Montgomery County Council District 3

A: Montgomery County needs to respond on two fronts: immediate relief and long-term economic growth. In the short term, we should continue to support displaced federal workers with job placement, retraining, and connections to opportunities in the private sector, nonprofits, and state and local government.

At the same time, we have to reduce our reliance on the federal government by strengthening and diversifying our economy. That means speeding growth in sectors such as life sciences, healthcare, technology, education, and locally rooted small businesses while making it easier to invest and create jobs here through faster permitting and smarter workforce development. And it means building more housing so working families have affordable places to live. Montgomery County has already felt the impact of federal downsizing. The path forward isn’t to wait for Washington — it’s to act with urgency, support our residents, and build a broader, more resilient economy for the future.

A: Because of declining enrollment, MCPS is poised to make some very tough decisions about elementary and middle school facilities over the next couple of years with their school consolidation study already underway. Closing or relocating schools is tough for everyone.

Recognizing the real fiscal constraints, the County Council is going to need to prioritize funding for core instruction — teachers, support staff, and student services — while taking a hard look at central office and administrative costs for efficiencies. We should continue our strong partnerships with the state to ensure that Montgomery County receives its fair share of education funding. At the same time, we can expand career and technical education, apprenticeships, and early college programs that give students more pathways and better align with workforce needs. Finally, transparency matters. Families and educators should clearly understand where dollars are going and how decisions are made. The goal is not just to spend more but to spend smarter — protecting educational outcomes while building a system that is financially sustainable over the long term.

A: Rent stabilization in Montgomery County has been ineffective and largely counterproductive.

One could argue that the law has provided some short-term relief to current renters by limiting sudden rent increases, but it’s pretty clear that any benefits have been outweighed by longer-term consequences. Permits for new apartment construction have plunged 96%, and the law also reduces reinvestment in existing properties. Both new construction and reinvestment are essential to affordable rent and to quality of life for our renters. When supply slows and maintenance is put off, the problem only gets worse. In fact, since the onset of rent stabilization, year-over-year average rents have gone up in the county. In the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville, neither of which enacted it, average rents have gone down. Montgomery County’s housing affordability problem is fundamentally a supply issue. We help our renters when we give them choices. We should focus on spurring and approving more housing projects. Let’s aim for a policy that protects residents from unethical landlords without choking off the very housing supply we need to make rents more affordable.

A: Yes, absolutely. There are examples nationwide of places that have gotten serious about approving new housing projects and seen average rents go down by double digits, such as Austin, Fort Myers, Colorado Springs, Phoenix, and Raleigh.

Expanded housing development has to be central to any serious strategy to address affordability. The fundamental challenge here is that demand has outpaced supply for years. When that happens, prices rise, and middle- and lower-income residents are squeezed out. We need to change course in this county and make it much easier and more attractive for builders to bring good projects to life so that our kids, working families and seniors can afford to live here. We help our residents when we give them real housing choices.

A: The county should neither rubber-stamp data centers nor rule them out categorically. We need a disciplined framework that evaluates them case by case, with clear guardrails around energy use, water consumption, noise, traffic, emissions, and compatibility with nearby communities. Montgomery County’s current debate is already moving in that direction, with proposed zoning rules and amendments focused on setbacks, scale, water, and energy requirements.

Data centers can bring in a lot of much-needed revenue to the county, which would be a good thing. But if a project moves forward, the standard should be simple: The public should not subsidize private impacts. Data center operators should bear the cost of the infrastructure they require, especially power-related upgrades, and they should be expected to minimize — if not fully negate — environmental harm and community disruption.

A: The Dickerson waste-to-energy facility has been operating since 1995 and has been controversial for more than three decades. I agree with the county council’s decision to defer this issue until after the primary so the options can be fully evaluated. Before making a final decision, I would want to see a robust and transparent analysis of the alternatives, including costs, environmental and public health effects, disposal capacity, the effect on ratepayers, and what we want done with our trash. This is a major long-term decision, and the county should approach it carefully and on the basis of facts.

A: The Trump administration’s use of ICE enforcement without due process is outrageous. We are seeing actions that undermine basic constitutional protections and create real fear in communities across the country, including here in Montgomery County.

While immigration policy is set at the federal level, the county has a clear responsibility as to how we treat people locally. We should ensure that all residents — regardless of status — can access services, send their children to school, report crimes, act as witnesses, and engage with local government without fear. That’s essential not only from a humanitarian standpoint but for public safety. We also have a role in supporting families directly affected by enforcement actions — whether that’s connecting them to legal resources, housing assistance, counseling, or other community-based support systems. I support policies that draw a clear line between local government and federal civil immigration enforcement, including requiring a judicial warrant for access to nonpublic county spaces and limiting the use of county resources for those purposes. The goal is to protect our residents, uphold fundamental rights, and maintain trust between our people and the institutions that serve them.

