when you go look at your week, how do you know if you did a good job?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I’m not getting yelled at on Twitter.

David Martin: Okay. That’s important.

Laurie Ann Sayles: That’s important. you know, I have a really good team. and my, my, my responsiveness to constituents is first and foremost the most important thing. I always tell my staff, I never want to go into any corner of our community. And someone tells me they’ve emailed our office and they haven’t gotten a response. And I have only heard good things from the community about, you know, our constituents services.

We are responsive, we’re timely. And, I worked on now Senator Van Hollins, campaign and that’s what he wanted. He wanted people to know that regardless of how far he was away in Washington, he was responsive to the people that he represent all across the state. And so 24 to 48 hours, we’re responding, and we are getting answers to the residents that email our office because at the end of the day, happy customers.

David Martin: Happy, happy citizens.

Laurie Ann Sayles: In a sense, yes.

David Martin: And a happy you and.

Laurie Ann Sayles: A happy.

David Martin: Me. Yes. Less stress now, you said, you know, ultimately the people hold you accountable. How should they hold you accountable?

Laurie Ann Sayles: They hold me accountable by, you know, the decisions that I make when I take my votes for the budget, being responsive to, the issues that are affecting them day to day. you know, we recently had some turnover with our Board of education, and it’s asking the hard questions. I’ve been nicknamed the Data Hound because I want to know, how are we evaluating our success if we’re spending money, our taxpayer dollars?

I want to know how it’s benefiting the residents. I want to ensure that we are tracking our progress and we’re evaluating our success as we’re going, and then we’re making adjustments as needed, if necessary. And so that’s how people will hold me accountable, ensuring that we’re delivering on the promises that we made. And we’ve been able to do that with our smart policy agenda since we’ve been in office.

David Martin: And if you’re not and if they don’t like what you’re doing, what should people do?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Vote me out. If I’m not delivering for you? If I’m not, doing everything in my power to make a difference in our community, to make our community better, to keep our county thriving, then, I’m okay with not serving and finding someone who can do the job better.

David Martin: Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: But, you’re going to have a hard time finding anyone who works harder than me.

David Martin: If I do say so. All right. What would you like people to know about government? Someone could argue that you’re a government insider. What would you like people to know about it?

Laurie Ann Sayles: You know, I am a product of, grassroots politics. I’m the daughter of a labor union member. The daughter of an Army veteran, and so.

David Martin: A rugby player.

Laurie Ann Sayles: And rugby player. Good, good. And so government is responsive. Government can make our lives better. I got involved in government because government helped me at my lowest. I was a single mom when I moved to Montgomery County. I lived in affordable housing. I benefited from the Pell Grant and a lot of social services, and wanted to ensure that other folks who were having a hard time know that government is a partner, and we will ensure that we give you a hand up to reach self-sufficiency.

We want to ensure that our residents thrive so our county thrives. And so government is a partner. We’re an ally. And, you know, good government helps good communities thrive and their people thrive. That’s what good governments do. They don’t stifle, political speech, but they, take all of the richness of the diverse, perspectives of the community.

And, you know, we make good policy decisions to make people’s lives better.

David Martin: Who is your hero in government? In politics?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh, there’s so many.

David Martin: I got time to podcast. We could go. We could go for a while. If you’d like.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh, my goodness, there’s no clock. okay. Shirley Chisholm. yes, probably. first and foremost.

David Martin: My sheroes the first woman to be elected to Congress. Yes. From New York.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes. And, my family, the daughter, Jamaican immigrants. And so she’s also Jamaican. Okay. first, first black woman to run for first woman to run for president. and, so, just a trailblazer in and of itself, there’s also some,

David Martin: You’re the first person that said Shirley Chisholm, so thanks for that. She’s got 60 shows. That’s not that’s fair. The first one. Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well done. I’ll name another incredible woman, Nancy Pelosi.

David Martin: Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: she’s known for counting her votes. I believe if you don’t have the support of, you know, your colleagues and you have great ideas, but, you don’t have the support of your colleagues, you’re not able to build consensus with your colleagues to get something done. You go back to the drawing board, and you, make sure that you talk with your colleagues to get, good policy decisions made.

locally, in my community, I am fortunate to be represented by friends and, elected officials who have been mentors throughout my career, from, being a vice president with the Montgomery County Young Democrats, from, Jamie Raskin, our congressman Raskin. Okay. a very good friend and just an incredible government leader. we also have, Senator Van Hollen, incredible friend and mentor, our former county executive, county executive Ike Leggett, so just a lot of trailblazers.

