Marc Elrich
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Marc B. Elrich (born November 2, 1949) is an American politician serving as the county executive of
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...
. He is a former member of the Montgomery County Council and the Takoma Park City Council. He became the Democratic nominee for Montgomery County Executive in the 2018 primary before winning the general election. During his tenure on the Montgomery County Council and as Montgomery County executive, Elrich has a history of opposing and blocking increases in housing supply and development, amid a housing shortage.


Early life and career

Marc Elrich was born in Washington, D.C., near Takoma Park. His father was a postal worker and his mother was a waitress. When he was ten, his family moved to Silver Spring. In 1963, he went to hear
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
speak at the
March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...
. He attended
Albert Einstein High School Albert Einstein High School (AEHS) is a four-year public high school in Kensington, Maryland, United States. It first opened in 1962 and is named after the German-born physicist Albert Einstein. It is part of the Montgomery County Public School ...
in Kensington and the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. He was once arrested at an anti-apartheid rally. He worked as a manager in the automotive department at
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...
before getting a master's degree in teaching from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
. Elrich taught 4th and 5th grade for 17 years at Rolling Terrace Elementary. Elrich served on the
Takoma Park Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree ...
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
from 1987 to 2006. He is a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...
.


Political career


Montgomery County Council

Elrich ran for the county council four times before getting elected in 2006. Since that time, he has served three terms. He was elected with the most votes of any candidate in 2010 and 2014. ''
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'' endorsed his candidacy in 2010 and 2014, stating that he was viewed as somewhat anti-business, but advocated a business-beneficial transit system and had a strong focus on efficiency and the development and planning process. He worked to have environmental concerns addressed in the Clarksburg Master Plan and he spearheaded the effort to protect Tenmile Creek. The amendment that was passed requires development to supply environmental protections. He considered protecting the stream one of his highest environmental concerns at the time. He supported one bill protecting the tree canopy and sponsored another protecting street trees. Both were voted into law. He advocated for the elimination of cosmetic use of pesticides on private lawns because of their cancer-causing chemicals helping the county become the first locality in the country to do so and was considered a key co-sponsor of the legislation. He advocated against the use of artificial playing turfs that contain lead and other cancer-causing ingredients and sponsored a resolution banning crumb rubber turfs. He voted for the Montgomery county five-cent bag tax to fund environmental cleanup efforts. He was lead sponsor of a bill to require large gas stations to be at least 500 feet from schools and parks. In 2013, Elrich was the lead sponsor of legislation to increase the county's
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
, which raised it to $11.50 per hour. Elrich twice was the lead sponsor of legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour in Montgomery County. In January 2017, a bill passed in the Council and was vetoed by then County Executive Ike Legget. In November 2017, a second bill passed and was signed into law, making Montgomery County the first county in Maryland with a $15 per hour minimum wage. At the time of the bill's passage, the State of Maryland's minimum wage was $9.25 per hour.


Montgomery County Executive

In 2017, Elrich declared his candidacy for county executive. He participated in public financing. The largest allowed contribution is $150. He did not accept money from developers or land use attorneys. In 2019, Elrich banned Montgomery County police stations from displaying
thin blue line The "thin blue line" is a term that typically refers to the concept of the police as the line between law-and-order and chaos in society. The "blue" in "thin blue line" refers to the blue color of the uniforms of many police departments. The ...
flags. Acknowledging that the flag was a symbol of "support" to some and a symbol of "divisiveness" to others, he drew criticism from Governor
Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term U.S. representative Lawrence Hogan, he served as co-ch ...
for the policy. In 2019, ''The Washington Post'' editorial board called Elrich's decision to block construction of communication towers in Montgomery County a "victory for NIMBYism."


