By Adam Pagnucco.
Council Member Kate Stewart, who is finishing her first term representing District 4 after having served as the mayor of Takoma Park, is holding her reelection campaign kickoff next month. That means she will not be seeking the office of county executive.
Stewart’s kickoff link makes clear that she is using public financing, in which she achieved the maximum level of public matching funds in 2022. Three years ago, I wrote about her win in what is commonly called the Bowtie District that was anchored by her dominance in Takoma Park and Downtown Silver Spring. My guess is that her incumbency status plus her solid performance last time may deter any formidable challengers from running against her.
Normally, a strong incumbent’s announcement of a reelection campaign would not be terribly newsworthy. However, Stewart would have been a top contender in the county executive race had she chosen to run. In my series on county executive candidates last year, my sources ranked Stewart as having the fifth-best chance to win behind only Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno and Council Members Will Jawando, Evan Glass and Andrew Friedson. (The latter three have since entered the race.) In a Democratic primary electorate that is nearly 60% female, Stewart would have had an important edge against a field of men.
That raises another question that warrants consideration later. Will a strong female candidate run for county executive? Or will Montgomery County, which has never elected a woman to its top office, once again have a male executive?