VILLAGE COUNCIL ELECTIONS

The Village of Martin's Additions is governed by a municipal Charter that provides for a five-member Council elected by VMA residents. The Council election is normally held between March 1 and May 15 each year, in accordance with the Charter, and members are elected to two-year terms that begin on July 1. The number of seats open on the Council alternates two seats one year and three seats the next. Any qualified voter [1] may nominate another qualified voter or may declare his or her own candidacy.

You may see the 2023 Election Plan approved by the Council here.
You may see the sample ballots for the 2023 Election here. 

Candidate Forum Announcement

Dear residents,

The VMA Election Committee is excited to announce that it will host its Candidate Forum on Tuesday, April 25th at 7:30 PM. The Forum will provide a great opportunity for qualified voters and residents to hear directly from the candidates in this year's Council election.

Consistent with the Council-adopted plan, the Committee shall moderate the forum at its sole discretion. The Committee encourages residents and qualified voters to submit potential questions or subjects in advance that you would like to hear addressed at the Forum. Questions can be submitted by emailing the Committee at VMAElections@martinsadditions.org. Please note in your email if you would like your name included when asking your question or if you would prefer not to be identified during the Forum. In the interest of fairness to all candidates, questions should be applicable to all candidates and abide by general rules of civility. If you wish to submit a question anonymously a question may either be dropped off or mailed to the Village Office. Residents and qualified voters may also submit questions to the Committee through any other convenient method. Questions must be received by the Committee no later than 5:00 PM on Sunday, April 23rd. 

The Village staff will email call-in and log-in information nearer to the forum similar to what is done for monthly meetings. This information can also be found below. Audio of the forum will be posted on the Village website following the forum.

Thank you,
The VMA Election Committee

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4283369355
Meeting ID: 428 336 9355
Call in: 301-715-8592

Candidate Statements

Katie Filipczyk Howard

Residents, thank you for the opportunity to run again for a seat on the Village of Martin’s Additions Council. I’m Katie Filipczyk Howard and I reside at 3510 Taylor Street with my husband Steve, daughters Hannah and Heidi and our Maine Coon, Mittens. Our home is situated at the intersection of Chestnut and Taylor – the frequent site of holiday decorations and the hub of bustling foot and vehicle traffic.

I am seeking reelection as these two years in office have flown by while my to-do list has grown. I am dedicated to continuing my work to improving three areas: resident relations, community communications and public safety. Since taking the oath of office in July 2021, I am honored to have voted for VMA progress, but there remains much to accomplish. 

I currently serve as Vice-Chair on the Council and co-liaison to the Community Engagement Committee. I enjoy participating with the CEC in the planning of popular community events like the Halloween party, community brunch at La Ferme, the Independence Day celebration and Movie Night in the park.

During my time in office, I have also had the pleasure of serving as liaison to the VMA Ethics Committee and in the role of Council secretary.

Resident relations: Simply put, I’m on the Council because of residents and my obligation is to listen to their concerns. I have personally visited with villagers throughout the VMA. I find meeting with neighbors about issues concerning construction and public safety to be most productive and having lived through construction as an abutting neighbor, I know how frustrating these projects can be. I have met with residents who have lived in the VMA for decades and those who just moved here. I want to keep working for all residents.

Community communications: While on the Council, I helped foster improvements to the Martin’s Edition newsletter and worked with a resident to incorporate opportunities for more community reporting. Going forward, I am interested in pursuing some additional communication outlets, including a VMA-issued short messaging service (SMS) to residents to help quickly communicate road closures, community emergencies and other issues affecting our area.

Public safety: As a victim of car theft from my own driveway, public safety remains a top concern. I voted for the most recent speed humps and continue to work with Village staff on sidewalks, streetlights, and traffic calming. I have also strived for diplomacy listening to residents who are not in favor of these proposals and hearing their concerns.

I have enjoyed the privilege of both growing up in the VMA and returning to my childhood home with my family. I am a proud product of our local schools. I attended Chevy Chase Elementary, Westland Middle School and B-CC High School. I earned a B.A. in Political Science and a M.A. in Online Journalism from American University, leading to a career in communications. I ran the overnight newsrooms of WTOP.com and USA Today.com. Currently, I am in corporate communications for the United States Postal Service.

I have committed my time and energy to the greater community. I currently serve on the PTSA of Silver Creek Middle School after previously serving as PTA Executive Vice President for CCES, the head coach of the CCES Girls on the Run program and coach for the cross-country and track and field CYO programs for the Blessed Sacrament parish. I continue to be an avid runner. You may have seen me literally running the streets of the VMA which provides the ultimate view of where sidewalk repairs are needed, and safety issues are located. 

These two years on the VMA Council have certainly provided a crash course in municipal government. I continue to learn what the Council can and can’t do but personally maintain a never-say-never attitude. My guiding light as your elected representative continues to be my mother, Jill Filipczyk, who served on the VMA Council from 2010-2013. She led a principled life and served two honorable terms cut short to terminal cancer. Her legacy continues with me.

Residents, my wish list includes you feel heard, our VMA meetings remain civil and that I continue to serve this idyllic community honorably. I hope I can count on your vote! 

Andrew Kauders

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

My name is Andrew Kauders and my wife, Halie, three boys, Henri, Max and Eli, and 16 ½ year-old puppy, Oskar, live on Turner Lane. We moved to Martin’s Additions from DC over ten years ago. Halie and I met on Capitol Hill, where I worked for the House Democratic leadership after serving in the second term of the Clinton Administration, where I focused on climate, clean air and water policy and protecting our National Forests. We both fell in love with Martin’s Additions after a last-minute decision to swing by our current home’s open house (minutes before it ended). We feel very fortunate to have made that decision and to be a part of this wonderful community.

