By Adam Pagnucco.
Washington Jewish Week, one of the few media outlets still endorsing for local offices, has endorsed for county executive, county council and school board in Montgomery County. Their picks are:
County Executive: Andrew Friedson
Council At-Large: Marc Elrich, Scott Goldberg, Laurie-Ann Sayles, Karla Silvestre
Council District 1: Debbie Spielberg
Council District 3: Jud Ashman
School Board At-Large: Wylea Chase
The outlet added this statement for the at-large race.
*****
At the same time, the presence of candidates aligned with organizations that have taken sharply critical positions on Israel has become a point of focus for some voters and for us.
Most notably, Josie Caballero has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. That organization has supported BDS efforts and characterized Israel in terms — such as “apartheid” and “colonialism” — that many in the Jewish community view as delegitimizing.
Caballero has aligned herself with aspects of that critique, including support for BDS, placing her outside a longstanding bipartisan consensus in Maryland and nationally that opposes such measures. For some voters, her candidacy has become a focal point.
More broadly, endorsements from groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and Our Revolution have drawn scrutiny. While endorsements do not define a candidate, they can signal alignment with views that voters are weighing carefully.
*****
The issue of Caballero and DSA has arisen before. Look folks, DSA is for real this cycle. They claim to have reached 3,000 voters for their endorsed MoCo candidates so far. They run regular canvasses. I would not be surprised if they have the most extensive field program of any organization other than some of the candidates themselves. Their grass-roots capacity deserves respect. Furthermore, their endorsed candidate for D.C. mayor – Janeese Lewis George – has a good chance to win.
But Jewish voters matter in MoCo primaries and many of them are watching endorsements like these. There are tradeoffs at work here.
We shall see how those tradeoffs fare next month.