Dear Friends,
I think we all can remember how during the pandemic we worked together - elected leaders, government employees, healthcare workers, residents, and businesses –so that Montgomery County was one of the most vaccinated jurisdictions in our nation, with only two-thirds the national death rate from this virus.
At the same time, thousands of County residents were working in our region’s life sciences industries, including work to create a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.
I take a lot of comfort and hope in what the employees in this industry do - whether it is working to find a cure or develop treatments for COVID-19, HIV, flu, cancer and other illnesses, a multitude of researchers are in labs in our community trying to improve the quality and longevity of our life.
We received good news came about one of our businesses-- Montgomery County-based Novavax received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 years and older.
Last month, I had the opportunity, along with a larger group including several County councilmembers, to visit Novavax’s headquarters in Gaithersburg. We met with their CEO John Jacobs and other members of the leadership team, we toured the labs and met some of the employees working in research and development, quality control and operations.
Novavax’s vaccine is the only protein-based non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine option in the U.S. There are, as some of you know, a group of people who would not take the other vaccines because they were manufactured through a different process. While I don’t agree with the reasoning, the important thing is that this gives another group of people the opportunity to get a vaccine they’re comfortable with and if that means more of us are vaccinated and protected, then we’re all better off.
During this week’s media briefing I was joined by Silvia Taylor, an Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Advocacy Officer for Novavax. Here is a link to that part of the briefing.
Novavax was a small company a few years ago and has now grown into an operation that employs thousands of people. I’m excited by the direction Montgomery County is moving in and the growing strength of our life sciences industry.
Deka Biosciences Expands
There was also another big announcement from aMontgomery County biotech – Deka Biosciences. Their CEO, John Mumm, announced a $20 million Series B2 round of funding addition to help advance their immunotherapy technology thru the clinical trials process.
Deka was founded here in Montgomery County, had some support from local mentors, moved into our Montgomery County incubator in Germantown and soon will be graduating to new commercial lab space here in the County.
County Unemployment Numbers Continue to be Near Historic Record Lows
Our August unemployment rate was just 1.6 percent, a 0.1 percent increase from historic unemployment lows in June and July. The national unemployment rate for August was 3.8 percent - more than twice as high as our unemployment numbers. Fairfax County was 2.6 percent, Arlington is 2.1 percentand the District of Columbia was 5.0 percent.
Our life sciences industry is helping to drive our low unemployment numbers along with recovery in the hospitality industries and others, And the County is continuing to invest, promote, and help our companies grow and thrive.
County Career Fair was Big Success
The Montgomery County government continues to have many job opportunities available. We had nearly 900 attendees to our second Career Fair of the year.
Our Office of Human Resources is aggressively trying to fill nearly 1,000 positions. Our website work4mcg.com provides up-to-date information on the next Career Fair and Hiring Expo, career resources and our pay and benefits options. This link provides guidance on how to apply for a job with the County.
Montgomery County government offers many different career paths and incredible career opportunities. We are committed to providing our employees a work environment that values employees’ talents and fosters professional growth. The average Montgomery County employee has worked for the County for over a decade, over twice as long as the average U.S. worker. Our goal is to create a culture where our employees will want to spend their entire career working for our residents, businesses, and visitors.
Climate Message of Week: Montgomery County Welcomes New Climate Change Officer
I want to introduce you to our new Climate Change Officer, Sarah Kogel-Smucker. She started in our office last week.
Sarah joins our team after leading the creation of the climate change division in the District of Columbia’s Office of the People’s Counsel. She has more than 15 years of experience in environmental issues. Prior to her work in the District, she served as senior counsel for the New York City Law Department’s Environmental Division. In that role, she advocated for the deployment of affordable clean energy initiatives, analyzed environmental legislation and advised other divisions on climate policy.
Sarah will be an important part of our efforts to make meaningful progress on implementing our Climate Action Plan and meeting our aggressive goals. Our Climate Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035. Our timeline for greenhouse gas emissions puts us ahead of the state by a decade. I know these are aggressive targets, but the intention of these goals is to make sure that we never stop trying to solve this enormously dangerous problem.
And the government can’t act alone.
Without the public making choices to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their own lives, no changes that the government makes in the areas it controls will be sufficient by themselves to achieve our climate goals.
If this were just a game, losing it would not be such a big deal. But climate change is a big deal – you can see it every day all around you. every day. Nowhere is this heading in the right direction, and I think most people are aware that something is changing – but it’s not good change.
We want to be a leader and a model for other jurisdictions, and we are looking forward to Sarah helping us do that work.
