Ten of the 18 candidates for Montgomery County’s four at-large council seats live in the Silver Spring and Takoma Park area.
That could mean, depending on election results, that more than half of the 11 members on the next council come from that area, which is home to 10% of county residents, according to the U.S. Census definition of the region. (Using the U.S. Postal Service’s, it’s 30%.)
Now, a little more a third of the council comes from this area.
Three of the four at large council seats are open this election season. Tuesday’s primary in heavily Democratic Montgomery County will likely determine the makeup of the council that takes its seats in December.
Neighbors
Seven district council members represent — and must live within — those districts. The council’s at large members represent the entire county and can live anywhere within county borders.
On this year’s ballot, at large candidates Fatmata Barrie, Josie Caballero, Dana Gassaway, Scott Goldberg, Matt Losak, Jeremiah Pope, Karla Silvestre, Vicki Vergagni and Muhammad Alif Wali all claim Silver Spring residency. Current County Executive Marc Elrich, who is term-limited and running for an at large seat, lives in neighboring Takoma Park.
For more than a decade, some political commentators and community activists have voiced concerns that Takoma Park and Silver Spring residents hold disproportionate power in the county government. Although Takoma Park’s influence has lessened — Elrich and Stewart are the only countywide officials to hold elected office — this year’s ballot indicates that Silver Spring remains a political powerhouse.
Silver Spring and Takoma Park‘s domination is part of the reason the council increased the number of district seats in 2022 from five to seven to ensure dedicated representation in the Upcounty. In 2017, the council rejected a charter amendment that would have reduced the number of at large seats.
Two district council seats are dedicated to the area of the county defined by Silver Spring and Takoma Park. Kate Stewart, a Takoma Park resident, represents that city and downtown Silver Spring. Kristin Mink of Silver Spring represents its northern portion, including White Oak and Colesville.
Currently, two of the four at large council members, Shebra Evans and Evan Glass, live in Silver Spring. Will Jawando lives in Ashton, and incumbent Laurie-Anne Sayles lives in Gaithersburg.
Outside Silver Spring, at large candidates Hamza Khan and Lelia True live in Potomac, Radwan Chowdhury lives in Burtonsville, Steve Solomon lives in Wheaton and Prabu Selvam lives in Rockville.
In addition to Sayles, Gaithersburg City Council member Jim McNulty is running for an at large seat. The lone Republican, Sherwin Wells, also lives in Gaithersburg. As the only candidate on his party’s primary ballot, Wells will be the Republican nominee in November.
Here’s what else to know about the 17 Democratic candidates and how they differ on some of the major issues.
Rent stabilization
Vocal proponents of rent stabilization are on the ballot, including Losak, director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, and Elrich, who supported the policy as county executive.
The majority of candidates say they support the policy, which became law in 2023, or aspects of it. But most also advocate for other reforms to grow the supply of affordable housing. These candidates are Barrie, Caballero, Chowdhury, Goldberg, Pope, Sayles, Selvam, Silvestre, True, Vergagni and Wali.
“A balanced approach means protecting renters from unreasonable increases, holding bad actors accountable and making sure our housing stock is used as intended, to give people a place to live,” Goldberg said.
Some candidates, including Gassaway, McNulty and Solomon, oppose the rent stabilization policy.
“Rent stabilization doesn’t create a single new unit. In fact, it actively discourages the creation of new units,” McNulty said. “I believe we need to be honest about that trade-off.”
Housing affordability
Several candidates, including Goldberg, McNulty and Selvam, hold that more development is the key to solving the county’s affordable housing challenge.
“The only lasting way to increase supply is to build more homes,” Selvam said. “In high-cost communities like ours, prices may remain elevated when new development first begins, but as supply continues to grow, prices are expected to level off and eventually decline.”
Barrie, Caballero, Chowdhury, Elrich, Pope, Sayles, Silvestre, Solomon, True and Wali said they support policies that would increase housing development with guardrails to encourage affordability.
“Smart growth means focusing new housing near transit corridors so residents can live closer to jobs, reduce commuting costs and have better access to opportunities,” Pope said. “It also means ensuring that new development includes housing that is truly affordable for working families, not just units labeled as affordable but still out of reach.”
A few candidates oppose incentivizing development, including Gassaway, Losak and Vergagni.
“It is a dubious assumption to believe that the developer industry will flood the market with housing that goes beyond market demand and forces a level of competition that will lower rents or housing costs,” Losak said.
Data centers
Debate has raged over how to allow — or prohibit — data center development. All the at large Democratic candidates have expressed concerns about the issue.
Most, including Barrie, Chowdhury, Goldberg, Losak, McNulty, Pope, Selvam, Sayles, Silvestre, Solomon, True and Wali, want the county to exercise caution and consider permitting data centers only after thorough environmental and economic assessments. This group also includes Elrich, who as county executive recently issued a six-month moratorium on data center permitting.
“Data centers may bring revenue, but we must fully evaluate their impacts on energy demand, land use and surrounding communities before moving forward,” Barrie said.
Vergagni said she believes the issue should be decided by residents, not council members. And a handful of candidates, including Caballero and Gassaway, oppose data centers under almost any conditions.
“Unless data centers are 100% green energy, use environmentally friendly technology that mitigates their disruption on the community, are built by local union labor and employ union workers, I am utterly opposed to their building,” Caballero said.
“Given Big Tech and Big AI’s opposition to even these commonsense, community-focused solutions, I do not currently see a world in which I support the building of data centers in Montgomery County.”
Fundraising
At large candidates have raised more than $2 million in total.
Goldberg tops the field with $440,005, according to the most recent campaign finance reports. Elrich follows him at $265,257. Silvestre has raised $245,526, and Pope has raised $226,511.
Here are the fundraising totals for those who have raised between $85,000 to $165,000:
- Caballero: $162,949
- Barrie: $150,754
- Selvam: $147,127
- True: $125,179
- Sayles: $115,807
- McNulty: $104,821
- Solomon: $86,836
The rest of the candidates have raised less than $20,000:
- Wali: $15,876
- Chowdhury: $11,337
- Vergagni: $5,900
- Losak: $1,385
- Gassaway: $1,000.
Learn more about the candidates in The Banner’s voter guide.
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