{"id":3779,"date":"2026-10-25T20:48:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T00:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/?p=3779"},"modified":"2026-10-25T20:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T00:52:16","slug":"79-year-old-white-man-runs-for-mayor-on-bold-progressive-platform-of-no-change-lower-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/25\/79-year-old-white-man-runs-for-mayor-on-bold-progressive-platform-of-no-change-lower-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"79-Year-Old White Man Runs For Mayor On Bold Progressive Platform Of No Change, Lower Taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TAKOMA PARK, MD – Tom Gagliardo, 79, has announced an ambitious progressive vision for Takoma Park built around a radical idea: nothing should ever change, and homeowners should pay less for it.

Gagliardo\u2019s platform calls for making it impossible to bring in new development, leaving the city\u2019s 40-year rent control laws unchanged, continuing environmental protections that Takoma Park already has, and delivering property tax cuts to homeowners paid for by no new revenue sources.

\u201cTakoma Park residents are struggling to pay property taxes,\u201d said Gagliardo campaigning beside County Executive Marc Elrich who proposed raising property taxes 10%. \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I like progress. I just want the city to do more with less, build nothing, preserve everything, and somehow collect more money.\u201d

Under the plan, the city would continue collecting revenue from its existing tax base while preventing new development that might expand that base. Gagliardo expressed confidence that money would somehow materialize, possibly through improved efficiency, a forgotten municipal account, or a large check from someone who just really likes Takoma Park.

\u201cPeople keep asking how the numbers will work,\u201d said Galiardo. \u201cI think that\u2019s a very establishment way of looking at things.\u201d

Gagliardo described the plan as a bold new approach to economic justice, particularly for residents fortunate enough to have purchased homes in Takoma Park years ago.

\u201cProgressives have always fought for the little guy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd in Takoma Park, the little guy is a homeowner whose house is now worth $1.4 million and who would really like the city to stop asking him for money.\u201d


Asked how the city could afford these commitments while blocking new housing, businesses, and other potential sources of revenue, Gagliardo dismissed the question as an example of the kind of negative thinking that has held Takoma Park back.

\u201cPeople said we couldn\u2019t have our cake and eat it too,\u201d he said. \u201cThose people clearly weren\u2019t thinking progressively enough.\u201d

The candidate said his administration would focus on preserving Takoma Park\u2019s character, particularly the parts that make longtime homeowners happy, while ensuring that no one has to endure the inconvenience of seeing something unfamiliar built nearby.

Tom also spoke of his strong support for union priorities, including fair pay and good benefits.

“I love the union and believe it’s aligned with our values based budgeting approach,” he explained. “In this case our values are paying less in taxes and having less staff. That may mean firing a sizable amount of union workers, but they’ll still be allowed to use the new library computers to search for new jobs. By the way, did I mention that we paid too much for the new library?”

Asked what his vision for Takoma Park would look like in 10 years, Gagliardo paused.

\u201cPretty much exactly like it does now,\u201d he said. \u201cBut cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Tom Gagliardo, 79, has announced an ambitious progressive vision for Takoma Park built around a radical idea: nothing should ever change, and homeowners should pay less for it. Gagliardo\u2019s platform calls for making it impossible to bring in new development, leaving the city\u2019s 40-year rent control laws unchanged, continuing environmental protections…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[979,1226,1397,67,1278,2,64,2219,229,634,266,947,714,1771,715,146,719,695,1345,1529,2251,718,230,716,104,164,1762,2359,2339,2340],"class_list":["post-3779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-google-news","tag-real-estate-takoma-park","tag-takoma-humor","tag-takoma-junction","tag-takoma-news","tag-takoma-park","tag-takoma-park-city-council","tag-takoma-park-city-council-meeting","tag-takoma-park-city-election","tag-takoma-park-city-manager","tag-takoma-park-co-op","tag-takoma-park-community-center","tag-takoma-park-facebook-group","tag-takoma-park-humor","tag-takoma-park-listserv","tag-takoma-park-mayor","tag-takoma-park-news","tag-takoma-park-police","tag-takoma-park-property-tax","tag-takoma-park-real-estate","tag-takoma-park-restaurants","tag-takoma-park-satire","tag-takoma-park-voting","tag-takoma-satire","tag-takoma-torch","tag-takomatorch","tag-talisha-searcy","tag-tom-galiardo","tag-tom4takoma","tag-tom4takoma-com","wpcat-17-id"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paPZSG-YX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/takomatorch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Tom1.jpg?fit=1491%2C1091&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3779"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3780,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779\/revisions\/3780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takomatorch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}