Isiah Leggett

Infobox_Politician


name = Isiah "Ike" Leggett
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1945|7|25|mf=y
birth_place = Deweyville, Texas
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic
residence =
occupation = County Politician
religion =
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children =
office = Human Relations Committee
term_start = 1979
term_end = 1986
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majority =
office2 = County Council At-Large
term_start2 = 1986
term_end2 = 2002
predecessor2 =
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office3 = County Executive
term_start3 = 2007
term_end3 = Present
predecessor3 = Doug Duncan
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majority3 =
footnotes =
website = http://www.ikeleggett.org

Isiah "Ike" Leggett (born July 25, 1945) is a Democratic politician from Maryland. Born in Deweyville, Texas, Leggett attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and, after serving in Vietnam with the United States Army, earned a law degree from Howard University in Washington, DC. In 1986, he became the first African-American elected to the county council in Montgomery County, Maryland and served on the council through 2002. He remains the only African-American ever elected to that body at-large. For two years, Leggett served as the chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party before leaving that position to run for office once again. Leggett was elected County Executive of Montgomery County in 2006, the first African-American to hold that office. Since taking office, he has become involved in a number of controversial issues, including proposals to increase the Maryland gas tax, place a moratorium on new development in Montgomery County, and create a new hiring location for day laborers in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Early life and education

Leggett was born on July 25, 1944 in Deweyville, Texas and grew up with twelve siblings in Alexandria, Louisiana. In Alexandria, he played football for Peabody Magnet High School. He attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, working through school as a groundskeeper in a work-study program and graduating in 1967. In his time as an undergraduate, he participated in civil rights demonstrations and was elected president of his class during his senior year. He also became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, the first intercollegiate fraternity established for African-Americans. A member of the Southern University Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Leggett served as a captain in the United States Army during the Vietnam conflict and saw action near the cities of Da Nang and Saigon. The Army awarded him a bronze star before he left to pursue a law degree and a career in politics. In 1974, he received Master of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from Howard University in Washington, DC, graduating first in his law school class. He returned to Howard as a professor in their law school in 1976, and continued teaching at the law school through his election as County Executive in 2006. Among his former students is the current Mayor of the District of Columbia, Adrian Fenty. Leggett is currently married to his second wife, Catherine.cite news |author= Weeks, Linton and Trejos, Nancy|title=In Montgomery, Ready to Serve |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800983_pf.html |publisher=The Washington Post |date=October 29, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-22]

Early political career

Leggett's first participation in county government was as an appointed member of the county Human Relations Committee, on which he served from 1979 to 1986. In 1986, he was elected as an at-large member of the county council, becoming the first African-American ever to serve on the council. To this day, he is the only African-American ever elected to county office at large. He was re-elected to the seat three more times, and served three one-year terms as council president. During his time on the council, he chaired the council's transportation and environment committee and played a role in passage of a county living wage law and a public smoking ban. In 1992, a former county council aide of Leggett's accused him of sexual harassment in a widely publicized case, but the accusation was dismissed by a jury. [cite news |first=Joe |last=Palazzolo |author= Joe Palazzolo|title=Leggett Ups His Bid to Run the County |url=http://www.thesentinel.com/323855950446237.php |publisher=The Sentinel |date=unknown |accessdate=2007-01-22] In 2002, Leggett declined to run for re-election to the county council. He was widely viewed as a potential running mate for Democratic nominee Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in that year's gubernatorial race. However, Townsend chose Admiral Charles R. Larson instead. Townsend and Larson lost in November when Maryland elected Robert Ehrlich to be its first Republican Governor in 40 years and Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele as its first African-American statewide elected official. When his term on the council was completed in December of that year, Leggett was elected to a term as chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party. Leggett's chairmanship was seen by some Democratic activists as important to maintaining the African-American base of the Maryland Democratic Party following their electoral losses. [cite news |first=Theodore |last=Kim |author= Theodore Kim|title=Leggett's Long Career Taking Another Turn |url=http://www.gazette.net/gazette_archive/2003/200302/montgomerycty/county/138051-1.html |publisher=The Gazette |date=January 10,2003 |accessdate=2007-01-22]

