Montgomery County teachers union reopens endorsement process

After mixed results in the primary, the Montgomery County Education Association is reopening endorsements for November’s election.

The Montgomery County Education Association, the county’s teachers union, has held substantial influence in local elections with what is known as its Apple Ballot. Eighty percent of the Apple Ballot candidates won their primaries in June and will appear on the ballot in November.

Since most of the union’s picks — including all four preferred school board candidates — made it onto the general election ballot, MCEA is only considering endorsing in races in which they do not already have an endorsed candidate.

“The power of an Apple Ballot endorsement, which is decided by the elected representatives of 14,000 MCEA members, was evident in last June’s primary election results,” MCEA Political Action and Legislative Support Committee Chair Stephanie Gawlinski said in a press release Wednesday.

The union is looking to endorse two additional candidates for County Council at-large seats, after Fatmata Barrie and Josie Caballero did not win their primaries. Union picks Marc Elrich and Laurie-Anne Sayles will move forward on the general election ballot, as well as Democrats Scott Goldberg and Karla Silvestre — a current school board member — and Republican Sherwin Wells.

The union will also make a new endorsement in District 3, where their Democratic hopeful Izola Shaw was beaten out by Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman. He will face Republican Ricky Mui in the November election.

The union did not previously endorse in the District 7 race, where incumbent Democrat Dawn Luedtke faces Republican Harold Maldonado.

Tributes pour in for late state Sen. Karen Montgomery

For many Montgomery County officials, state Sen. Karen Montgomery was a guiding force in local politics.

“Her empathy, her honesty, and her steadfast belief that government has a responsibility to uplift every family made her a trusted ally and a source of strength,” County Executive Marc Elrich wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Montgomery died at the age of 90 on June 21.

She represented District 14 in the state Senate as a Democrat from 2011 to 2016 following an eight-year tenure in the House of Delegates. Her work focused heavily on environmental issues and public health, particularly disability rights, as the mother of a disabled child. She was also an advocate for the arts.

A native of Baltimore, Montgomery received a master of fine arts degree from George Washington University in 1976 and later joined the faculty. An accomplished sculptor in addition to her political career, Montgomery’s art is on display at the Sandy Spring Museum. Montgomery served on several arts committees and boards, including for Olney Theatre Center and the Washington Ballet.

Sen. Craig Zucker, who represents the district that Montgomery served, adjourned Tuesday’s special session of the General Assembly in her honor, The Daily Record reported.

“You always knew where Karen stood,” Zucker said.

In a Facebook post Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat representing District 8, called Montgomery a “good friend with a warm sense of humor.”

“She was a strong and unswerving progressive leader on everything from marriage equality to abolition of the death penalty to strong support for public education and the Chesapeake Bay,” Raskin said.

Board of Elections seeks poll workers

Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the Montgomery County Board of Elections is seeking poll workers. To commemorate National Poll Worker Recruitment Day next Tuesday, the board will host several registration events across the county.

The work is considered volunteer, but all workers will receive hourly stipends. A full list of Tuesday’s events and locations is available here.

All election poll workers must be registered to vote in Maryland and fluent in English, and cannot hold or be a candidate for public or party office. Election workers may not serve as a campaign manager for a candidate or as treasurer for any campaign finance entity.

The board is especially looking for potential workers who are fluent in Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean and Vietnamese.

Students ages 16 and older are eligible to apply and may be able to use poll work for Montgomery County Public Schools Student Service Learning hours in lieu of the stipend.