MoCo Government

Marc Elrich was sworn-in to his second four-year term as the 7th Montgomery County Executive along with 11 members of the Montgomery County Council during a historic Montgomery County government Inauguration ceremony at the Strathmore Music Center. The incoming Montgomery County Council increased by two members, from nine to eleven, with the most women ever, as well as became the most racially and ethnically diverse Council in County’s history. To read the full transcript of the County Executive’s Inaugural speech please click here. To view the Inauguration Ceremony, please click here.

County Executive Elrich expressed appreciation to his fellow elected officials, government employees, residents, non-profits, and businesses for successes over the past four years, and, most notably, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking forward to his second term, the County Executive expressed economic optimism, expansion of educational offerings, continued investment in infrastructure as well as an urgent call to action to combat climate change, produce more affordable housing units, and expand the County’s emphasis on equity . The County Executive expressed interest in collaborations with the new County Council, the County’s General Assembly Delegation, the incoming administration of Governor-Elect Wes Moore and Lt. Governor-Elect Aruna Miller, as well as the County’s Congressional delegation on policies, solutions and funding priorities for the challenges that lie ahead.

Per MCPD: The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. This will be the first meeting of the 20^th Council which includes Council President Gabe Albornoz, Vice President Evan Glass and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Natali Fani-Gonzáles, Andrew Friedson, Will Jawando, Sidney Katz, Dawn Luedtke, Kristin Mink, Laurie-Anne Sayles and Kate Stewart. The meeting will begin with comments from Council President Albornoz reflecting on his year leading the Council, as he concludes his one-year term. The Council will also elect a new Council president and vice president to serve one-year terms.

Additionally, the Council will review and take positions on proposed state legislation. More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Per Montgomery County: Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America will be presented in a free online showing presented by the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The documentary feature film was written by former ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jeffery Robinson and was directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler. Mr. Robinson will be available after the special showing to discuss the movie and answer questions.

To register for the special viewing, go to https://www.filmplatform.net/events-signup/emailregistration/?id=142344. The invitation code, which is case-sensitive and contains a single dash, is WWA-MCHR. Using the link, click “Register” and enter an email address and the event invitation code. If participants have trouble registering, they should go to the FAQ section within the screening room page.

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will be sworn in to his second term and the members of the County’s first 11-member County Council also will be sworn in at the Montgomery County Inaugural Ceremonies at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The ceremonies are open to all and there is no charge to attend. The Music Center at Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda. The doors will open at 10:15 a.m.

This will be the 20th version of the Council under the current form of County government. The current County Council has nine members—four at-large and five district Councilmembers. Voters passed a Charter Amendment to change the Council composition to 11 members—four at-large and seven district Councilmembers. The Council districts were reapportioned to accommodate the district change.

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County this week released its annual report for the Vision Zero Initiative to end serious and fatal crashes on roadways by 2030. The Fiscal Year 2022 report details progress made on 114 tasks and projects that were undertaken during the year. The report was released at a ribbon cutting for Phase 1 of the Bethesda Bikeway at Woodmont Avenue. The bikeway has pavement separated from the roadway which will make that section of Bethesda safer for bicyclists. The complete FY22 Vision Zero annual report can be found on the County’s Vision Zero website.

“We need our streets to work for everyone whether walking, biking, using an assistive device or driving. That is why I have continued to increase funding for our traffic safety projects,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “In FY22, we spent $101.5 million on Vision Zero and this year I have increased the budget by 23 percent to $123.1 million. We can make our Vision Zero goal a reality through these projects, campaigns and with your help. Keep yourself and everyone on the road safe by putting your phone away while driving, obeying the speed limit, buckling up for every trip and every seat and never drive impaired.”

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously today to pass Bill 13-22, Buildings – Comprehensive Building Decarbonization, which will require the County Executive to issue all-electric building standards for new construction by Dec. 31, 2026.  The legislation, introduced by Councilmember Hans Riemer and cosponsored by Councilmember Will Jawando, is the first of its kind in Maryland. 

“This legislation, combined with cleaning up the electricity grid and retrofitting existing buildings, will bend the curve on emissions from our building sector, which produce over 50 percent of our total emissions,” said Councilmember Riemer. “Fully electric buildings are less costly to operate over the life cycle of the building and healthier for indoor air quality since they do not produce carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide as byproducts, pollutants that have been shown to contribute to asthma in children and disproportionately affect communities of color. Montgomery County will now be a national leader in the push for electrification as a solution for climate change.”