Positions on housing and development

In 2013, Elrich was the lone vote to oppose a plan to preserve affordable housing along the Purple Line
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
corridor. In 2017, Elrich was criticized for describing the council's plan to allow denser housing construction around the stations of the planned 16-mile Purple Line as "
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
". He said he was sorry if his language was offensive, but he defended his comment saying that this is not just a Montgomery County problem but a nationwide problem and a "well-known fact" of what happens when rail lines take over communities. During his tenure, Elrich has said he has tried to preserve affordable housing. Elrich has opposed market-rate housing construction, and higher density near public transit stations. He has opposed allowing duplexes, fourplexes and sixplexes in some neighborhoods that are exclusively zoned for single-family housing. In 2019, Elrich opposed a nonbinding council resolution to build 10,000 more housing units (most of them affordable housing) by 2030, saying that the county cannot afford to build that much affordable housing. He has cast doubt on projections by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on the need for more middle-income and low-income housing. In 2019, Elrich said that he rejected the concept of
missing middle housing Missing middle housing refers to a lack of medium-density housing in the North American context. The term describes an urban planning phenomenon in Canada, the United States, Australia and more recent developments in industrialized and newly in ...
, and said that Montgomery County did not lack housing for middle earners. In 2019, he opposed a zoning change that allowed homeowners on single-family zoning plots to build accessory dwelling units, saying that it would "fundamentally alter"
neighborhood character Neighborhood character refers to the 'look and feel of an area', in particular a residential area. It also includes the activities that occur there. In everyday usage, it can often be synonymous with local character, residential character, urban cha ...
and not lead to more affordable housing – the zoning change was approved unanimously by the council. In 2019, he said he would prevent tearing down affordable housing to "build housing for millennials." In 2020, Elrich vetoed a bill giving tax breaks to developers who built high-rise buildings on top of Metro stations, but the council overrode his veto. Elrich has frequently called for higher taxes on real estate developers. Housing activists have characterized Elrich as a
NIMBY NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...
. Elrich voted against the
White Flint Mall White Flint Mall was a shopping mall, located along Maryland Route 355, Rockville Pike, in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, that closed in early 2015 and was demolished thereafter. Its former anchors were Lord & Taylor, ...
II sector plan because Elrich stated that the plan would have created 6,000 residential units located too far from a
Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
station. He voted against the Bethesda Master Plan because it failed to consider the effect the increased density would have on roads and schools. He voted against the Lyttonsville Sector Plan because he stated that it would increase housing costs and force residents to move out, as well as the
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
Lake Sector Plan. He opposed a proposal to sell land adjacent to the White Oak Food and Drug Administration campus because local roads and infrastructure were not equipped to handle additional traffic and students. In 1995, he joined with community members and fought against a proposed mega mall in downtown Silver Spring.


2026 Montgomery County Council election

During the
2024 elections This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...
, Montgomery County voters approved a referendum backed by the Montgomery County Republican Party to limit the county executive to two consecutive terms, blocking Elrich from running for a third term. On November 18, 2024, Elrich announced that he would run for an at-large seat on the Montgomery County Council in 2026.


Personal life

Elrich has four children. Two were foster children, including a son who has Down syndrome. He has lived in Takoma Park for most of his life. He is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. On January 1, 2022 it was announced that he had tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.


2018 elections


Primary election results

The Democratic primary election was held on June 26, 2018.


General election results

The general election was held on November 6, 2018.


2022 elections


Primary election results

The Montgomery County executive primary election was held on July 19, 2022. On August 6, Elrich declared victory with a 42 vote lead over Blair, but Blair released a statement saying he would request a recount pursuant to Maryland law. Elrich ended up winning the recount by 32 votes.


General election results

The general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Elrich defeated Montgomery County GOP chairman Reardon Sullivan.


References


External links

*
Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elrich, Marc 1949 births Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people Jewish American government officials Jewish American people in Maryland politics Maryland city council members Maryland Democrats Montgomery County, Maryland executives University of Maryland, College Park alumni Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Maryland 20th-century Maryland politicians 21st-century Maryland politicians