MoCo Government

“The potential overturning of Roe v. Wade is outrageous and devastating for all women and a clear violation of women’s rights,” said Councilmember Navarro, who chairs the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee. “This would be a culmination of a coordinated and relentless effort to eliminate hard-fought progress. For decades, I have joined the fight to ensure women’s access to quality and safe reproductive health services.

“In Montgomery County, we need to be prepared to be a beacon for women in need of this potentially life-saving medical treatment. As President Biden said, it is up to the nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to fight for a woman’s right to choose, and we are stepping up to the challenge. It is also up to all of us to use our voice, our vote and our collective power to protect women’s rights.”

“The last few years have been really hard on our correctional officers  and employees,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “They have remained very focused on doing their jobs and committed to keeping themselves and the residents of our jails safe. And this was before we had vaccinations. I appreciate them for their diligence and they continue to play a key role in keeping our County safe. I ask the people of Montgomery County to join me in saluting the officers and employees of MCDCR during National Correctional Officers and Employees Week and encourage everyone to acknowledge what they do to ensure the safety and welfare of our community.”

National Correctional Officer and Employees Week is designed to redefine correctional officers and employees and highlight how their work can change lives. Far too often, correctional system workers do not receive recognition for their role as public safety professionals.

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.