Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, the outgoing leader of the county’s executive branch, is also among the top vote-getters in the Democratic primary for an at-large seat on the county council.
So when he was asked about the issues that will face those who win their party’s nomination in Maryland’s primaries Tuesday, he spoke with that perspective in mind.
“Everybody’s going to have to deal with the tax issue,” he said Wednesday. “I tried to make that clear when I put my budget out there.”
Elrich’s proposed budget included a 6% property tax increase that was voted down by same council on which he once served, and hopes to again.
“The county reached a point that, with all the damage that was done to the federal government and jobs 鈥� it is not possible to continue the level of services and the things we do, including schools, without some change in the revenues,” he said.
“If we’re going to live in the real world, we’re going to have to deal with how do you pay for these things, and I think council members are going to find it very uncomfortable to have to make cuts to social programs,” Elrich said.聽
Elrich repeated a stance he’s taken in the past; the county’s commercial property tax rates should be increased.
“Two other areas, D.C. and Virginia, have figured out how to do it,” Elrich said. “For all of the Virginia envy there is, we ought to look at what they do, and I hope this council’s willing to open their eyes.”
Democratic county executive, at-large council primaries still undecided
As of late Wednesday, the showed Will Jawando leading the race among Democrats with 41% support. Andrew Friedson followed with 33% of the votes.
Evan Glass, who conceded Wednesday, trailed with 21%.
“I’ve been monitoring the election results, and as a former CNN journalist, I know when the hill is too steep to climb,” he said in a statement.
Glass also said the fight for improving schools, increasing housing opportunities and protecting the most vulnerable in the county “will not end with this election,” and he indicated he would continue to push for ranked choice voting in Montgomery County.
Glass “suffered a bit by being the man in the middle,” American University professor David Lublin told 海角社区app.
“There was a bit of a polarization between Andrew Friedson and Will Jawando,” he said, with Friedson being seen as more pro-business and Jawando as more progressive.
Voters felt “they had to make a choice between the two people seen as leading, even though in the few surveys I saw, it’s not like they were miles ahead,” Lublin told 海角社区app.
Regarding Elrich’s discussion on the fiscal realities elected officials face, Lublin said, in all the debates of raising taxes, “You had Democrats competing over who fought against taxes more, which is not your usual Democratic primary debate.”
And assuming Elrich wins one of the four at-large seats on the county council, Lublin said he may find more allies given the likelihood that the composition will be more progressive.
“The question is whether they can organize to actually push” a progressive agenda or if they split over issues, he said.
When it comes to the arguments about Virginia having the edge over Maryland in attracting business, Lublin said, “One big barrier we face is that the airport is on the Fairfax-Loudoun border,” a reference to Dulles International Airport, “and we can’t change that.”
Lublin said the county will have to find other ways to compete.
“You can’t fund all the nice things that progressive Democrats, and even not-so-progressive Democrats want to fund, if you don’t have the money,” he said.
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