MoCo Government

The new law expands the number of buildings covered by the County’s existing Benchmarking Law to include additional County-owned, commercial and multifamily buildings and establish long-term standards for those buildings and require the use of less energy.

At the bill signing, County Executive Elrich stressed the importance of the legislation in realizing the County’s Climate Action Plan goals of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. A video of the bill signing ceremony can be viewed at https://youtu.be/eQE5Uezy7MQ.

The Sierra Club Montgomery County Group has announced their list of candidate endorsements for Montgomery County Council seats. The Sierra Club is an environmental protection and advocacy group, which has local chapters throughout all 50 states.  According to their website, “the Montgomery County Maryland Group focuses on local issues, including improving public transit, maintaining clean water sources, supporting and monitoring the county’s Climate Protection Plan, and endorsing and supporting green candidates.” Last week, the club announced that they would be endorsing David Blair for Montgomery County Executive, saying that Blair will be a strong and effective leader that has an appealing environmental platform. The primary election will be held on July 19.

Sierra Club looks forward to strong progress on a variety of environmental priorities over the next four years.  In particular, we’d like to see substantial forward movement on

“These local maps will help us identify where we can take action to protect vulnerable neighborhoods now and in the future from extreme heat risk,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “We are pleased to be participating in this nationally competitive program and continuing our work in Montgomery County toward equitable climate resilience.”

This campaign is part of a national effort to track “Urban Heat Islands.” Heat inequities will be tracked in 14 states and two international cities. Urban Heat Islands are areas that can be up to 20 degrees hotter than nearby neighborhoods due to buildings, pavement, and other parts of urban environments amplifying high temperatures compared to nearby vegetated areas. They can put people at heightened risk of illness and death during extreme heat events. Through this effort local climate scientists and residents will work together to identify the hottest areas in the County. Heat equity refers to the development of policies and practices that mitigate heat islands and help people adapt to the impacts of extreme heat in a way that reduces the inequitable distribution of risks across different populations within the same urban area.

To serve in this paid volunteer position, all election poll workers must be registered to vote in the State of Maryland; able to speak, read and write the English language; and cannot hold, or be a candidate for, public or party office. In addition, election workers may not serve as a campaign manager for a candidate or as treasurer for any campaign finance entity.

Training is required and will be provided to all election workers. This includes an online quiz, virtual training and classroom in-person training. Volunteers will be paid for completing training and working the election. Several positions are offered, including all-day and part-day. More information is available at www.777vote.org.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Montgomery County Council At-Large candidate Brandy Brooks said Monday that she has no intention of withdrawing from the upcoming election.  Brooks paused her campaign on April 13 after allegations came out that she sexually harassed a former campaign staff member.

I believe that accountability must be based in honest fact-finding with the goal of seeking the truth. For decisions about my character and leadership to be made with such prejudice prior to any process is the very opposite of justice, by any definition. I am very proud of what our team of supporters, volunteers, and advisors have been able to accomplish over the last 15 months. While I am taking a momentary break, the campaign is not ending. I remain committed to the vision we’ve been building for Montgomery County.