It was standing room-only on the first floor of the Montgomery County Executive Office Building in Rockville on Monday afternoon as local officials ceremoniously renamed the building to honor former County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett – who was serenaded by the crowd with the Tina Turner song “Simply The Best.”
Leggett, though, gave all the credit for his success to the people who helped him through the years and those with whom he worked during his long tenure in county government.
“There is nothing, absolutely nothing in my entire life that I would have achieved without prayer and partnership,” Leggett, 80, said during his remarks.
Leggett, a Democrat, was first elected to a four-year term as county executive in 2006. He is the first and only African American to be elected to that office. He was reelected in 2010 and 2014 and served until 2018.
Before serving as county executive, Leggett was the first African American to be elected to the Montgomery County Council. He served four four-year terms as an At-large member and served as council president three times and vice president three times. In addition, he chaired the Maryland Democratic Party from 2002 to 2004. He is currently on the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland and chair of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability & Implementation Board, which holds state and local governments accountable for implementing the education reform plan.
Monday’s ceremony was hosted by Lesli Foster, a WUSA9 news anchor, and featured musical performances by local singer Jasmine Williams and a color guard ceremony presented by the county sheriff’s department. Speakers included U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8), County Executive Marc Elrich (D), County Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), former Howard University President Wayne A. I. Fredrick, Universities at Shady Grove Executive Director Anne Khademian and Leggett’s wife, Catherine Leggett.
U.S. Reps. April McClain Delaney (D-Dist. 6) and Glenn Ivey (D-Dist. 4) and the other nine members of the council also attended.
Friedson recommended the name change for the building at 101 Monroe St. at the suggestion of community members. The 11-member council unanimously supported the renaming and Elrich approved via executive order. In his remarks, Friedson joked Monday the building should be nicknamed “The Ike.”
“This [building] is the heart of county government, where all of our residents rely on services, and it is the most fitting tribute for the heart of our county government to be rooted in the values of what we aspire Montgomery County government to be,” Friedson said.
Van Hollen noted that Leggett has led an exemplary life dedicated to public service.
“I think it’s especially important that when you’re making and dedicating a building after someone … that dedication should be able to stand the tests of time. It cannot be based on transitory things. It cannot be based only on a resume or a series of achievements,” Van Hollen told the crowd. “It has to be based on durable qualities, like character, integrity, life purpose, like the qualities that Ike Leggett has exhibited all of his life here in Montgomery County and in Maryland and the United States.”
Raskin credited Leggett’s success to his ability to listen to people and bring different ideas together.
“[Leggett] served in the County Council, where he learned to talk to people from different communities and always learn to reason together,” Raskin said. “That’s common sense. That’s what [political philosopher] Thomas Paine said. Common sense is the sense we have in common when we listen to each other and we reason together.”
Alsobrooks, who served as county executive of Prince George’s County before she was elected to the U.S. Senate in November, thanked Leggett for his support as a mentor, and said she didn’t believe she’d be a senator without him.
“Leggett believes in the new American dream. And the new American dream says that you are not truly successful until you have made others successful,” Alsobrooks said.
Elrich credited Leggett with changing the way the county government embraced diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I still remember [Leggett] saying, if there aren’t enough seats at the table, we’ll make it a bigger table,” Elrich said. “This building is going to bear your name, but your true legacy isn’t in this building. It’s in our neighborhoods, our schools, our parks, our community centers … . It’s in the policies and opened doors to those who have been shut out.”
In her remarks, Stewart noted the council’s current work is impacted by Leggett’s efforts.
“Naming this building in your honor reinforces the legacy of your commitment to public service, equity in our community, and your strong belief that as public officials, we work for everyone in Montgomery County,” she said. “We are able to advance our work because of the foundation you built.”
During his remarks, Leggett shared his often-told story of running for a council seat in 1986. He did not put his photo on his campaign literature because he knew he could face prejudice as a Black man and he wanted people to focus on his policy ideas.
“The people of this county decided that they would take a chance on a poor country lawyer from Louisiana,” Leggett said. “The credit should not go to me. It should go to the partnership of the people of this great county to have that faith in me … this is a wonderful, wonderful county. This was not achieved alone … . I want to thank the citizens of this great county.”
This is not the first county building to be named in Leggett’s honor. The Leggett, a 267-unit, 16-story affordable senior housing complex in downtown Silver Spring, was named for the former county executive in May 2023. In September, Montgomery College officially opened its $104 million Catherine and Isiah Leggett math and science building at the community college’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus.
Leggett has received more than 1,200 awards for public service, Foster noted during Monday’s ceremony.