And we had some incredible woman, on the county council who came before me from, Nancy Florine, who was the first woman, during my time to represent the county at large, Nancy Navarro, who served four years as the only woman on the council. And I think because, she was the only woman, it ushered in six new women on the council.

and, when I was elected, and, and, Valerie Ervin, who also served at the county council level. And so I’ve been fortunate to.

David Martin: Know you’ve got a lot of people that have inspired you.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, yes. So many.

David Martin: You mentioned Shirley Chisholm, who is probably not a household name anymore. have you always aspired to be in politics? Is that something you thought about since you were.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Little or not at all?

David Martin: You were class president?

Laurie Ann Sayles: No, I didn’t do any. I was not with SGA. I did none of that. Even though my daughter has done all of those things. I had a background in public health. and I.

David Martin: Was your daughter going to be. Take your seat someday.

Laurie Ann Sayles: I wish she would have, but I think she’s had enough.

David Martin: Okay. She senior comes up, she’s like, yeah.

Laurie Ann Sayles: She’s like, this is a lot of work. It is a lot of work. But this is what fuels me.

David Martin: But it was nothing that they. This is not something you thought about your whole life. I want to grow up. I want to be president.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Not at all, not at all. I went to the University of Maryland College Park, and it just happened to be a stop on Obama’s tour when he was making his rounds during the primary in 2008. and yeah, I was fired up and ready to go, and he, I got recruited into the organizing for Obama, then organizing for America, then Montgomery County Young Democrats.

I realized that there were no black woman elected to our state legislature. Yeah. and I thought that that was a problem, and wanted to make sure our voices were heard, in Annapolis and got to shadow are now lieutenant governor Aruna miller.

David Martin: Okay.

Laurie Ann Sayles: And the rest is history. I haven’t looked back.

David Martin: I guess not. Yeah. Now you’re looking forward to.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Now I’m looking forward to, good government on Capitol Hill.

David Martin: Good. we’re here in Washington, DC. you’re from Montgomery County. I know Maryland is famous for crabs. what what’s what’s the other dish that I should make sure I try? What I have in Montgomery County or I’m in Washington. What’s the what’s the regional cuisine that, you would point me towards?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Oh, my goodness, you’re making it’s hard.

David Martin: That’s why I ask the hard questions. This is that one of the hard questions, by the way, what do you like to eat?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well, I’m a pescatarian, so I’m partial to seafood of any kind.

David Martin: So you stay with the Beverly?

Laurie Ann Sayles: I’m staying with the crabs. The oysters. you know any any good trout, any fish, red snapper, any seafood? I think Maryland hands down has the best. so. Okay, there’s also.

David Martin: A little bay all over everything.

Laurie Ann Sayles: You got to have Old Bay, but that is on everything. Yes, yes. And a little bit of hot sauce as well. yeah. And I love the new, vegetarian dishes that we’re having. You know, there’s restaurants like, Yeah, plant based food is, really tasty. It’s like the, tofu stuff you had back in the day.

So, yeah, I’m loving all of the innovations that are coming with our food and how we are, being more thoughtful with how we’re taking care of our bodies and the options that people now have.

David Martin: So. All right, it is the good government show. We always bring it back to a good government story. Tell me about a good government project you’re working on, in Montgomery County that you’re especially excited about right now?

Laurie Ann Sayles: Well, it’s still in the early stages, but we talked about, these vacant buildings. Right. And then, I started looking into other vacancies. We have over 6000 vacant multi-family housing, structures. And so now we’re trying to figure out how can we get these structures to, how can we assist landlords, owners with getting these houses back on the market?

We have a 30,000 units shortage. Affordable housing is a national problem. it’s.

David Martin: Some of these able to be renovated or.

Laurie Ann Sayles: That’s what we’re hoping, whether they are in foreclosure or they just need a few repairs, we’re trying to get a better understanding of, you know, what state they’re in and how we can assist them with getting these, units back up to be put in.

David Martin: At some point yet. Have you had to walk down the street and like, walk in, walk up to a house and say, oh, here we are.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, yes, I definitely am. I if I see, you know, a sign, we’re actually having, our Office of Legislative Oversight do that groundwork to find out what’s actually, able to be refurbished.