A: Voters should elect me because I bring a proven record of delivering results, a clear vision for where we need to go, and a deep commitment to this community. There’s no guesswork here, with 18-plus years of making highly accountable, public decisions. If you want to know my values, how I handle challenging times, think through issues, and work with others to get good things done for my constituents, it’s all out there. As mayor of Gaithersburg, I’ve led the nation’s most diverse city through both opportunity and challenge — keeping our finances strong, investing in public safety, supporting small businesses, and expanding housing and economic development. We’ve done that while maintaining the lowest property tax rate of all of Maryland’s large cities and earning high marks from our residents. This race is about the future. Montgomery County is at a crossroads: We can continue doing business as usual and stagnating, or we can choose a path that embraces growth, expands job opportunities, and makes our county more affordable. That’s what this comes down to. We can do better. I have a track record to prove it. And I would love the chance to earn your vote.

A: The county needs to find ways to help these displaced workers (like my friends and colleagues) get back into the workforce, because without support they are already leaving. The county claims to have priority hiring for federal workers, but has time-consuming and inefficient hiring practices that do not consider the scope of workers who have lost their jobs to RIFs or contract terminations. Montgomery County needs to ensure that barriers to small and medium-sized businesses are reduced, that county hiring practices are improved, and that employment services provide support that workers need to be able to shift into the private sector and find jobs in 2026.

A: The increased maintenance costs seem to largely stem from the delays in capital improvements and the needed HVAC overhauls in many of the county’s schools that indicate poor planning and prioritization. I plan to work with the Board of Education and MCPS to ensure that budgets are being used effectively and that procurement processes follow best practices to reduce overspending and potentially fraudulent incidents like the electric bus contract. Much of my job at USAID was contract compliance, and I take procurement processes and stewardship of taxpayer funds very seriously.

A: Rent stabilization has been in place for less than two years and has a number of significant loopholes and exceptions. The impact of the policy cannot be evaluated on such a short timeline. The county needs to look at the impact after five years of implementation and compare them to similar counties without stabilization to assess if the program is meeting its goals or if it needs to be changed to better address the housing crisis.

A: Yes, I believe that a combination of smart development and limiting exploitative pricing practices are needed to address the affordable housing crisis. Like most complex issues, there is not one single answer, and the county needs to use all of the tools at its disposal to address the increasing cost of housing.

A: I believe that the approval of any new data centers should be paused until an assessment of the impacts on the local environment and on utility costs for consumers can be completed and regulations can be put into place to minimize negative impacts on communities and the surrounding environment. The owners of proposed data centers make a lot of promises about the positive impacts they will bring, but they have not shown positive impacts on their communities to date. We should take time to assess the actual costs and benefits and not be guinea pigs for tech companies that do not care about our long-term quality of life.

A: I support the closure of the Dickerson facility and believe that the county can find alternative options for waste disposal that align with the county’s emissions goals and reduce household waste volume without paying for expensive upgrades to an aging incinerator that will require more upkeep over time.

A: I spoke in the council meeting in support of legislation to protect our immigrant community and I stand by that. I believe that the county has a role to play in pushing back on federal overreach and demonstrating the values of our community. I believe that the county can go farther in connecting impacted communities to existing resources and protecting the civil rights of all of our residents.

A: Since losing my USAID job, I have advocated on Capitol Hill to protect federal workers’ jobs and programs that Americans rely on. Our local government already sees the impact of federal cuts on our neighbors and communities. I have worked in rural communities, disaster relief, and war zones to help people get back on their feet. I know how to get things done, how to work together with stakeholders, and how to get people the services they need. I want to use what I’ve learned working around the world and make sure that Montgomery County is prepared for the future.

This campaign is about ensuring that residents of District 3 have access to affordable housing, safe and reliable transportation, and know that there is someone willing to take on the big fights. I spent my career advocating for people, and I want to use those skills in the place I call home. The people of Montgomery County deserve a council member who is going to show up on day one prepared to fight for them, someone who has gone up against our government and understands what happens when they are not fighting for you. I believe I am that person.

A: Economic pressures are mounting across the county, with job losses and budget cuts affecting many. I know this firsthand, having lost my federal job during a wave of layoffs. The impact on our community is real, and we cannot simply wait for things to improve.

