Phil Andrews
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240) 777-7906
e-mail: Councilmember.Andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov

Biography

Phil Andrews was elected to represent the residents of District 3 on the Montgomery County Council at the November, 1998 election (District Three includes Rockville, Gaithersburg, North Potomac, Derwood, and Washington Grove) and re-elected in 2002 and 2006. Andrews serves as President of the Council, as chair of the Public Safety Committee, and as a member of the Education Committee.

As a councilmember, Andrews has successfully championed initiatives to:

• Make all Montgomery County restaurants smoke-free;
• Ensure that county contractors are paid a living wage;
• Reduce the county property tax rate to provide relief from skyrocketing assessments;
• Require that a seller disclose on real estate advertisements to prospective homebuyers what the estimated property tax bill would be for the first full tax year after they purchase the home;
• Increase fire safety by requiring sprinkler systems in all new homes;
• Save the office of the Inspector General;  
• Enact the first local law in the nation prohibiting genetic discrimination in employment;
• Improve the County's response to domestic violence, and strengthen victim services;
• Dramatically reduce Ride-On bus fares;
• Protect school children, wheelchair users, and other pedestrians by requiring that property owners make sidewalks accessible and safe to use after a snowstorm;
• Require pedestrian and bicyclist impact statements for capital projects;
• Require annual fire code inspections of county schools;
• Adopt policy of free parking for patrons of county libraries;
• Prohibit the County from charging a fee to homeowners who choose to pay property taxes semi-annually, and
• Eliminate the Pay and Go policy which worsened traffic by allowing developers to build in areas under moratoria because of traffic congestion.

Andrews has worked at the state, county, and local levels to make government more responsive to people. As executive director of Common Cause of Maryland (1988-1994), he led successful battles that limited political action committee contributions, prohibited lobbyists from fundraising for officials whom they lobby, and strengthened the state's open meetings law. As managing director of Montgomery County's AmeriCorps program, Community Assisting Police, (1994-1998), Andrews implemented victim assistance and crime prevention programs.  At the local level, Andrews served on the Gaithersburg Board of Appeals, on numerous city advisory committees, and was president of his civic association.