To: Mr. Isiah Leggett
Montgomery County Executive
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Dear Mr. Leggett:

We the undersigned request that the new civic building in Silver Spring, Maryland, currently under construction, be named in honor of former Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan.

We understand there is a rule prohibiting naming a County government building after an elected official who has been out of office less than five years. Doug Duncans last term ended in December, 2006. With the civic building scheduled to be finished in 2010, we ask that you and the County Council waive that rule.

We believe no elected official has done more for Silver Spring than Mr. Duncan. He made its rejuvenation a central part of his platform and worked tirelessly to create a public/private partnership to make that possible. His decisiveness and active involvement with our communities were instrumental in shaping a vision for our downtown. He reached out to key organizations like Discovery, the American Film Institute (AFI), and the Foulger-Pratt development company to help fulfill that visionresulting in the creation of thousands of jobs.

More than ten years later, we have a vibrant downtown with diverse offerings. And within the next few years, we will have a new public library and, of course, the civic building and recreational plaza.

Many people talked about revitalizing Silver Spring. Doug Duncan got it done.