Montgomery County council member Nancy Navarro was unanimously elected as the council’s president Tuesday morning for the upcoming term.
This will be Navarro’s second time serving as council president, having previously served in the role from December 2012 to December 2013. In prepared remarks, Navarro, whose district includes Wheaton, Olney and Laytonsville, said her priorities for the council include helping to close the achievement gap in Montgomery County Public Schools, caring for the county’s aging population, making the county more business-friendly and promoting more civic engagement among diverse communities.
“My promise is to build upon the work of the leaders before me, and to extend the conversation and direct the work in new equitable ways to reflect the needs of our changed county,” she said.
Council member Tom Hucker, who nominated Navarro to be council president, praised her for her service on the council.
“Nancy has never been satisfied with where we are. She always wants us to do better,” he said.
Navarro has served on the council since 2009 and is the first Latina member. She is also the only female council member.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, council member Sidney Katz was unanimously elected as the vice president of the council for the 2019 session. Katz, who is entering his second term, has not served in a leadership position before on the council. His council district includes Gaithersburg and Rockville. Previously he served as the mayor of Gaithersburg from 1998 to 2014.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first meeting in which new council members Will Jawando, Evan Glass, Gabe Albornoz and Andrew Friedson participated.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
