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Democrat
Al Carr
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Democratic
Where you live: Kensington
Date of birth: Nov. 2, 1965
Current occupation and employer:
State legislator – Maryland House of Delegates – since 2007
I also worked in the private sector from 1988 to 2008 in the telecommunications industry as a sales engineer at Verizon and at a startup company.
Political experience:
Maryland state delegate (District 18) since 2007
Council member for the Town of Kensington from 2002 to 2007 and mayor pro tem 2006-2007
Website: https://www.alcarr.org
Email: alfred.carr@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alcarr.campaign
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alfredcarr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carr4council/
Why are you running for this office?
My wife and I moved to Montgomery County 25 years ago for the quality of life. As an interracial and interfaith couple, we wanted a welcoming community. When we moved here I was working in the private sector in the telecom industry. As I became a husband, father and homeowner, and after 9/11 happened, I became increasingly interested in being actively involved in my community. I started out as a pedestrian safety advocate, then was elected as a municipal councilman and then as a state legislator. I have a distinguished record. If elected, I will apply my 20 years of leadership, legislative experience, my integrity and my work ethic to improving the lives of Montgomery County residents.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Education is a top issue in Montgomery County. Investing in a strong school system will continue to make Montgomery County an attractive place to live, work, grow up or raise a family. We need to partner with the state government to implement the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” to ensure that our schools will be world class. I support implementing universal pre-K and will work to ensure that every student will receive a top-notch education, no matter their ZIP code. My wife and I have three sons and I am the only candidate in this race with children currently in Montgomery County public schools. One of my children has a disability and was in special education. My youngest is in the sixth grade, so I will continue to be an MCPS parent for quite some time.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
Montgomery County must do a better job of citizen engagement. Many people have ideas for how their communities can be improved and are interested in participating in decisions that affect them. But people often don’t know how to participate. Or sometimes those who do participate feel, rightly or wrongly, that their input is not valued or considered. Our system of government is complicated and we need to do more to make it easier for people to participate. This is especially true of land use decisions. If we can better engage our citizens, we will get better results more quickly. As a state delegate, I’ve already taken steps to make our government agencies in Montgomery County more responsive, transparent and accessible. If elected to the County Council, I will continue this work.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
The County Council is a legislative role and I have the most experience by far of any candidate. I am very proud of my 20-year record of leadership as a legislator at the state (15 years) and local (three terms) level. I’ve written and successfully championed passage of dozens of bills that have improved the quality of life in Maryland. Topics have included environmental protection, housing, transportation, public safety, economic development, voting rights, worker protection, antidiscrimination, consumer protection and healthcare. I am a leader who listens and am known by my constituents as a responsive, accessible, thoughtful and kind public official.
Amy Ginsburg
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Democrat
Where you live: North Bethesda
Date of birth: Dec. 4, 1961
Current occupation and employer:
Executive Director, Friends of White Flint
Executive Director, Manna Food Center
Executive Director, Neediest Kids
Political experience:
I’ve continually worked with elected officials to fulfill the mission of the nonprofit organizations I’ve worked with and led, including Manna Food Center, Friends of White Flint, Neediest Kids, Visiting Nurse Association, Coalition for the Homeless, United Way, and the Combined Federal Campaign.
Website: https://www.amyginsburg.com/
Email: amy@amyginsburg.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.ginsburg.3
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_ginsburg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy.ginsburg.moco/
Why are you running for this office?
As a leader of nonprofit organizations for 40 years, I bring together residents, businesses, and government to address problems and provide essential services. I will merge progressive values, a strong economy, and pragmatic leadership to get things done. No more endless studies. No more useless proclamations. We need to take action to address our housing crisis, attract high-quality jobs, support small businesses, mitigate climate change, address growing income inequality, and educate our children.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Our graduates can’t find homes they can afford nor jobs they can walk to in Montgomery County. I want to build more market-rate, attainable, and affordable housing of all types, including dense housing in downtown areas and missing middle housing. I will attract new jobs by better supporting our small businesses who generate most of our jobs, creating live-work-play communities with reliable multi-modal transit that attract investment, and reforming our regulatory and approvals process to move faster while still safeguarding our health and the environment. We must build infrastructure rather than continually study it.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
We asked the wrong transit question so we got the wrong transit answer. We asked “How to build a BRT network” when we should have asked “How to get people out of their cars and using transit?” We’ve been studying Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for 15 years and have built only one line, and that’s actually express bus service since it runs in mixed traffic. More people would now be utilizing multi-modal transit if we’d spent the millions of dollars used to study BRT on improving pedestrian safety, building separated bike lanes, increasing express bus service, implementing HOV lanes, and quickly building true BRT where it’s economically feasible to do so.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
For 40 years as a nonprofit leader, I’ve brought together businesses, residents, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, and government to solve community problems and provide essential services. Using limited funds, being accountable, and demonstrating real outcomes, I have a four-decade track record of getting tangible results, whether that’s providing nutritious food to food-insecure neighbors, installing crosswalks, supporting small businesses, or lifting up our most vulnerable neighbors. As a pragmatic leader and lifelong Montgomery County resident, I will continue to bring together all sectors of our community to meet our complex challenges and get things done.
