Republican Jim Kirkland has little name recognition and won’t be raising money in his long-shot run to unseat District 1 Council incumbent Roger Berliner this fall.
He’s not being shy about sharing his opinion in other ways. In a story on Kirkland’s campaign platform that appeared last Friday in The Gazette, the longtime Bethesda resident made it very clear he thinks the area needs more “blue collar” residents and workers.
“Kirkland, who has lived in Bethesda for most of his 57 years, says the inner suburbs of the county have turned into a haven for elites who have crowded out more blue-collar residents from the area,” wrote The Gazette reporter Ryan Marshall.
Later, “Kirkland said he and others have been harassed by people looking to make Bethesda a more exclusive center of white-collar professionals.”
In a candidate questionnaire from the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, Kirkland expresses many of the same feelings. When asked what challenges exist to protecting the county’s Agricultural Reserve, Kirkland responded that “Upscale Elitists” would rather the Reserve be turned into “an upscale park with little resemblance to a working agricultural community.”
It’s true Bethesda is one of the wealthiest communities in the country, with high median household incomes and home values. It also has a high number of fine dining establishments, expensive clothing retailers, luxury car detailers and country clubs, according to one unscientific study done by a real estate website.
But is it too “white collar,” and should that be how a place is judged in the first place?
Flickr photo by Chris