Montgomery County must act on several fronts. Investing in programs like Mobilize Montgomery can quickly connect people to jobs and resources. We should prioritize education by strengthening partnerships with Montgomery College and local universities, ensuring residents can access training for the jobs of tomorrow. Expanding our growing biotech sector, along with life sciences and clean energy, will create new career pathways and strengthen our local economy. Supporting small businesses by streamlining permitting and expanding assistance is critical. We also need to protect safety net programs like rental assistance, food aid, and mental health services that families rely on during tough times. At the same time, it is essential to maintain support for schools, healthcare, and housing, so families have the stability they need to stay and succeed here. The choices we make now will determine whether working families can build a future in Montgomery County or are forced out by rising costs and shrinking opportunities.

A: Fully funding our public schools is non-negotiable. I’m the only candidate in this race endorsed by both the Montgomery County Education Association (teachers union) and SEIU Local 500, the unions that represent our MCPS staff. Our teachers, paraeducators, bus drivers, and many other crucial staff members support me because they understand that I will work to make Montgomery County more affordable, economically sustainable, and will be available to listen to the needs of my constituents. I take that trust seriously.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future was a hard-won commitment to our students, and we must protect it even when times are tight. That means finding new revenue rather than cutting classrooms or laying off educators. I support asking more from the county’s wealthiest residents, especially those who benefited from recent federal tax cuts, so we can maintain fair school funding. I’ll also work with the Board of Education to cut administrative costs without touching what happens in classrooms. I won’t balance the budget on the backs of our kids or the educators who show up for them every day. Strong schools are the foundation of everything else we care about in this county.

A: Rent stabilization has brought real benefits, but the current law leaves many gaps. Major cities like Rockville and Gaithersburg, both in District 3, are exempt, leaving thousands of my neighbors without protection from steep rent hikes.

I have spent the past two years organizing tenants in Rockville, helping to create six tenant associations where there were none before, and mobilizing over 300 residents to testify for stronger protections. I also wrote an op-ed supporting rent stabilization because I see every day how important these policies are for families’ stability and well-being. The rent stabilization law has led to better living conditions, the number of troubled properties in the county has dropped by nearly 70 percent. Tenants received $90,000 back in overcharged rent and fees, proof that these protections have teeth. Overall, rent stabilization has increased housing security and peace of mind for many residents. However, too many are still left out, and expanding these protections is critical if we want every family in our community to have a real chance to thrive.

A: Increased development can help address our housing crisis, in addition to tenant protections. I support zoning reform that allows more housing types near transit, expanding the Housing Production Fund, and requiring meaningful affordable and workforce set-asides in new developments. As a Housing Opportunities Commissioner overseeing a $400 million budget, I’ve seen what smart & targeted investment can do. It can take two to five years to build new, so we must ensure that we are always protecting our residents from displacements and have a nuanced approach to development.

A: On data centers: We need to proceed carefully. There’s an impact study currently underway, and we should see it through before approving large-scale data center development. Any data centers we do approve should be required to use union labor, meet strict energy and water use standards, and demonstrate genuine community benefit. These facilities can create good jobs — but only if we set the right conditions from the start, manage the real costs to our energy grid and environment, and make sure the benefits flow to our residents.

A: Montgomery County should transition away from the Dickerson incinerator, but we must do it responsibly, with a real plan in place first. Incineration carries genuine costs for air quality and for communities near the facility, and we can do better. Closing it without a viable alternative would leave the county without a way to manage its waste. I’ll push for an accelerated transition plan that invests more in composting infrastructure, expanded recycling, and waste reduction at the source. That means working with businesses and municipalities to divert more material before it reaches any disposal facility. It also means being straight with the workforce employed at Dickerson and making sure those workers have clear pathways to good jobs in the new system.

The goal should be a Montgomery County that generates far less waste and handles what remains in ways that are healthier for our communities and our climate. We have the resources and the regional partnerships to get there, but it is going to require real investment and real leadership.

A: Montgomery County’s role is clear: protect every resident, regardless of immigration status. That means keeping local law enforcement out of deportation activities, opposing any migrant detention facility in our county, and making sure county services are accessible to everyone. I stood with our community to support the Trust Act in Rockville, and I’ve worked alongside CASA and the MoCo Immigrants Rights Collective to host Know Your Rights trainings and connect families with legal aid and emergency resources.

