“It’s been a pretty productive year,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said Friday at the Committee for Montgomery legislative breakfast, a yearly event that is seen by many as the unofficial kickoff to the 2024 General Assembly session.
A few hundred gathered at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center to network and hear from state and county leaders about priorities in local and state politics in the new year. Speakers included Elrich, Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6), Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Dist. 19), Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Dist. 17) and Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1).
The Committee for Montgomery is a coalition of local leaders from across various sectors — including business, education and civic associations — that advocate for the General Assembly to prioritize issues and causes that are seen as the most vital for Montgomery County.
At the breakfast, the committee announced its legislative priorities for 2024 – economic development and transportation, education and workforce development, climate and environment, social justice and housing affordability.
“Housing creates vibrant and healthy stable communities. We all grew up in a home that we call home. It didn’t matter if it was a shack, it didn’t matter if it was the best place in the county. It was a place where memories were created,” said Kenneth Nelson, lead on legislative issues for Committee for Montgomery. “We need places where people can have the same experience that we’ve had, and we should not delay in any effort to bring about affordable housing to everyone.”
Kramer discussed a variety of issues facing the region, from transit to education funding, but said none of that matters if residents don’t feel safe.
“We must do more to address the ever-pervasive hate that is spreading like a cancer through our community,” Kramer said. “We must educate… We need parents, neighbors and community leaders to help and assist and support our teachers in the classroom.”
Elrich shared a similar sentiment.
“We need to encourage people to work together, build a stronger community together. If we can’t do that, none of the rest of this is going to matter …if they don’t feel safe to go outside and walk around wearing a yarmulke, hijab or Sikh headscarf,” Elrich said.
Palakovich Carr said she’s proud of the work the General Assembly did in 2023 on reproductive healthcare and education but has concerns about challenges that lie ahead – particularly, cuts to the state transportation budget that will impact Montgomery County.
“We know that many Montgomery County residents rely on the bus, the Metro and MARC train service to get to work and to get to education opportunities,” Palakovich Carr said. “Our delegation has already been advocating to make sure that our residents, our employees will continue to get around and can do so in an environmentally sustainable way.”
Trone spoke about work in Congress over the past year, praising Democratic President Joe Biden and criticizing Republican congress members for blocking legislation.
“In 2023, nothing is happening. We wasted an entire year,” Trone said.
Trone said he is looking forward to a more productive year in 2024, and asked constituents to continue to reach out about what matters most to them.
“We work for you in this room. If your community has problems that you cannot solve, that’s what we do. We’re about solving problems, we’re part of Team Maryland,” Trone said.