Troy Murtha
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Maryland Democratic Party
Where you live: Rockville
Date of birth: Jan. 1, 1995
Current occupation and employer:
Current occupation: Law student and EMT first responder
Previous Occupation: software engineer
Political experience:
No previous elected experience. No previous campaigns
Website: https://www.troymurtha.com/
Email: troy@troymurtha.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/murtha4moco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murtha4moco/
Why are you running for this office?
My goal is to represent my constituents by shaping regulation so that residents are free to pursue the American dream. This means investing in infrastructure, responsibly reforming our zoning code, and empowering our people to build business and community. Montgomery County should be a home to all citizens, especially for the hard-working middle class. Given the right framework and opportunity, the people of this county can do amazing things; the county just has to provide a fair opportunity.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
We need to take a holistic approach to reform. Our housing policy affects our transportation policy, and these both impact environmental policy; it’s all interrelated. With that in mind, the biggest challenge we are facing county-wide is land use. We need reasonable land reform that diversifies our housing stock without destroying existing communities or hurting existing residents. This means incentivizing the development of approved, but undeveloped lots; modifying zoning and building codes to give local communities flexibility based on neighborhood goals; expanding our transportation infrastructure; and identifying areas where it makes sense to permit denser zoning.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
Public input and awareness of the Thrive 2050 plan should be vetted through a more robust community engagement process. While the goals of the plan are commendable, there is no reason that such an important plan receives so little public input and there is no reason that the majority of our citizens are ignorant of a plan that will significantly reshape the county. The county government needs to follow its procedures for public hearings, better solicit resident input, and conduct more community outreach.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I am a problem solver and a hands-on guy. As an engineer, I look for practical and creative solutions to complex challenges. As a law student, I study the nature and structure of our democracy so it best fits community goals. As an EMT first responder in the county, I connect with the most vulnerable members of our community, I am on the front lines helping neighbors. I am qualified because I work hard, think carefully, and care about this community.
Kate Stewart
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Democrat
Where you live: Takoma Park
Date of birth: Jan. 8, 1970
Current occupation and employer:
I have served as the mayor of Takoma Park since 2015. During this time, I have also been a principal at ConwayStrategic, a communications firm, where I work with individuals and organizations in the reproductive rights, health and justice movements, state legislators, and members of the U.S. Congress to advance safe, legal abortion care in our country. Prior to joining Conway, I was the executive vice president of Advocates for Youth, an organization that works to empower young people to make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health while advocating for their rights.
Political experience:
Mayor, Takoma Park, MD 2015-Present
City Council, Takoma Park 2014-2015
Vice chair of the board, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Secretary-treasurer of the board, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Board member, Mayors Innovation Project
Co-chair of the National League of Cities’ Racial Equity and Leadership Council
Vice chair, MD-Democratic Municipal Organization
Website: https://votekatestewart.com
Email: votekatestewart@gmail.com
Facebook: VoteKateStewart
Twitter: VoteKateStewart
Instagram: VoteKateStewart
Why are you running for this office?
As a mayor, I worked with residents, staff, and public officials at the local, regional and state level to address COVID-19, implement programs to address housing affordability, support small businesses, help our schools, rethink how we address public safety, make our community more sustainable, and further racial equity. Montgomery County faces the same challenges and opportunities as our cities. And I am ready to bring my experience and common-sense solutions to county government.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Safe, stable housing is a human right. We are in a housing crisis and to guarantee this right we need to build more housing and protect residents from displacement. But too often we talk past each other and miss opportunities to make meaningful progress. We have a variety of tools to address housing affordability, including increased density and infill development around public transit, inclusionary zoning, housing subsidies, down-payment assistance programs to create homeownership, and tenant protections. We need to work cooperatively to leverage these tools equitably and expediently to protect the housing we have and create new and affordable homes.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
At the outset of COVID-19, the county did not adequately address the needs of people living in apartments. As mayor, I held zoom calls with residents where they raised questions and fears about whether they could safely use the laundry room, whether they should block their vents, and whether they should take the elevator. I pressed the county for public answers, but their guidance focused on single-family homes. It was not until state Del. Charkoudian and I pulled together and provided the relevant health guidance ourselves that the county’s Public Health Department shared it with the public. We need to do better.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
As mayor of Takoma Park and vice chair of MWCOG, I have hands-on experience working locally and regionally to craft practical, progressive solutions to the issues confronting the county. I have worked effectively with mayors across the county to address COVID-19, school principals to address barriers to education, and state legislatures to support clean energy and renters protections. That’s why I have been endorsed by the D-20 state delegation, teachers union, Sierra Club, and fellow mayors. We need somebody with a track record of working cooperatively and getting things done to represent our new district.
