By Adam Pagnucco.
MoCo isn’t that big on slate politics. Sure, we have loose coalitions of lefties and (relative) moderates. And in the past, we have had groups of pro-growth and slow growth folks. But the last time we had a true slate was in 2002, when then-County Executive Doug Duncan’s End Gridlock slate knocked off his chief rival, Council Member Blair Ewing, and took control of the county council. Since then, neither of Duncan’s successors (Ike Leggett and Marc Elrich) have attempted the feat and council groupings have often been ad hoc, depending on the issue.
That could change.
It’s 2025. The county executive seat is open. So are the seats in Districts 1 and 3 as well as three at-large seats. That’s a lot of openings. A lot of folks are talking about that.
As a matter of fact, some very smart and strategic folks are talking about that.
Suppose I was a strategist for Team Progressive. (Hey people, it’s not outlandish considering my career in the labor movement.) And then suppose I was surveying the political conditions of the county. What would I see?
First, there is overwhelming revulsion directed against President Donald Trump by Democratic primary voters, who decide elections in this county. Second, there is huge anxiety about the cost of living and affordable housing as shown in the recent Banner poll. The Banner didn’t ask, but I bet rent control would poll really well among Democrats. (Set aside its disastrous policy outcomes – we’re strictly talking politics here.) Third, the Washington Post – a traditional counterweight to progressive endorsements – appears to have lost interest in MoCo politics. And fourth, there are some strong progressive candidates out there.
Let’s make a list. We will start with Council Member Will Jawando, who is running for executive. He is polished, well-spoken, looks like a movie star and is the father of MoCo rent control. He is off to a good start on fundraising and could very well roll up a ton of progressive endorsements. He would be a solid pick to lead my ticket.
Then there is County Executive Marc Elrich, who has endorsed Jawando and is running for a council at-large seat. It’s hard to imagine him not getting one of those three open seats. He has to be on the team because he has long-term devoted voters who would be helpful to my other candidates.
Council Member Kristin Mink is a must-get. She has no opponent right now in District 5, and if she did get one, she would outhustle that person and win just like she did last time. Jawando is the current executive candidate and Mink will be the next one. Sign her up.
Council Member Laurie-Anne Sayles is the only at-large incumbent running for reelection. That alone gives her a good shot to win. She may not be Jawando or Mink, but she’s progressive enough to join the team. Sign her up.
In the districts, Elrich’s special assistant Debbie Spielberg is running in District 1 and Rockville City Council Member Izola Shaw, a rent control advocate, is running in District 3. They’re going to vote with Jawando, Elrich and the crew and they’re real candidates. Sign them up.
The only thing left is to find two more council at-large candidates. That can be done with all of the firepower listed above. What lefty wouldn’t want to be part of that team? Pick the ones with the best chops and bring them in.
Add up all of these people and you have a serious executive candidate (Jawando) and candidates for 7 council seats – Districts 1, 3 and 5 and the four at-large seats. That’s a governing majority in MoCo government.
How would this work? All of these candidates will be in public financing, so they can’t have an official slate account. But they can split expenses for joint mail, they can endorse each other and they can show up at each other’s events. Also, each of them can help the others pick up progressive endorsements, with the top prize being the Apple Ballot. The payoff for endorsing groups will be a large tax increase to finance all of their spending priorities. (Jawando already hinted at this in a recent executive forum.) And with a super-majority at the council, the only real debates would be progressive ideas vs even more progressive ideas. It’s blue heaven, folks.
What’s the downside? Is there any? In purely political terms, I don’t see it.
From the perspective of progressive organizations and the candidates themselves, this plan makes too much sense to not pursue. I would be surprised if something like this did not come to pass at some point in this election.