2006 campaign for county executive

Following the election of 2004, Maryland politicians started announcing their intentions for the 2006 elections. Among them was three-term County Executive Doug Duncan, who was in the early stages of a run for Governor. In December 2004, Leggett left the Maryland Democratic Party to begin a campaign to replace Duncan as Montgomery County Executive. His chief opponent in the primary election was a former colleague from the council, Steve Silverman. Leggett and Silverman squared off in a long series of debates beginning almost a year before the election. But despite being outspent by Silverman, Leggett won the Democratic nomination for executive with 61% of the vote in the primary election on September 12, 2006. [cite web| title = Election Summary Result, Gubernatorial Primary Election| publisher =Montgomery County Board of Elections | date =October 10, 2006 | url =http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/elections/electionResults2006Primary/jurisdictionwide-1.htm
accessdate = 2007-01-22 ] Although he then faced Republican nominee Chuck Floyd and independent anti-tax advocate Robin Ficker in the general election, Leggett easily won the November polling as well. [cite web| title = Election Summary Result, Gubernatorial General Election| publisher =Montgomery County Board of Elections | date =Novermber 17, 2006 | url =http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/elections/electionResults2006General/jurisdictionwidefinal-1.htm | accessdate = 2007-01-22 ]

First term as county executive

In the early days of his administration, Leggett became involved in a number of controversial issues. To help alleviate transportation funding difficulties and a state budget deficit, he proposed a statewide gas tax increase. This proposal, which happened in the midst of a state budget crunch and in response to high levels of traffic congestion in the county, was supported by the county council but largely ignored by incoming Governor Martin O'Malley. [cite news |first=Ann |last=Marimow |author= Ann Marimow|title=Leggett Repeats Call for Gas Tax Increase |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/1178207811.html?dids=1178207811:1178207811&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=42cfd73d6989cfdf2ef21f749b5f91a8&date=Dec+12%2C+2006&author=Ann+E.+Marimow+-+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&desc=Leggett+Repeats+Call+For+Gas+Tax+Increase |publisher=The Washington Post |date=December 12, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-25] [cite news |first=Janel |last=Davis |author= Janel Davis|title=Council backs resolution for a higher gasoline tax |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/121306/montcou181515_31979.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=December 13, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-22]

Leggett also worked to find a hiring site for day laborers from the city of Gaithersburg and the surrounding upcounty area. During the term of Mr. Leggett's predecessor Doug Duncan, Gaithersburg had struggled to find space within the city limits that the county could lease for use as a location where the day laborers could wait for employers. The owners of virtually all of the more than 30 sites considered by the city government had refused to grant a lease for this purpose, and in the one case where the property owner was willing to consider the use, the county's efforts to lease the property fell through after the property owner backed out. [cite news |first=Sebastian |last=Montes |author=Sebastian Montes|title=Gaithersburg day labor center falls through |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/102706/gaitnew145409_31979.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=October 27, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-22] The debate became caught up in a larger national debate about the role of illegal immigrants in American society. [cite news |first=Sebastian |last=Montes |author=Sebastian Montes|title=Gaithersburg looks to regain footing on day laborer issue|url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/080906/germnew205914_31949.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=August 9, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-25] Abandoning Mr. Duncan's requirement [cite web |url=http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/poi/default.asp?POI_ID=1333&TOC=310;1333; |title=Minutes, September 5, 2006 meeting of the Gaithersburg, Maryland Mayor and City Council |accessdate=2008-09-16 |publisher=City of Gaithersburg |format=text |language=English |year=2006 |month=September] that the site be located within Gaithersburg's city limits, Mr. Leggett's decision to create a day laborer location on county-owned land eliminated the need to find a private property owner willing to lease for this purpose. However the decision was still contentious within the neighborhood where the site was to be located. [cite news |first=Sebastian |last=Montes |author=Sebastian Montes|title=Montgomery picks day laborer site |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/011907/polia%20s194536_32024.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=January 19, 2007 |accessdate=2007-01-22] The site is managed by CASA of Maryland.

In March 2008, Leggett authorized the use tax payer money to build a $65,225 bathroom for his personal office.. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031903325.html County Executive to Get $65,000 Bathroom - washingtonpost.com ] ] This came at a time when Montgomery County residents suffered from increased taxes and job losses, as well as a hiring freeze for 1,092 vacant spots in the county government. Among the vacancies included health care and public safety positions. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/12/31/daily31.html?ana=from_rss Hiring freeze instituted in Montgomery County - Baltimore Business Journal: ] ]

Additionally, Leggett came out in favor of a proposed partial moratorium on new real-estate development in the county. [cite news |first=Janel |last=Davis |author=Janel Davis |title=Moratorium may backfire, council told |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/122006/montcou180923_31976.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=December 20, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-22] Despite Leggett's support, however, the moratorium law was altered so that it did not completely stop applications for new development but rather placed increased regulation on them while the county planning board and county council revised the county's planning process. [cite news |first=Janel |last=Davis |author=Janel Davis |title=Moratorium off table, but developers warned |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/012407/montcou221105_31992.shtml |publisher=The Gazette |date=January 24, 2006 |accessdate=2007-01-22]

References

External links

* [http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/govtmpl.asp?url=/content/exec/welcome.asp Official website of the Montgomery County Executive]
* [http://www.ikeleggett.org Leggett's 2006 official election website]