Assault at Rockville Town Square

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Rockville Town Square yesterday afternoon, August 6, 2022. The assault was reported in the 100 block of Gibbs Street at 3:24 PM Saturday.

Marc Elrich declares victory as counting of Montgomery County election results winds down

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich declared victory in the Democratic primary for that office last night, after the Board of Elections released election results showing him provisionally clinching the nomination. The board said it has only 34 ballots left to count today. As it stands this morning, yesterday's counting gave Elrich a total of 55,469 votes (39.20%), and second-place finisher David Blair 55,427 votes (39.17%). That is a difference of only 42 votes. While that number will change by the end of the day today, it is unlikely to change the outcome of the primary race.

"I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive," Elrich said in a statement last night.  "I want to thank the voters.  I love this county and care about our residents so very deeply. This primary has been a long journey (and certainly exciting). Now, with the results certain, we must work together to ensure Montgomery County remains solidly Democratic and turns out for [Democratic gubernatorial nominee] Wes Moore and our entire Democratic ticket. I look forward to continuing to work together to help...Montgomery County and all our residents succeed and thrive."

Once the count is final, Blair will have the option of requesting a free recount, due to the razor-thin margin of Elrich's victory. If Elrich prevails again in that count, he will have done what County Executive Neal Potter could not in the early 1990s. Elected in reaction to many voters' belief that developers and special interests were wielding too much power over the County government in 1990, Potter only served one term. Developers put big money behind Rockville Mayor Douglas M. Duncan (D) in the 1994 election, and Duncan served twelve years as executive.

Duncan would likely have been able to easily win again in 2006, but chose to run for governor of Maryland, before withdrawing from that race for health reasons. His successor as executive, Ike Leggett, was somewhere between Duncan and Potter on development issues. With the County political machine forming a more muscular cartel in 2002, it seized majority control over the County Council with the victory of its well-funded "End Gridlock" slate that year. The result was a dynamic of conflict between the executive and legislative branches, that only accelerated with the 2018 election of Elrich, a popular politician who has promoted responsible growth policies to limit the impact of development on existing neighborhoods and school capacity.

As we await confirmation of final results, and the likely recount, political junkies across the County have to thank both men for providing a dramatic race by each running very strong campaigns. This has certainly been exciting - and it's not over yet! But if anyone ever tells you your vote doesn't count or doesn't matter, look at this race.

Maryland governor candidate Dan Cox adds campaign staff, hires former Dave Brat campaign manager

Republican Maryland gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox announced Friday that he has expanded his campaign staff with several new hires. Chief among the additions is Southern Maryland native Zach Werrell as campaign manager. Werrell managed the upstart campaign of Republican Dave Brat when he ousted GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the 2014 Virginia primary, and Brat went on to win Cantor's congressional seat that November. He was only 23 when he helmed Brat's campaign, and is co-author of the book, How to Bag a RINO: The Whiz Kids Who Brought Down House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. 

Zach Werrell

Cox's other appointments include Lucy Kruse as Campaign Press Director, Kate Sullivan as Field Director, Patience Faith as Executive Assistant to Cox, Debbie Olsen to head the campaign's finance team, and Sallie Taylor as Campaign Office Director. In addition, the campaign announced captains and directors have been named for each county and region of the state.

"With our leadership and field team, we will successfully win Maryland with the issues that are most important to Marylanders: Protecting our children, community safety, and advancing a career-friendly atmosphere," Cox said in a statement Friday night. "We are here to unite all Marylanders under this banner.” Cox faces Democrat Wes Moore in the November election.

Photos via Dan Cox for Governor (top)/HowToBagARINO.com (bottom)

Surprise! Marc Elrich is still leading after another day of Montgomery County election results

Incumbent Marc Elrich ended yet another day of vote-counting ahead of challenger David Blair in the Democratic race for Montgomery County Executive on Friday. In fact, Elrich expanded his lead in the latest election results released last night. He now has 53,224 votes (39.29%) to Blair's 53,026 votes (39.14%). There are still thousands of provisional ballots to be counted when canvassing resumes at 10:00 AM this morning, at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College. That means that, mathematically, either candidate can still win.

Montgomery County police to establish "resource room" at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda will announce next week that it is providing a space for the Montgomery County Police Department at the retail center. According to a police department spokesperson, the space will include a "resource room" for officers, and a "community liaison room" for officers to interact with the public. The announcement comes after six 2nd-degree assaults were reported at the mall between May 18 and July 29, 2022.

Rockville Wegmans construction update (Photos)

Construction of the Rockville Wegmans grocery store at the corner of Rockville Pike and Halpine Road has really picked up steam since my last update. For the first time, the structure is actually rising above street level, particularly along Halpine near the Twinbrook Metro station. There, the framework is already two stories tall. Along the Pike, the first columns are rising about one story above street level.

Rockville liquor store broken into

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a break-in at a beer and wine store in Rockville early yesterday morning. A burglar alarm was triggered at a store in the 4000 block of Norbeck Road at 1:15 AM Wednesday. Officers found evidence of forced entry at the scene. Beer & Wine International is located on that block of Norbeck.