Who are the new faces poised to join the Montgomery County Council?

Election officials are still counting ballots, but early returns indicate four new faces will join the 11-member Montgomery County Council this year.

These newcomers will help chart a new course for the council, with more women on the dais.

Tuesday’s primary was competitive, with fewer incumbents seeking reelection. Regulations forbid the three council members running for county executive to run for their current at large and district seats. Another at large seat, temporarily held by Shebra Evans to fill a sudden vacancy, was also open.

Candidates tussled over who could make Montgomery County more affordable and how to counter the Trump administration’s slashing of federal jobs and aggressive campaign against immigrants.

“Local elections are just so much more impactful to your community,” Lina Kaval told The Banner after she cast her vote at Takoma Park Elementary School. “Things are important on a national level, but things start growing at the local level.”

At large seats

Sixteen Democrats in this deep blue county vied for the council’s four at large seats.

County Executive Marc Elrich holds a promising lead, and incumbent Laurie-Anne Sayles appears headed toward a second term.

Two newcomers are also likely to clinch at large seats.

Scott Goldberg was a favorite in the race, with less than a percentage point separating him and Sayles as of Wednesday afternoon. Goldberg, a small-business owner and substitute teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, served as the president of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee in 2018 and 2019. This was his second try at an at large seat — in 2022, he lost the Democratic primary narrowly, coming in fifth behind Sayles.

Goldberg campaigned on increasing the supply of affordable housing, improving transit options and strengthening the council’s oversight of district schools. He told The Banner on Wednesday that voters’ top concern is the cost of living.

“We need to be serious and intentional about growing our economy,” Goldberg said. Without job growth, “we’re not going to have the tax revenues to pay for the high level of services that the people of Montgomery County want.”

The fourth at large slot will likely be filled by school board member Karla Silvestre or immigration attorney Fatmata Barrie. They were neck and neck with less than a percentage point separating them Wednesday afternoon. The winner will likely come down to mail-in ballot counts.

Silvestre, of Silver Spring, has served on the school board since 2018 and was its president in 2024. She was the Latino liaison for the county’s Office of Community Partnerships and manager of the county’s Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center.

Barrie is an immigration attorney and activist who ran for the District 5 council seat in 2022 but lost to Kristin Mink. She previously worked as a legislative aide for Will Jawando’s council office and was the director of the county’s Police Accountability Board.

District seats

School board member Julie Yang appears poised to win the District 1 seat.

The Potomac resident has served on the school board since 2023 and was president in 2025. An immigrant from China, she has said her passion for education led to her career as a college and career adviser in the county’s public schools.

On the council, she said, she wants to help connect students with jobs to support economic development, lower the cost of living and provide tax incentives for new small businesses.

Yang has said she wants the council to address budget shortfalls without relying on excessive tax hikes.

“We need to find efficiencies, evaluate programs based on results, and grow our economy so we’re not asking more from residents already under pressure,” she said in The Banner’s voter guide.

In District 3, Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and Rockville City Council member Izola Shaw were separated by fewer than 200 votes as of Wednesday afternoon. The two candidates are hoping to fill the seat that will be vacated by term-limited Sidney Katz.

Although Ashman and Shaw hold similar views on protecting immigrants and federal workers, they differ on strategies to make housing more affordable. Ashman supports incentivizing affordable housing development. Shaw advocates for rent stabilization and has made it the cornerstone of her work on Rockville’s council.

A larger female majority

Regardless of the outcome of the District 3 race, early results indicate at least eight council seats will be held by women.

Currently, six women sit on the council dais — more than ever before and a stark contrast to the previous council.

One woman, Nancy Navarro, held a council seat in 2022. Women will make up a supermajority on the next council.