David Martin: What’s the reaction of people when they see, you know, the councilwoman on the street? Look at walking into a dilapidated house, are you. Oh, I kind of abandoned properties.

Laurie Ann Sayles: You know, we have non-profits that are, already at work doing this work to keep our seniors in their units. you know, we’re seeing our non-profits who are helping, our homeless population access affordable housing. And so they’re grateful they they’re like, what are you doing here? And why does this matter to you? but that’s where good policymaking comes from.

When you’re on the ground and able to be on the ground. another important initiative is, black maternal health. it’s been a national issue. And, we’ve seen improvements in other jurisdictions. And so now we’re trying to see what we can do. in Montgomery County to help, that population. we also have some of the longest emergency room wait times in the state of Maryland in the country, which I did not know.

But we’ve met with our county, hospitals, the Maryland.

David Martin: Nurses Agency as a council member.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes, yes. And so, you know, we want to be at the top of the list for other things. And so when you hear that, and with the opioid epidemic. So we are we just provided a grant for interventions, to help with our young people who are, you know, dealing with the opioid epidemic and also, just trying to make sure that there are resources, you know, it’s great to do interventions, but with a background in public health, I’m all about prevention.

And so I’ve asked our Health and Human Services department to look at, prevention measures to see what it’s going to take to get an actual facility in our county to help our young people and those all across the spectrum who are trying to find their way out of this cycle of drug dependency.

David Martin: undergrad, an undergraduate degree in public health and a graduate degree in public administration.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes.

David Martin: That seems like a good a good combination for government work.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes. It provided such a good foundation. Like I said, I believe in health in all policies. we are already looking at our building energy standards and, you know, making sure that they are, becoming, you know, helpful and helping us meet our climate energy goals. and then we also want our students to be responsible, stewards of our environment as well.

And so, we also have, the Dickerson incinerator, where we’re trying to transition out of, you know, dirty processing of our, our trash and looking at the air quality impacts and how that’s impacting people who live nearby. so everything that we do.

David Martin: Comes back to public health.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Yes. Yes, every everything we do, you know, hits on our public health.

David Martin: Laurie. And Sales, a council member from Montgomery County, Maryland. Great to meet you. Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for being Lister. And, give our best to Craig Rice if you see her.

Laurie Ann Sayles: Certainly. Thank you so.

David Martin: Much. Thank you.

I want to tell you what our friends at the LA Academy of Science are doing. The LHD Academy is the National Association for Local Health Department data collectors. Through the Academy of Science, County health directors are coming together to measure their county health issues the same way. Here’s the problem. There are over 3000 counties in the U.S. and they all count differently.

We live in a data driven world. We need all the public health data to be counted the same. Let’s say you want to see if your community’s overweight or vaping, or in other ways, less healthy than your neighboring counties. To determine this, you’ll need to measure these problems the same. You also have to ask the same questions, different results, but same data points.

LHC Academy is working with a National Center for Disease Control, creating a standard to count and collect data the same way you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, they create the process and make sure everyone is looking at the information the same way. This means a county in Connecticut can compare their data with a county in California, it’s apples to apples.

Now with the Academy, counties and other governments are pooling resources and sharing data and creating a huge database library. That means lower costs, more accurate results, and better information for everyone. Sound like the government, right? If this sounds like something you want to get for your county or your city, check them out at LA Academy of science.org. That’s LHD Academy of Science data work.

What is it the county government does? That’s the question county commissioners get asked the most. And the simple answer is everything on the Good Government show. We’re so lucky to have talked with so many county commissioners and other county officials that have shown us how effective county government is. County government dates back to get this 1634, making it one of the oldest forms of government in the United States.

Think about it. Roads, highways. Hospitals. Schools. Recycling, law enforcement, water, sewers, and most of the county. Those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. The National Association of Counties represents all 3069 counties across the USA. Naco helps county government work better together through things like sharing best practices when county government works well, well, that’s just good government.

It’s always nice to talk to the daughter of a rugby player. No doubt dad’s rugby mind had an impact on council member at large lorry and sales. There’s a lot of debate about government assuming college loans and hearing from Marianne. Well, it’s a perspective that deserves to be listened to. And being from Marilyn, no surprise, she wants to put all Bay seasoning on her seafood or everything else for that matter.

Well, that’s our show. Please like us and share with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening, and check out our website. Good Government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling the stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is a good government show.

The Good Government Show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me, and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share us and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

Then listen to the next episode of The Good Government Show.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.