We also need to be proactive. That means ensuring information reaches immigrant families in the languages they speak, expanding partnerships with trusted community organizations, and making sure residents know their rights when federal enforcement escalates. In this political climate, that work is more urgent than ever. No family should face a crisis alone, and our county government should be a place every resident can turn to, not a place they fear. I’ve supported every measure to limit ICE cooperation in Montgomery County, and I will continue to do so on the county council. Local law enforcement should not be in the deportation business. These policies don’t just protect immigrant residents — they build trust across our community, and that trust makes everyone safer.

A: I understand the challenges our community faces and have a strong record of public service at every level. My own experiences with housing instability and working in both local and federal government have shown me what families need to feel secure and supported.

I have worked alongside residents to strengthen neighborhoods, expand access to essential services, and ensure more voices are heard in local decisions. My approach is rooted in listening, collaboration, and practical solutions that help people in their daily lives. I believe in building a community where everyone can succeed, with safe housing, good schools, reliable public health, and strong local businesses. If elected, I will work hard to bring people together, address the issues that matter most, and ensure every family has a real chance to thrive. My commitment is to serve with integrity, transparency, and a focus on real results for our community. My broad coalition of endorsements — from labor, environmental groups, immigrant rights organizations, educators, and elected officials—reflects a record people from all walks of life can trust. District 3 needs a leader with the heart to listen and the backbone to act. I am ready to serve and deliver for our county.

A: With a growing national debt in the multi-trillions, our federal government cannot operate at its current spending levels, hence the frequent shutdowns. We simply do not manufacture nor export enough to earn revenue to keep up with the spending. Moreso with Montgomery County, we continue to compound layers of inefficient bureaucracy. None of us want to dine at a restaurant which passes your order to multiple people before it reaches the kitchen staff. The layers of people add time and costs that negatively affect you, the diner. As a consequence of the federal layoffs, employees rejoin the corporate world, as it is the corporate world that adds financial revenue to our economy; a bloated government consumes taxpayer money and places us all further in debt. A secondary issue we experienced is that as the federal agencies tighten up costs and waste, federal contactors are also seeing reductions in work and budgets. As a result, the corporate system balanced the employment factors and slimmed down the bloated costs and waste, prioritizing to maintain employees with hard skills in math, science, tech, and medical. As a lesson learned, MCPS must prioritize in these fields so our children can enter the competitive market.

A: The MCPS budget claims that 80% of the budget is committed to the classroom, but the math doesn’t compute. MCPS gets nearly 60% of the county’s entire budget, leaving very little operating dollars for all services and programs for the millions of people in the county. By comparing the annual budgets, we see a clear pattern that MCPS grossly inflated non-classroom costs, such as expanding layers of bureaucracy, stuck under fraudulent electric bus rentals, compensating for previous over-expenditures forcing the borrowing of $50 million from the retirees’ benefits, and tiers of employees making salaries between $175,000 to $360,000 a year. Assuming a teacher’s salary is around $80,000, we are expected to believe hundreds of administrators (that few people have seen in person) are individually producing enough effort to be paid three to five times a teacher’s salary. It is only within MCPS that the rate of maintenance costs are three times what we would expect to pay (i.e., renovating Wootton is expected to cost the same as the construction of Crown High School). Sadly, a typical lunch from the cafeteria: For $2.80, students received three over-fried mini chicken fingers, a chocolate milk, a fruit cup, and two ketchup packets.

A: We must not tolerate property owners or landlords that charge outrageous rents. We can all check comparable pricing in the market. Once county government is notified, those that took advantage will be punished.

Rent stabilization is a one-sided attempt to control the pricing system, which financially punishes property owners and forces consequences (e.g., properties go off-market). The combination of rent stabilization and increasing property tax may decimate a property owner’s rental income, especially when faced with repair costs. Private property owners, forced to rent at a financial loss, may decide to withhold their property, sell or move back in. Commercial property owners may be able to spread out their financial losses and be less likely to proactively make repairs or perform maintenance to save money. In our capitalist economy, the market will balance. Rent stabilization artificially and negatively manipulates the balance until the system breaks. If gas was artificially priced at $1 per gallon, the gas station may sell for a bit, but eventually it would stop selling to avoid losing millions over a few years, especially if nearby stations priced gas at $3.50 per gallon. Imagine if a gas station charged $6 per gallon — there would be no business.

A: Montgomery County cannot subsidize its way out of the high cost of living. Experts agree, the rate of housing being built cannot be completed fast enough to have a drastic impact on housing prices. We all know this to be true — simply look at Lakeforest Mall and White Flint Mall, which sat for years before any new construction. Even then, developers were handed layers of inducements, (i.e. tax incentives and favorable regulations) to beg them to build. Taxpayers lose millions of dollars when this takes place.

