By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One summarized my methodology of consulting my source network on who they believe will most likely be the next county executive. Part Two featured a few general comments from sources. Part Three revealed my sources’ number eight pick (soon-to-be-former Congressman David Trone) and number seven pick (David Blair). Part Four revealed number six (Council Member Gabe Albornoz) and number five (Council Member Kate Stewart). Let’s continue.
All comments come from my sources and not from me. Yes, I have opinions about all of these folks, but I am going to save them for future posts.
4. Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno
Total votes: 33
First place votes: 1
Comments from sources
If you judge Rich by his boss, he’s got no reason to be County Exec. If you judge Rich by the team he has assembled, there’s every reason to be County Executive. Smart, savvy, and well respected, he’s likely itching to get back to being an elected.
The dark horse. Would make a wonderful CE in this environment, and a strong bridge between competing factions.
After being directly under Elrich for several years, could he take the leap to try to keep the Elrich group together and run himself? I would think he could get the same support groups as Elrich but much less name recognition (and less hate).
Too close to the Glass space, and could carry Elrich baggage.
With the argument that no one knows how to run the county better than him. And unlike his current boss, people actually like him.
Has always considered the office, after being CAO doesn’t want to give up exec authority and prestige.
He has never seemed very enthusiastic about his CAO and OMB jobs in the Elrich administration but he obviously had larger political ambitions at one point and in many ways is the logical heir to Marc. Unclear how effective he would be as a candidate but he would be considered a top tier competitor if he decides to get in.
He will need to separate himself from this administration somehow.
A dark horse. He knows the budget and the operations of the County Government better than about anyone. He was overwhelmingly popular in District 18 and the Takoma to Bethesda Crescent. Negative: He hasn’t run locally in a number of years.
County insiders and D18 residents know Rich, but I don’t think he has the name recognition county-wide that the councilmembers have. Maybe he works on addressing that should Elrich become ineligible to run. He certainly has the knowledge and experience from state office and county employment to be extremely effective. He also plays well with others – much better than his current boss.
3. Council Member Will Jawando
Total votes: 56
First place votes: 3
Comments from sources
He’s got the progressive credentials and the ambition, although I think his ambition lies more in DC than in the EOB.
Would be controversial, but has a clear far left lane and has been, of late, adopting Elrich space and could appeal to NIMBY voters. Has a lot of name recognition and has been running for public office for more than 10 years.
May have larger ambitions but needs to make a mark somewhere to achieve them.
Leader of the council’s progressive wing, setting him up to inherit Marc’s lane if he’s term-limited out – and you can see him making noises in that direction, like with rent control or the Silver Spring Business Improvement District. He knows how to raise money as well.
Will run because it’s an open seat. Has been turning up more Upcounty in an effort to raise his profile. Upcounty isn’t having it. A misfit for the role both from a policy perspective and also not having executive leadership skills.
Because CE would advance his career and not because he’s hungering for that particular job.
Our next county executive will likely win with under a third of the vote. Will’s going to have a lane all to himself and therefore the best shot of getting to 33.33%.
The person who just got the job he wanted is an attorney who served as County Executive from a Democrat-rich jurisdiction adjacent to Washington DC. That’s a model Councilmember Jawando has to be interested in replicating. Without an open Congressional or Senatorial seat coming up in the near future, his path to Capitol Hill goes through the brutalist architecture of the Executive Office Building.
Great political skills. Hyperliberal. County-wide voting base. Every bit as anti-business as Elrich.
He has never been very interested in the work of the County Council, and the County Executive seat is more of the same, but if it looks like a step toward achieving his goal of being the second coming of Barack Obama he will take it. It’s hard to assess how strong he would be as a candidate for CE. He has never tried to conceal his ambition to move up, out, and beyond Montgomery County, which often rubs his colleagues the wrong way but I don’t think his unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, etc., have hurt him with voters, donors, or activists. Lots of insiders think he is positioning himself to inherit Marc Elrich’s base by kowtowing to the public employee unions, walking back support for missing middle housing, and talking up ideas that sound super progressive but aren’t threatening to voters in Chevy Chase. In any case, he will get lots of support from the usual suspects of Democratic politics – the unions and left wing advocacy groups – and probably has the best shot at consolidating progressive support.
He likes to run. Some who know him think all he wants to do is get a higher office.
Talented and the closest thing Montgomery County has to AOC. He has been the most successful progressive among councilmembers and has been able to get substantial progressive legislation passed. He has strong name recognition and would pull in some financial support from outside the County. Although talented, he is also very divisive and has a reputation of putting his personal and political ambitions before the good of the whole. He would most likely run as a progressive activist, which will turn on Marc’s base, but he will struggle to expand it. He has also lost numerous races in the past, which may make past supporters give him lukewarm support for one of the only offices he has not yet run for.
The most progressive voters like him. He tends to be near the top of vote getters for the at-large council seats but his record for actually passing his progressive bills is weak. He is more about making a name and a headline than actually passing bills.
He’s actually a pleasant person one-on-one, but unfortunately doesn’t appear to want to do the work of a county councilmember and is more focused on issues he thinks can elevate his profile among lefty progressives. But he seems to think he was made for bigger things, so we can assume he’ll run.
The only thing greater than his need to be in elected office is satisfying his hunger to run for higher office, regardless of his qualifications or the position. Otherwise, how can one explain running for Congress against Montgomery County favorite Jamie Raskin or his recent but dismal challenge against Angela Alsobrooks? However, determination fueled by blind ambition is a formidable thing.
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Next: the two people my sources believe are most likely to be the next county executive!