Colin Kaepernick will be a special guest at an upcoming fundraising event for Montgomery County Executive candidate Will Jawando, set to take place at Fork & Kitchen, an upcoming Rockville restaurant aiming to officially open by the end of the year. The event, scheduled for December 9 from 6pm to 9pm, highlights Jawando’s continued push to engage supporters as he shifts his full focus toward the county executive race.
The appearance marks Kaepernick’s second visit to Montgomery County this year. Earlier in 2025, the former NFL quarterback and nationally-known advocate for social justice addressed Montgomery County Public Schools leaders at the superintendent’s Administrative & Supervisory meeting. His message then centered on “challenging systems and championing justice,” themes consistent with his community and advocacy work since leaving the NFL.
The announcement comes one week after Jawando, currently the Montgomery County Council’s Vice President, confirmed he would not pursue the Council President role. He noted that the position requires full-time attention and that his county executive campaign demands an entirely separate commitment. Jawando said he will continue fulfilling his responsibilities as an at-large councilmember while supporting the upcoming Council leadership team and maintaining his work on housing, education funding, and economic opportunity.
Jawando is running in the Democratic primary against Councilmembers Evan Glass (D-At-large) and Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), as well as Silver Spring project manager Mithun Banerjee. Celeste Iroha, a registered medical assistant from Silver Spring, has announced she will be dropping out of the race, and no Republican candidates have filed to run so far. Candidates have until February 24 to enter the race.
