Every two years, around this time, I get questions about for whom to vote in the Montgomery County Board of Education, and other elected positions in Montgomery County. This is where I am coming from on MCPS issues: I have been involved in MCPS matters since 1984, when I was co-president of the Rosemary Hills Primary School PTA, working for needed resources for this magnet integration school. Later, I was public affairs director for the Gifted and Talented Association of Montgomery County, working to secure appropriate education for students and seeking ways to widen the net with respect to GT identification and opportunities; I subsequently worked to protect needed resources for the Blair, Richard Montgomery, Takoma Park, and Eastern signature secondary schools. Beginning in 2002, after my children graduated from MCPS, I became active in working to secure appropriate health education and other MCPS policies regarding LGBTQ+ issues, and continued in this area (in which MCPS has made great progress). See Curriculum Victory in Montgomery County, Maryland: A Case Study and Handbook for Action (2015, updated 2025)
Those who know me will not be be surprised that I am voting for the entire Democratic slate of candidates in the Montgomery County General Election on November 3. I did not vote for all of the nominees in the primary, but all of those who made it to the general election are infinitely preferable to their Republican alternatives. I have a few comments to share with those who might be interested:
COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Republican Party County Executive Candidate Esther Wells appears to base her campaign on the pitch that she would run County Government better than her opponent. It is significant, however, that, unlike Democrat County Council member and former member of the White House staff in the Obama Administration Will Jawando, she has never held any elected or appointed government office and presents no details about her experience that would qualify her for this very big job. And, of course, her affiliation with the Montgomery County Republican Party -- which in no way has distanced itself from the horrors of the Trump Administration which has wreaked havoc on Montgomery County (and the nation and the world) -- says a lot.
Nevertheless, she seeks to present herself as a "moderate" choice in the tradition of Connie Morella. But that Republican Party in MoCo shriveled up years ago.
Moreover, what was seen in the course of Ms. Wells' losing 2022 campaign the Board of Education is instructive. She was soundly beaten when her anti-LGBTQ+ views were exposed. See here:
“Esther Wells came in second in the District 1 Primary, with 28% of the vote as compared to first place finisher Grace Rivera Oven, who received 46%. Unlike the answers to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire provided by Ms. Rivera Oven (and Ms. Silvestre), which were full-throated affirmations of the MCPS approach to LGBTQ+ matters in recent years, Ms. Wells’ answers, for the most part, were not responsive, as readers can see here. An even greater concern comes from her statement on her campaign website that she serves “as the Chairman & President Trustee of the Board of a multi-million dollar non-profit in Gaithersburg, MD.” What she does not mention is that the website of that non-profit states that it "opposes all forms of sexual immorality, including . . . homosexuality." That information, interestingly, is not on Ms. Wells’ campaign website.”
Nothing in the ensuing four years would suggest any change of heart. It seems pretty clear that her views about the LGBTQ+ members of our community are so far out of the MoCo mainstream that she should not be elected. Not to mention that she is the MoCo standard-bearer for the Trump Republican Party. She surely is no Connie Morella.
Please vote for Will Jawando.
COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE
This contest involves Board of Education Member Julie Yang and former chair of the Montgomery County Republican Party Chair (and losing 2022 County Executive candidate) Reardon Sullivan (he received fewer than a quarter of the vote four years ago.) I met with Ms. Yang shortly after the 2024 election (and upon her being selected to be President of the BOE for the upcoming year), and she assured me that the BOE would continue to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights in MCPS, notwithstanding attacks from the then-incoming Trump Administration. She has been true to this commitment -- which she gave to me at the very beginning of our meeting, without even being asked.
Mr. Sullivan, as far as I can tell, has never rejected the LGBTQ+ policies and actions of the Trump Administration. Like Ms. Wells, he is no Connie Morella.
Please vote for Julie Yang.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Four of the seven seats on the Board of Education are on the ballot. (Voters may vote in each district race, as well as the At-Large race.) There is only one candidate each for the District 1 and District 5 seats and two candidates in District 3 (Sally McCarthy and Cassandra Sung). All are very good on LGBTQ+ issues. See here I am voting for Sally McCarthy, based on an extensive discussion we had a a whole range of education issues we had when she called me many months ago.
The At-Large race has gotten a lot of coverage on social media and elsewhere. Candidate Omar Lazo is a long-time citizen activist supporting public education, and, like Will Jawando, July Yang, the other Democratic candidates, and Sally McCarthy, is endorsed by the Montgomery County Education Association (the teachers' union). Mr. Lazo's answers to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire are excellent. See here.
His opponent, Brenda Diaz, lost in in unsuccessful run for the BOE in 2024. It is instructive to review what we learned about Ms. Diaz just two years ago. See, generally, here.
In 2024, Ms. Diaz was an enthusiastic fan of RFK Jr. See Sunil Dasgupta's May 10, 2024, I Hate Politics Podcast, at 11:01 to 15:34. https://www.youtube.
Also in 2024, the Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG candidate questionnaire asked candidates if they supported MCPS curriculum changes regarding LGBTQ+ matters since 2014 based on guidance from mainstream American medical and mental health professional associations; and asked their views on the Florida Don’t Say Gay bill for public schools, including Pete Buttigieg’s statement that the bill would prevent his children from discussing with their classmates and teacher what they did on the weekend with their fathers. Ms. Diaz did not give direct answers regarding the curriculum and anti-discrimination changes, and she asserted that the Florida bill did not do what Secretary Buttigieg asserted. This year, she simply ignored the the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire.
Notwithstanding the fact that Board of Education elections are non-partisan, Ms. Diaz was officially endorsed by the Trump Republican Party in 2024 and again in 2026. The largest financial contributor to her campaign in 2024 was the Friends of Bethany Mandel PAC, supporting right-wing pundit Bethany Mandel (who lost in the primary election that year), and is associated with Moms for Liberty, at whose events Ms. Diaz has spoken.
This research from Strong Maryland confirms just how right-wing Ms. Diaz is.
Please vote for Omar Lazo for the At-Large Board of Education seat.
Please vote for Sally McCarthy for the District 3 Board of Education seat.
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