Montgomery County officials mourn death of former MD Sen. Karen Montgomery

Montgomery County officials are publicly mourning the death of former state Sen. Karen S. Montgomery, who died June 21. She was 90.

Sen. Craig Zucker, D-Montgomery, said on the Senate floor Tuesday that he was informed the day before the June 23 primary election that Montgomery, who preceded him as the representative of his district, had died. He said the family had asked him to keep the news of her death private until they were ready to publicly announce it.

Zucker called Montgomery supportive, kind and outspoken.

“You always knew where Karen stood, and there were two calls that would always send a shiver down my spine: when my mother called and when Karen Montgomery called,” said Zucker, who asked that the Senate adjourn its final reconvention of the August special legislative session in her honor.

Montgomery was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002, serving on health- and environmental-focused standing committees until her election to the state Senate in 2010. She was a member there from 2011 until her resignation in 2016.

Prior to her political career, Montgomery was a faculty member at George Washington University’s sculpture and design program from 1974 to 1987. She then went on to serve as the assistant director of development at the National Rehabilitation Hospital from 1986 to 1987 before becoming the development director for the Olney Theater Center from 1989 through 1994.

During her time in the legislature, Montgomery, the mother of a child with autism, was an advocate for those with developmental disabilities. According to a County Council news release from April 2011, Montgomery opposed cuts to mental health and developmental disability programming in the state budget — a battle some lawmakers are still waging this year.

“We in the State and County governments work to provide a world where adults with autism live and work in the community where they are enabled as individuals to reach their highest potential and contribute as confident individuals to their community,” Montgomery stated at the time. “We do not want people to be in large, sometimes uncaring, institutions.”

County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat and fellow parent of a disabled child, said in a statement Tuesday that Montgomery “led with heart” and that he felt “a strong connection with” her.

“Her empathy, her honesty, and her steadfast belief that government has a responsibility to uplift every family made her a trusted ally and a source of strength,” Elrich said. “I deeply appreciated her encouragement, her insight, and the authentic understanding she offered in moments when only another parent could truly understand the journey.”

Montgomery also served as a board member of Community Services for Autistic Adults & Children. In a Monday Facebook post, the organization called her an “extraordinary public servant, devoted advocate … and dear friend to our community.”

“Her wisdom, compassion, and steadfast leadership helped shape our organization and touched the lives of countless individuals and families,” the post reads. “Karen believed deeply in creating a more inclusive community where every person is valued, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.”

Members of the Montgomery County Council have also issued statements honoring Montgomery, for whom the county’s Brookeville Bypass project was dedicated in 2023.

County Council President Natali Fani-González, a Democrat, said in a Tuesday statement that the former senator’s legacy is reflective of the jurisdiction, which strives for “inclusive, welcoming communities where everyone has the support, resources and opportunities to live and thrive.”

The same day, County Councilman Will Jawando, a Democrat, stated: “The neighborhoods she represented, from Silver Spring and Burtonsville to Olney, Brookeville, and Damascus, carry her work in them still. Montgomery County is better for her service, and she will be missed.”