The Silver Spring Penguin

The dudes running the show in Downtown Silver Spring said Monday night that they would explore options in who can do what on Ellsworth Drive.

“All of the policies are under review,” Jack Garson, attorney for Peterson Management, told Silver Spring’s citizens advisory board. “We have a completely open mind on this.”

The review follows an Independence Day “photo walk” on Ellsworth Drive, in which about 100 shutterbugs protested perceived limits on photography, assembly and picketing.

“There never has been a ‘no photography’ policy,” explained I.J. Hudson, a former TV news reporter and currently a spokesperson with Garson’s Bethesda law firm.

However, Hudson said the management company does ask people to practice “respectful photography” that considers patrons’ privacy and doesn’t block walkways.

The issue that drew heat from advisory board members was the shopping center’s policy on distributing political fliers and brochures.

Board member Mark Woodard told his colleagues that during one election year, security guards asked him to stop distributing campaign fliers on Ellsworth Drive. He called the incident “an unconscionable violation of my civil rights.”

“I don’t care whether the county takes back the area or whether Peterson continues” to operate the shopping center, Woodard said. “As long as Peterson walks in the county’s shoes in protecting my First Amendment rights.”

Hudson admitted that Peterson Management did not want much political activity on Ellsworth. Garson further explained that original plans devoted Downtown Silver Spring to shopping and entertainment, while Veterans Plaza would be used for civic activity.

“If I’m a tenant in that shopping center, I sure hope no one is protesting in front of my store on my big sale day, when I’m trying to make my numbers,” Garson told the board.