Jawando declares victory in executive race in Maryland’s largest county

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Will Jawando declared victory Friday in the Democratic primary for county executive in Montgomery County, which has elected only Democrats to the office for decades. Though the Associated Press had yet to project a winner as of Friday afternoon, Jawando had a commanding lead in the vote count.

He said he was relieved, thankful and proud of the race his campaign ran.

“We had every age, every race, every gender, every part of the county,” he said in an interview, noting that his campaign stayed positive while being significantly outspent and weathering bruising attack ads.

“It shows that you can build a coalition of a lot of different types of people, and you can win,” Jawando said. “And I think that’s going to help us govern, as well.”

Jawando, a second-term at-large county council member, ran with the support of the current executive, Marc Elrich (D), who is term-limited after eight years in the role. Though perceived as a more charismatic figure than Elrich, Jawando is expected to govern in the same liberal mold, promising during the campaign to look after renters and stand up to developers.

Running second is Andrew Friedson, a second-term council member representing the southwest corner of the county that includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac. With backing from developers and real estate interests, he cast a more business-aligned voice during the campaign and pledged to help revitalize the county’s economy.

Friedson had yet to concede the race. But in a statement on Facebook on Thursday, he thanked his supporters while acknowledging a tough road ahead as the vote count continues.

“While we are committed to ensuring every vote is counted and every voice is heard, and know we’ve been leading the mail-in voting, the math ahead of us is undeniably difficult,” he wrote. “We will continue to watch the returns closely and will keep you updated as the Board of Elections updates their counts.”

The race fit a familiar dynamic for the deep-blue suburb, where Elrich several times defeated well-funded, business-backed opponents.

Esther Wells won the Republican primary, but the GOP nominee faces long odds in a county where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans.

The county, Maryland’s largest jurisdiction, is home to various Washington big shots, including Supreme Court justices. A shortage of smaller and more affordable homes here, with little land left to build on, has elevated zoning and development as major issues. Meanwhile, its increasingly racially and economically diverse residents face traffic congestion, crowded public schools and an affordability crunch.

Jawando received endorsements from Maryland’s Democratic governor, Wes Moore, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D), who was previously the executive of neighboring Prince George’s County. He also nabbed the endorsement of Montgomery County’s powerful teachers union.

The 43-year-old kicked off his campaign more than a year ago at a Silver Spring restaurant, an event at which Elrich spoke in his support. The council member said he would prioritize education and equity, and in candidate forums he took aim at income inequality and advocated for a progressive income tax on high earners and a commercial property tax structure that would shift more burden to corporations.

Jawando frequently touted his leadership in passing the county’s 2023 rent stabilization law, a measure that developers and landlords strongly opposed. Friedson argued during the campaign that the measure has stunted new construction and will lead to even higher housing costs by worsening the housing shortage.

Jawando’s record on the Montgomery County Council includes attention to policing and criminal justice, such as leading legislation to develop tougher standards for instances when police can use force. He helped lead the push to create a pilot program offering cash payments – known as guaranteed income – to hundreds of low-income families in the county.

Friedson framed the race around affordability and promised to hold the line on taxes. He said raising taxes on businesses would simply cause them to flee to other jurisdictions, such as neighboring Virginia.

In leading the race, Jawando overcame a substantial fundraising advantage held by Friedson, whose campaign brought in more than $2.3 million according to required disclosures filed this month. Jawando, who opted into the public campaign financing program, raised about $1.2 million from small-dollar donations and public matching funds.

A political action committee largely funded by business interests, Affordable Maryland PAC, raised and spent more than $1.5 million for ads attacking Jawando, as well as the candidate in third place, council member Evan Glass, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad spending.

Jawando was a civil rights lawyer and associate director of public engagement in the Obama White House before winning election to the council in 2018. He was reelected in 2022 and now chairs the education committee. He is also the author of “My Seven Black Fathers,” a memoir about influential mentors in his life.

The son of an immigrant who fled civil war in Nigeria, Jawando has said his experiences living in low-income housing and sending his children through the county’s public school system uniquely position him to understand the challenges residents face.

The winner of the general election – almost certainly the Democratic nominee – will be sworn in in December.

On Friday, Jawando said he already had begun putting together a transition team.

“There’s a lot of good talent out there, former Biden and Obama folks that aren’t working right now, and that live in this area or other parts of the country,” he said. “So I’m really excited about bringing in a really dynamic team.”

Jawando said he intends to issue executive orders on “Day One,” including one to extend a moratorium on constructing new data centers for two years.

Elrich already has issued a six-month pause on permitting the centers, which prompt concern about pollution and rising energy prices, and were a frequent topic at forums during the race.

Jawando said he also looks forward to working with the governor, Moore, on shared priorities for the county, an economic engine for the state.

“We’re going to be working very closely on bringing new businesses here, on building more housing that’s affordable,” Jawando said. “So that’s going to be a big part of our agenda coming out in the first 100 days.”

Steve Thompson writes about government and politics in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Before joining The Washington Post in 2018, he was an investigative reporter for the Dallas Morning News. He started in journalism as a police reporter at the St. Petersburg Times.