By Adam Pagnucco.
Council Member Natali Fani-Gonzalez, who is currently the council president and is running for a second term in Council District 6, is now facing an opponent: Wheaton native and former federal employee Sonia Garcia. And Garcia is not shy about criticizing her district’s current leadership.
Read Garcia’s press release below and you will see themes around development, transparency and taxes. She vows to put “neighborhood stability first” and says she will prioritize “Responsible tax decisions, fewer bureaucratic barriers, and policies that help families and local businesses thrive.” Her concerns about development are an ancient theme in MoCo politics and take clear aim at Fani-Gonzalez, who co-authored the council’s More Housing N.O.W. package along with a bill offering twenty year property tax abatements to some development projects. Garcia’s combination of development skepticism and fiscal restraint reminds me of former Council Member Marilyn Praisner, who ruled part of this council district from 1990 through her passing in 2008.
Fani-Gonzalez will not be an easy target. When she won her first election in 2022, she took on a quality field and won every precinct. She uses public financing and was close to the threshold for receiving matching funds in her January campaign finance report. She was one of the strongest district candidates in public financing in the 2022 cycle. Add to this Garcia’s late start and the fact that incumbents are normally hard to defeat and beating Fani-Gonzalez will be a steep hill to climb.
At the very least, Democratic primary voters in District 6 (which includes Wheaton, Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Forest Glen, Kemp Mill and North Kensington) will have a clear choice based on issues. That doesn’t always happen in MoCo politics.
Garcia’s press release is reprinted below.
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Dr. Sonia Garcia Announces Campaign for District 6: “Neighborhoods First. Accountability Always.”
Montgomery County, MD – Sonia Garcia, Ph.D., community activist, lifelong Montgomery County resident, product of MCPS, daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, and former federal employee at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced her candidacy for Montgomery County Council in District 6.
Dr. Garcia is running on a simple principle: government should work with residents, not against them.
“For too many families in District 6, it feels like major decisions are being made faster than the community can keep up with” Dr. Garcia said. “When zoning changes affect your street, when development impacts your schools, when budgets grow but services shrink, residents deserve leadership that listens before it votes.”
Dr. Garcia was raised in Connecticut Avenue Estates, where her family still lives today. Her parents worked multiple jobs to build stability for their family. She attended local public schools, earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and served at the NIH before being affected by federal workforce terminations impacting probationary employees.
“That experience made one thing clear,” Dr. Garcia said. “When individuals and families face instability, local government should focus on protection and accountability.”
Dr. Garcia’s family home sits just off a designated growth corridor where development and infrastructure decisions made by the county council are already moving forward. For her, corridor planning isn’t theoretical.
“This isn’t abstract policy,” she said. “It’s personal. Growth matters. Housing matters. Residents deserve transparency from the beginning, not after decisions are already set in motion.”
Dr. Garcia is positioning her campaign around four priorities:
- Neighborhood Stability First: Align development with proper outreach, infrastructure, and school capacity so communities are supported and not left behind.
- Transparent, Accountable Government: If the Council approves record budgets, residents and taxpayers deserve clear communication and measurable results.
- Support for Working Families & Small Businesses: Responsible tax decisions, fewer bureaucratic barriers, and policies that help families and local businesses thrive.
- Public Safety & Strong Schools: Fully funded priorities backed by accountability, oversight, and thoughtful planning that keeps communities safe and supported.
Dr. Garcia made clear that District 6 is ready for a different governing style.
“Leadership isn’t about pushing policies through,” Dr. Garcia said. “It’s about bringing people in and making sure every resident feels seen, heard, respected, and supported. Families already carry enough on their shoulders- work, raising children, caring for loved ones they shouldn’t have to worry that local government decisions will leave them behind. District 6 deserves a councilmember who protects neighborhoods, strengthens trust, and ensures decisions reflect the people while promoting equity and opportunity for everyone.”
Dr. Garcia emphasized that the County Council controls the budget and development approvals, two of the most consequential tools affecting families and their quality of life.
“When we make decisions about growth, development, and public spending, we have a responsibility to ask the hard questions and make sure policies support residents, not add stress or uncertainty,” she said. “Government should help people thrive, not push them out. That’s accountability.”
Dr. Garcia concluded: “Montgomery County raised me. District 6 shaped me. I’m running to make sure families are heard, neighborhoods are respected, and government works for residents, not against them.”
Early Voting begins June 11. Election Day is June 23.