By Adam Pagnucco.
Two unsuccessful 2022 county council candidates have filed campaign committees to run for council again. Both filings came on January 10 (Friday). The candidates are:
Scott Goldberg
Profile picture from Goldberg’s Facebook page.
Goldberg is a Silver Spring resident who founded a property management company and is an attorney. In 2022, he finished fifth in the council at-large primary while getting endorsed by the Washington Post, the police union, the volunteer fire fighters and the realtors. I profiled Goldberg’s performance in November 2022 and noted the fact that he finished second in bullet voting.
Goldberg has established a public financing account to run for council at-large, just as he did in 2022.
Jeremiah Pope
Profile picture from Pope’s X account.
Pope is a Hillandale resident who is chief of staff for Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield (D-19) and has previously worked for former Congresswoman Donna Edwards. In 2022, he ran for the council’s District 5 seat, earned the Washington Post’s endorsement and finished third in the primary behind winner Kristin Mink and Fatmata Barrie. I profiled that race in October 2022.
This time, Pope has established a public financing account to run for a council at-large seat. (He used a traditional account in 2022.) Pope’s decision to run at-large is good news for Mink, who represents a plurality-Black district. It’s also a good move by Pope because there will probably be at least one at-large opening on the council next year. Open seat races are usually easier than challenging incumbents.
This is the start of a busy campaign cycle which will include an open county executive seat due to the passage of a term limits charter amendment. In evaluating Goldberg and Pope, let’s consider the county’s long history of electing candidates who have previously lost races for office. Candidates who have lost and later come back to win include current council members Evan Glass, Will Jawando, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Marilyn Balcombe and Natali Fani-Gonzalez; former council members Hans Riemer, Roger Berliner, Steve Silverman and Phil Andrews; and of course current County Executive Marc Elrich. (Elrich, who lost four straight council races before winning on his fifth try, is the patron saint of tenacious candidates.)
Goldberg and Pope join Elrich in running for council at-large. With one or more at-large seats probably opening up, expect more non-incumbents to join in.