Nancy M. Floreen (born September 29, 1951) is an American politician who was a member of the
Montgomery County Council in Maryland from 2002 to 2018, serving four terms. She previously served two terms on the Montgomery County Planning Board from 1986 to 1994, was mayor of
Garrett Park, Maryland
Garrett Park is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was named after a former president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Robert W. Garrett. The population was 992 at the 2010 census. Garrett Park is home to Garrett Park Elementary School ...
from 2000 to 2002, and ran unsuccessfully as an independent for
Montgomery County Executive in 2018.
Early years
Floreen was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, on September 29, 1951.
She graduated from
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
with a bachelor of arts degree in
American Studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Sch ...
in 1973.
She earned a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Rutgers University School of Law–Newark in 1976.
In 1983, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection allowed Permanent Financial Corporation to build an office building at Wayne and Cedar avenues in
downtown Silver Spring
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...
that was taller, wider, and closer to the street than county code allowed.
Floreen represented a group of nine families living nearby who protested the building's violations.
Floreen argued that constructing a building prior to the discovery of zoning violations does not excuse the builder from the compliance, nor does it allow them an automatic zoning variance.
[ The Allied Civic Group, a coalition of county civic associations, awarded Floreen its Thomas B. Cook Award for her work representing the families in the case.] The Montgomery County Board of Appeals rejected Permanent Financial Corporation's request for after-the-fact building variances, and the Montgomery County Circuit Court subsequently upheld that decision, ruling that the owner must remove the top two floors of the building and make other modifications to the building to comply with zoning codes.[
In 1985, the Montgomery County Zoning Board approved construction of a six-story residential building for elders in Silver Spring.] The building was to be built on land zoned for single-family homes.[ Floreen represented the Woodside Civic Association in its appeal of the decision, saying the building would be too dense for the neighborhood, and that the fact that there were already large buildings in nearby downtown Silver Spring was irrelevant.][
]
Political career
Montgomery County Planning Board
Floreen became a member of the Montgomery County Planning Board in 1986. The Montgomery County Council appointed her with a vote of 5 to 2, although the Council later moved to officially record the vote as unanimous. Floreen succeeded Mable Granke after her term expired.[ Floreen said she would give up her part-time law practice to sit on the board in order to avoid any conflict.][
The board considered a $250 million development plan for downtown Silver Spring in 1988.] The plan included retail, office, and hotel space. Floreen was opposed to the plan, saying it was too much too soon,[ and she was particularly to the proposed three-story bridge over Georgia Avenue.][
Because members of the Planning Board are limited to two four-year terms, Floreen stepped down from the board in 1994.]
Mayor of Garrett Park
Floreen was elected mayor of the town of Garrett Park in 2000.[ While mayor, she supported a renovation to Penn Place, a 104-year-old ]Victorian house
In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...
and one of the oldest buildings in the town. The building's porches were rebuilt, previous alterations were removed, and the building was brought up to building codes, safety standards, and historical preservation requirements.[
]
Montgomery County Council
Floreen ran for an at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
seat on the Montgomery County Council in 2002. Her campaign focused on reducing traffic, building the Intercounty Connector
Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an , six-lane toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. A controlled-access highway, it connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's Co ...
, expanding all-day kindergarten, reducing class sizes, and increasing funding for health and human services. Her candidacy was endorsed by Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and the editorial board of the Washington Post. She received enough votes in the Democratic Party primary to advance to the general election, and she won a seat on the Council during the general election.[
On the subject of transportation, Floreen has supported building the ]Intercounty Connector
Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an , six-lane toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. A controlled-access highway, it connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's Co ...
, supported building Montrose Parkway, and opposed establishing bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
between Bethesda and Silver Spring,
On development, Floreen supported increases to the recordation and transfer tax
A transfer tax is a tax on the passing of title to property from one person (or entity) to another.
In a narrow legal sense, a transfer tax is essentially a transaction fee imposed on the transfer of title to property from one entity to another. ...
es, supported lifting restrictions on the height of buildings in the southern part of the county, supported lifting residential construction bans in the central part of the county, supported strengthening the county's Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit program, supported requiring ten percent of homes built in new developments near Metro stations be set aside for middle-income families, opposed increasing taxes on developers, opposed closing two MARC Marc or MARC may refer to:
People
* Marc (given name), people with the first name
* Marc (surname), people with the family name
Acronyms
* MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging,
* MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...
train stations with low ridership, and opposed reducing the maximum allowable height of a residential house height from 35 feet to 30 feet.
On environmental issues, she supported removing trash cans from most county parks and supported increasing the fine for deliberately violating the county's forest conservation law.
She also supported banning smoking in restaurants and bars, opposed cutting the Montgomery County Public Libraries
The Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) is the public library system for residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. The system includes 21 publicly accessible branches and a public kiosk, as well as a branch in the Montgomery County Correcti ...
' budget, opposed a plan to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for county employees and retirees, and supported a law requiring permits for lawn signs displayed for more than 30 days.
Floreen was reelected in 2006,[ 2010,][ and 2014.][
]
Montgomery County Executive race
In the 2018 race for Montgomery County Executive, Floreen endorsed Rose Krasnow, who came in third behind businessman David Blair and long-time Montgomery County Council Member Marc Elrich in the Democratic Party primary. Floreen subsequently switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent (unaffiliated) and filed to enter the race for Montgomery County executive, submitting 20,343 signatures to election officials by the deadline of August 6, 2018. She faced Elrich and Republican Robin Ficker
Robin Ficker (born April 5, 1943) is an American disbarred attorney, real estate broker, former state legislator, political activist, sports heckler, and perennial political candidate. Ficker ran unsuccessfully for Montgomery County Executive i ...
, a local attorney and sports heckler, in the November general election. Floreen positioned herself as a moderate alternative to Elrich and campaigned for support from centrist Republicans, independents, and Democrats dissatisfied with Elrich. On November 6, Floreen was defeated in the general election for County Executive by Marc Elrich, who won the three-way race with 64.4% of the vote.
Personal life
Floreen lives in Garrett Park, Maryland, with her husband, David O. Stewart
David O. Stewart (born April 2, 1951) is an American author and attorney who writes both nonfiction historical narratives and historical fiction and lives in Potomac, Maryland. His historical works include ''George Washington: The Political Rise ...
.[ She has three adult children and one grandchild.][
]
Electoral history
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
References
External links
Official Montgomery County Council web site
Official campaign web site
Nancy Floreen's blog
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floreen, Nancy
1951 births
Living people
Maryland Democrats
Mayors of places in Maryland
Members of the Montgomery County Council (Maryland)
People from Garrett Park, Maryland
Politicians from Boston
Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni
Smith College alumni