Everybody knows how important the Maryland Governor and U.S. Senate races are. However, county government leaders and state legislators will play a much more direct role in dealing with specific neighborhood issues like the Georgia Avenue tunnel and the development of the Forest Glen Metro site.

The Montgomery County Council has 9 members, 4 of whom are elected at-large and 5 of whom represent districts. Most of these members are running for re-election. The council member who represents our district, Tom Perez, is now running for Maryland Attorney General, so his seat is opening up. Two Democrats are running in the primary to replace him: Valerie Ervin and Hans Riemer. Steve Silverman, an at-large member, is running for County Executive, so his seat will also be open. The current council president is George Leventhal, another at-large member who is running for re-election.

The state of Maryland is divided into 47 legislative districts. The citizens in each legislative district elect one State Senator and three State Delegates. There can be many people running for delegate positions, but only the top three vote-getters will be elected. Our current state senator is retiring, so one of our state delegates, Rich Madaleno, is moving up to replace her. The other two delegates, Jane Lawton and Ana Sol Gutierrez, are running for re-election. That means our remaining delegate seat is open, and several people are running for it.