Many incumbents and candidates will sell you the idea of immediate gratification; but the construction industry knows there is simply not enough commercial interest to build the volume of inexpensive, low-financial-return housing. What can we do? Keep the maximum stock of housing in private hands. Commercially owned housing must be priced higher to cover overhead costs. Instead, consider futuristic construction methods (e.g., pre-fabricated/pre-constructed housing units) to minimize costs and time. We must adjust our expectations to a smaller footprint for starter or silver homes. We MUST stop the excessive uncontrolled spending, force MCPS to be more efficient and reprioritize student academic performance, so that our children can be competitive in the employment market.

A: The data-driven world is experiencing factorial growth, as more electronic devices are manufactured to replace analog. Soon, the Internet of Things will be reality, meaning equipment will use data, connecting items like your watch to the refrigerator and toaster. We already see remote-controlled thermostats, windows, and motion-activated lights. All these options require data and storage, which must be housed in server farms (large computers and storage). These servers create high heat, as we have all felt the exhaust fans from electronics.

There are already many small data centers across Montgomery County. We have the opportunity to lead the industry with new data center designs, making surrounding counties dependent on us, which means more revenue in and less taxes needed to keep our county moving. Let’s build data centers that optimize geothermic heat exchange (partly built underground to allow for the earth to regulate the temperature). We’d use a closed-loop water cooling system to mitigate contamination, and leverage the waste heat to generate steam to produce electricity. We might make enough electricity to sell back to the power grid and reduce our electricity bills. Data centers end up being net carbon neutral, which is great for the environment.

A: As a society, we must protect our environment, ensuring our future generations can live healthily.

I have spoken to proponents from both perspectives, and I concur with the following: 1.) We cannot continue to move/subject our trash (waste, refuse, garbage, detritus) to another community. 2.) We must not allow toxic pollutants to enter our breathable air and ozone. Our alternatives: reduce the volume of trash generated, prioritize composting and recycling, focus on engineering environmentally friendly materials (i.e., bamboo fibers, lotus plant fibers, wood, natural fibers, wool, etc.,) for bedding and clothing materials, minimizing synthetics, and refusing single-use containers. We should also plant more trees. We have micro-plastics in our food and subsequently within us. We have exponential growth in the autistic, mental health, and physiological illnesses. The items we choose to use has dramatic impact and may contribute to failing health. To use Dickerson as a trash incinerator, we can modify the plant to force the hot exhaust into a steam power generation process while filtering out contaminants using a closed-loop water-sediment system. It is purely irresponsible to emit tons of toxic, acidic gases, heavy metals, and smells into surrounding communities.

A: The population of legal and productive immigrants has been growing steadily in Montgomery County. My extended relatives came from China, as early as 1834, and have settled across the United States, in every major population center, to include Washington, D.C., and later moving into Montgomery County. Regarding me and my immediate relatives; our great-grandparents sought a better life in America, desperately striving to acclimate, learning English to communicate, and earning their Green Cards and later, their Naturalized Citizenships. Each family unit aspired for their children to have a solid education, leading to stable employment, and to grow their own families; mostly to get out of the employment our predecessors were relegated to: kitchens, laundries, farms, railroad building, and housekeeping.

Each immigrant’s backstory may be unique, but those that aspire to make the United States their permanent home should have the same trajectory — to become a productive, engaged American citizen. As history has taught us, nations that have a solid identity persist, while empires (i.e., Roman, Greek, Egyptian and the Chinese empires) have fallen to internal instability, political fragmentation, economic collapse, and external invasions. The Constitution must be protected at all costs.

A: I want Montgomery County to cost less to live in.

Intentionally, I have the BEST combination of 1.) vast personal experience, 2.) strong academic and certifications background, and 3.) unwavering moral center focused on Christian values, to ENSURE our community benefits from the strongest possible leader. As a county council member, I absolutely LOVE finding ways to make my community happier, vibrant, profitable, and to feel more LOVE. I honed my skills in military strategic planning, combined with my uncanny attention to detail. I have led federal agency projects in process improvement: reducing steps, time and costs; restructuring programs and protocols to remove errors; and have audited enterprise-wide programs to ensure funding and expenses were appropriately tracked. I WILL do the very same for the community that I truly adore, our Montgomery County. I have lived across the United States and globally, bringing the very best practices here to Montgomery County. Without a reason to change, nothing will change; we cannot allow the same tired decision-making. I will prioritize a transparent, accountable, and rapidly responsive county government: hyper focused on building Montgomery County’s competitive advantages: improving education and optimizing access to the agricultural reserve, biotech, pharma and federal research.