Historic Scotland AME Church Better Protected from Potential Flooding
Sarah joins our team after leading the creation of the climate change division in the District of Columbia’s Office of the People’s Counsel. She has more than 15 years of experience in environmental issues. Prior to her work in the District, she served as senior counsel for the New York City Law Department’s Environmental Division. In that role, she advocated for the deployment of affordable clean energy initiatives, analyzed environmental legislation and advised other divisions on climate policy.
Sarah will be an important part of our efforts to make meaningful progress on implementing our Climate Action Plan and meeting our aggressive goals. Our Climate Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035. Our timeline for greenhouse gas emissions puts us ahead of the state by a decade. I know these are aggressive targets, but the intention of these goals is to make sure that we never stop trying to solve this enormously dangerous problem.
And the government can’t act alone.
Without the public making choices to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their own lives, no changes that the government makes in the areas it controls will be sufficient by themselves to achieve our climate goals.
If this were just a game, losing it would not be such a big deal. But climate change is a big deal – you can see it every day all around you. every day. Nowhere is this heading in the right direction, and I think most people are aware that something is changing – but it’s not good change.
We want to be a leader and a model for other jurisdictions, and we are looking forward to Sarah helping us do that work.
Historic Scotland AME Church Better Protected from Potential Flooding
The Scotland AME Zion Church is the last physical remainder of a historic black community neighborhood in Potomac established by former slaves. The church was built by hand. In 2019, a flood washed out the original church building, moving it off its foundation. Increased development in the area and a realignment of Seven Locks Rd. from long ago left the church in the path of increased stormwater runoff.
Last week I joined community and church leaders as the building was lifted and repositioned, so it is now even with the road, lessening the chance of similar floods in the future.
The historic black community has persisted despite efforts in the 1950s and 60s to erase it. The County’s most recent investment in this community is $300,000 to help with a full revitalization of the church and to give the community a permanent home once again.
Five generations of families have called Scotland home, and the push to preserve the history and the community is ongoing.
Glenstone Museum leaders have pledged to help with a significant portion of the cost to rebuild the church, but more help is needed. Glenstone has agreed to match every donation dollar-for-dollar, which makes community participation even more important.
So far, more than 80 faith-based organizations have supported this initiative. It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm coming from County residents and business for this project as they work to raise $10 million to restore and rebuilt the chuch. You can learn more about the church and the fundraising effort by visiting scotlandAMEzion.org.
Community Health Update
We’re seeing a slight decline in COVID-19 cases while the hospitalization rate remains steady. We know that staying up to date on vaccines helps keep COVID-19 rates down and lower the number of hospitalizations, so please get the updated vaccine if you haven’t yet. New vaccines are widely available at pharmacies – you can find a partial list at vaccines.gov.and you can also contact your health care provider. It may still take some time to schedule an appointment so please be patient.
We will continue to work with the state, our libraries and other departments to get new supplies of rapid test kits and masks out to places that are easily accessible, and you can also order new test kits through the mail at covidtests.gov. The federal government will deliver four tests per address when you sign up online.
We have several weeks between now and the first of the big family holidays, Thanksgiving, so please do your part to keep the virus from spreading. And please get your flu and RSV shots as appropriate.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
The historic black community has persisted despite efforts in the 1950s and 60s to erase it. The County’s most recent investment in this community is $300,000 to help with a full revitalization of the church and to give the community a permanent home once again.
Five generations of families have called Scotland home, and the push to preserve the history and the community is ongoing.
Glenstone Museum leaders have pledged to help with a significant portion of the cost to rebuild the church, but more help is needed. Glenstone has agreed to match every donation dollar-for-dollar, which makes community participation even more important.
So far, more than 80 faith-based organizations have supported this initiative. It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm coming from County residents and business for this project as they work to raise $10 million to restore and rebuilt the chuch. You can learn more about the church and the fundraising effort by visiting scotlandAMEzion.org.
Community Health Update
We’re seeing a slight decline in COVID-19 cases while the hospitalization rate remains steady. We know that staying up to date on vaccines helps keep COVID-19 rates down and lower the number of hospitalizations, so please get the updated vaccine if you haven’t yet. New vaccines are widely available at pharmacies – you can find a partial list at vaccines.gov.and you can also contact your health care provider. It may still take some time to schedule an appointment so please be patient.
We will continue to work with the state, our libraries and other departments to get new supplies of rapid test kits and masks out to places that are easily accessible, and you can also order new test kits through the mail at covidtests.gov. The federal government will deliver four tests per address when you sign up online.
We have several weeks between now and the first of the big family holidays, Thanksgiving, so please do your part to keep the virus from spreading. And please get your flu and RSV shots as appropriate.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