John Zittrauer
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Democrat
Where you live: Silver Spring
Date of birth: April 2, 1982
Current occupation and employer:
Bartender, Denizens Brewing Co.
Political experience:
None
Website: https://www.friendsofjohnzittrauer.com/
Email: zittrauerj@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendsofjohnzittrauer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnZittrauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnzittrauer/
Why are you running for this office?
This campaign is about uplifting our community by helping those of us who struggle, and giving a platform to people who have felt neglected by their government. When the pandemic began and the industry that I had made my career had to pause, I saw a lot of people wondering where their unemployment checks were and how they were going to pay rent; when those of us who were fortunate enough to go back to work returned, we wondered when we would become enough of a priority to be vaccinated. This has been a common theme: people with our low status are frequently discussed, but are rarely a part of the discussion ourselves. I’m trying to change that.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
My first priority will be to eliminate homelessness in one of the most affluent counties in the country through an increase in public housing while simultaneously redefining and increasing what the county calls affordable housing. We can afford to help our most vulnerable if we prioritize them. We do that through an increase in MPDUs and social housing units.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
The quest for public input related to Thrive 2050 would have been more fruitful if we had gone out into the communities we are trying to serve instead of relying on the same old methods of soliciting feedback. I will be out in our various cultural hubs speaking to residents one-on-one and in forum settings.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I’ve lived in this county for over a decade, and worked in retail and hospitality for all of my adult life. Like a lot of people in these and other industries, I’ve lived paycheck-to-paycheck for that whole time. This life experience brings a new perspective into local politics, where we spotlight diversity in all demographics except income and status. From my family, I learned a respect for all work regardless of how others may view it, and from my wife I constantly learn how to treat people with compassion and dignity.
Republican
Cheryl Riley
What office are you running for? County Council
Political party: Republican
Where you live: North Bethesda
Date of birth: May 18, 1964
Current occupation and employer:
Cheryl Riley Public Relations. I am a seasoned public relations professional.
Political experience:
I am not a politician.
Website: https://cherylriley4moco.com
Email: cherylrileypr@comcast.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylriley4moco
Twitter: @cheryl4moco
Instagram: @cheryl4moco
Why are you running for this office?
I’m a concerned resident who grew up in MoCo, and returned six years ago to a different county. I have witnessed how the Democrat- run county has done nothing during their 15-year reign to improve our county, but have watched their systematic destruction on all levels via the destruction of our economy, safety, quality of life, protection and concern only for certain segments, abuse of power, division creation in every way and their blatant non-transparent, feckless and dictatorship leadership tactics. I knew I had the knowledge and dedication toward improving our county which is why I am running.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
The County Council and executive have created chaos in every aspect via their anti-police, anti-business, anti-economic development, anti-American values and their feckless policy, regulations and restrictions policies. They have failed on every level. Currently it is due to their daily “division” tactics and anti-police rhetoric based on false narratives that have raised our crime to all-time highs, while “protecting” criminals, and this needs to end. I will immediately remove policies that restrict our law enforcement from doing the job they were trained to do and end the budget restrictions which have empowered the criminals and inhibited police protection of our residents. Enhancing the police budget and removing feckless spending in other areas will help to build our MoCo police force and reinstate viable divisions such as the “auto-theft” divisions to dramatically end the crime spree we are subjected to. I will also remove divisive rhetoric to unite all citizens.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
I cannot name a single issue the council has handled correctly, fairly, honestly or pursuant to their oaths to protect and serve the county and its citizens to ensure the betterment for all. I would have first and foremost heard the constituents’ concerns, suggestions at all times, which were ignored by the council, as they utilized a dictator leadership model and determined they did not work for us, but they controlled us, a concept I would reverse and work for you. They handled the pandemic with zero transparency, poor data, untruthful statistics and pushed two vaccines, with zero authority or accountability. They have “acted as the health authority” since the early 2000s, so were not health experts, and that will change as the council should never have taken on the role and the citizens suffered their abuse of power based on their personal opinions. I will ensure the residents know of every feckless, unconstitutional law/regulation the County Council has in place and remove.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
As a public relations professional for 25 years, I have worked with some of the leading corporations and industries in the nation by providing public relations strategies to enhance market-share, generate awareness of brands to consumers/customers/clients. I have developed earned media campaigns to offer proactive solutions to improve businesses and created crisis management strategies that resulted in successful outcomes that led to many successful, credible and viable solutions. My career was born out of passion to help solve problems and create pro-active viable and credible solutions. I have worked with numerous industries and am able to quickly and efficiently make immediate changes to benefit outcomes that can be continuously built upon, and Montgomery County is one area I am fiercely passionate about as a resident who loves our county. I am a fearless leader and negotiator and will strive to bring Moco back to life in all aspects for all citizens!