I have had the honor and privilege to serve on the VMA Council since 2021 and have been elected twice by my Council colleagues to serve as the Chair. When I ran for the Council, I had two primary concerns related to our village: 1. the tone and perceived lack of comity on the Council – both between members and toward residents; and 2. a desire to make our neighborhood streets safer for our children and elderly community members. There were additional aspects to the position and personal goals set, including providing added services to residents based on our healthy financial reserves, but my initial campaign was driven by a sense of urgency related to a lack of civility and desire for safety improvements.

The perceived top-down approach to legislating, a lack of opportunities for residents to chime in and what appeared to always be a foregone conclusion of ordinances introduced regardless of community feedback was a driving force behind my initial run for Council. It was my goal to change the tone and atmospherics – to lower the temperature – and to bridge the apparent divide that existed between neighbors, residents and Council members. I wanted to make the Council more welcoming and for residents to have more of a voice during our monthly meetings. To the detriment of quick and easy Council meetings, as Chair, I established a quasi-open mic policy that allowed residents to comment during proceedings as longs as remarks were germane to the subject and helpful in the decision-making process. I feel strongly that with only monthly Council meetings and limited opportunities to be heard by the entire Council, limiting participants to solely speak at the beginning and end of these meetings was sidelining residents’ voices. While a few residents were unhappy about the length of some of these meetings, the majority have found it to be a refreshing, and more participatory approach to the proceedings. We have witnessed many instances where this policy has helped the Council make more informed decisions and have seen how the introduction of new ordinances and ideas have not been force-fed through the process or as previously mentioned, forgone conclusions. Listening sessions play a part in that equation and I continue to be a proponent of similar tools to engage residents and to make them feel heard.

I believe that this Council serves at the pleasure of its residents and that it is our obligation to improve the lives of our entire community. If re-elected, I hope to continue to advocate for a more participatory, civil process and will support others running and elected who have similar objectives. We are fortunate to have an incredible talent pool of residents, many of whom have already served on the Council or on our VMA Committees. It is with their past and current help – and the entire community’s engagement – that Martin’s Additions is such a great place to live, raise our kids and retire.

I am hopeful that we have a robust number of residents running for Council so that we have a diverse group of candidates and will continue to benefit from dedicated volunteers leading our Village government.

With gratitude,

Andrew

Joel Martín Kliksberg

As Wallace Janssen wrote for the 1985 celebration of incorporation, “The Village of Martin’s Additions has been a study in citizen involvement for nearly 80 years.” This rich heritage is palpable in porch conversations between neighbors, at the 4th of July BBQ and the Community Brunch, and during the standing Council meetings.

As I’ve spent time with many of you, you have raised issues that our Council could help ameliorate, including the flooding of homes and common areas (especially on Quincy Street and Taylor Street), spotty cell phone coverage throughout VMA, and the state of disrepair of some of our sidewalks (particularly on Brookville Road).

On the issue of flooding, six houses in a row flooded on Quincy Street this past summer (including mine) and I have heard the horror stories of our neighbors on Taylor Street and other properties. Montgomery County reports that 100-year storms may become the norm on a yearly basis and, unfortunately, the county storm drains are not prepared. I have devoted significant time and resources studying potential solutions for VMA, and have been working closely with forensic architects, builders, local leaders, and others. There is also a lot we can learn from our neighboring municipalities in Chevy Chase regarding the steps we can take to improve our systems for flash floods and marshaling Montgomery County resources to address the issue. Several neighboring towns, such as Chevy Chase Village, have codified policies that safeguard their homeowners from flooding.

Over the coming weeks and months, I hope to have the opportunity to speak with many more of you, learn about your perspective and experience on these issues and identify additional areas of needed focus for our Council. I am proud of our Council and hope to bring a fresh perspective to an already experienced team of devoted Council members.

Though I have worked with many politicians in my career, I am not one. First and foremost, I am a proud husband and father. But I am also a business executive and leader who understands how to navigate political gridlock to get things done. I previously advised political campaigns from the state to presidential levels, overseeing the digital advertising campaigns for over 100 races across the country. On the corporate side, I served as Chief of Staff of ABC News, Chief Strategy Officer of ABC/Disney and Univision’s news network Fusion, and founded a Y-Combinator backed startup company. I currently lead global public affairs rapid response and responsibility marketing campaigns for Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Reality Labs). 

A Latin Jew and the son of two Argentinean United Nations diplomats, I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. I have witnessed first hand what happens when governments don’t work. I moved to the U.S. (and Montgomery County, more specifically) when I was 10 years old and then saw what happens when governments do work. So it is with that foundation that I have practiced civic service throughout my career. While I earned a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Cornell University, I served as president of the law school’s student government. While I earned a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University, I served as a vice president of the student government and class council chair. I believe in transparency, overcommunication, and collaboration – and it is these principles that I will bring to my work on behalf of VMA.

I left Montgomery County after college to pursue professional opportunities and returned, together with my wife Dr. Jess Carbino, so that we could raise our now seven month old daughter Emmie, together with our rescue maltipoos Bonnie and Clyde, in this wonderful community. We are proud to live in VMA and I sincerely hope to work for you.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Joel