Dear Friends,
We are still celebrating the news from Fortune Magazine ranked Silver Spring as No. 1 in an analysis of the best places nationwide for families to live. Here is a link to Fortune's story and here is a link to the announcement on “The Today Show.” The word spread quickly, and we were able to get a picture of Governor Wes Moore helping us celebrate.
I am proud of the recognition that Silver Spring continues to receive. It is home to businesses large and small, a mix of retail restaurants and entertainment. Families from all over the world live throughout our community.
I also want to point out that Silver Spring is a lot different than when I first moved to Montgomery County. I lived just across the border in Washington, D.C., until I moved to Silver Spring around 1960. Silver Spring was pretty much the County's shopping center because even Wheaton Plaza was not around yet. We were not economically or racially diverse, and segregation in housing and employment was the norm.
Today it is a place that stands out as a home for many different ethnic and culturally diverse groups. That creates an environment that fosters a sense of understanding and respect. I taught for 17 years at an elementary school in Silver Spring where children grew up learning that anyone could be a friend. That helped prepare them to be global citizens in an increasingly interconnected world.
Fortune’s No. 1 ranking is based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors that you can read about here. These include the best place “where multigenerational families are most likely to have access to great schools, highly recommended hospitals, affordable housing, resources for older adults and a strong sense of community.” This recognition is a testament to the efforts and progress our community has made in these areas, making Silver Spring an ideal place for families to live and grow.
For businesses, Silver Spring's recognition as the best place for families to live is a powerful testament to the area's vitality and potential. Companies looking to relocate or expand will find a community that values education, safety and quality of life—key factors that attract top talent. The diverse population offers a broad customer base and a workforce with a wide range of skills, driving innovation and growth. Our community's focus on inclusivity and support for families creates a stable and welcoming environment where businesses can prosper. This is a great opportunity for businesses to be part of a thriving community and contribute to its growth and success.
On my weekly media briefing, Stephanie Helsing, the president and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, talked about how the amenities add to the quality of life in Silver Spring and that helps attract top talent. Silver Spring is home to a strong sense of community belonging and caring that underwrites everything we do. You can see that in how long families live here, how much community pride they show, how civically minded and how giving they are.
There is a lot to be proud of in Silver Spring, and we appreciate Fortune's recognition.
Dominique Dawes Statue Unveiling and Olympic Spirit
The 2024 Olympics are underway in Paris, so this week seemed like the perfect time to unveil a new sculpture paying tribute to Dominque Dawes. The former Olympic gymnast is one of only three women to be a part of medal-winning teams at three different games.
It was wonderful to see her again for the unveiling. Our photos of the event show the high energy level at the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center. I want to thank all the media and people who came out to be part of the story.
Dominique’s story started just like many other young gymnasts: she began tumbling at 6 years old and did not win her first competition until she was 9. The Silver Spring native attended Montgomery Blair High School, but then moved to Gaithersburg and finished high school there to be closer to her gymnastics program.
Before Dominique had finished high school, she had been part of the bronze medal-winning U.S. gymnastics team in Barcelona and won a pair of silver medals in the 1993 world championships. In 1996, she was part of the team labeled the “Magnificent Seven” in the Atlanta Olympics. Not only was she part of the first American team to win gold in gymnastics, she also became the first Black woman of any nationality to win Olympic gold in gymnastics.
Dominque has grown into being a business owner, entrepreneur and she is engaged in our community. I was glad to hear that she will be expanding her gymnasiums to two more locations in Montgomery County. She also will be opening one in Howard County.
One of the things that I talked about with the sculptor and with her was the intentionality of the sculpture. Dominique Dawes broke the color barrier in her sport. Children need good heroes/heroines/role models and to see people who look like them and who have made significant accomplishments because it can help inspire children believe that they can do great things, too. The statue is meant to be both great art and to be a source of inspiration.
Montgomery County Athletes at the Olympics
Speaking of the Olympics, Montgomery County will be well represented at this year’s games. We have eight athletes with County ties on the U.S. Olympic team. On the swim team alone, Montgomery natives make up three of the 20 women. We also have two athletes on the wrestling team, two on the track team and one on the fencing team.
We are a County that invests in athletic programming, activities and facilities through our schools, Department of Recreation and the Park and Planning Commission. Seeing such a diversity of individuals and sports represented from this County on the highest levels of competition is one of many positive results of those investments. The biggest benefit is that all County residents, and especially our children, always have opportunities to learn a wide variety of sports and recreation.
Here is a rundown of our County Olympians competing in Paris:
- Bethesda-native Katie Ledecky qualified for her fourth Olympics in swimming. The 27-year-old will be joined by two other swimmers from her high school alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart.
- The women’s 4 x 200 meters relay team will boast Ledecky and Potomac’s Erin Gemmell, who is 19. Gemmell’s father is a swim coach who also worked with Ledecky at the Nation’s Capital Swim Club.
- Phoebe Bacon qualified for her second Olympic games. The 21-year-old from Chevy Chase will compete in the women’s 200 backstroke.
- Rockville wrestler Helen Maroulis qualified for her third consecutive Olympic games. Her career at Magruder High School in Rockville preceded her Olympic debut in 2016, when she became the first American woman to win gold in the sport.
- Kyle Snyder is a wrestler headed to his third straight Olympics. He wrestled for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney 10 years ago. The 28-year-old won a gold medal at the last Olympics in Brazil.
- Fans of fencing will be able to root on Bethesda native Tatiana Nazlymov. She learned the sport from her father and grandfather. The Princeton student already has international accolades under her belt, but this is her first Olympics.
- Masai Russell set a record for the fastest 100-meter hurdles this year when she qualified for Paris. It was also the fastest qualifying race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in more than two decades. The 24-year-old from Potomac went to school at Bullis before spending five years at the University of Kentucky, breaking college records there as well.
- Quincy Wilson, 16, already is breaking records as the youngest American male track Olympian. The current student at Bullis in Potomac finished sixth in the 400-meter race at qualifiers, coming up just short of an automatic spot in Paris. When the roster was finalized, we learned that the Gaithersburg sprinter will be part of the 400-meter relay team. He will be vying to become the youngest American ever to win a medal on the track.
Rent Stabilization Regulations Finalized
I want to thank the County Council for prioritizing rent stabilization and approving important regulations earlier this week. The regulations will be implemented immediately and apply to all buildings constructed more than 23 years ago, ensuring protection to many renters immediately and not leaving them vulnerable to price gouging and out-of-control rent hikes moving forward.
These well-developed and publicly scrutinized regulations balance the need to make new housing construction financially viable while preventing the kinds of changes that would force migration from our County due to significant rent hikes. Right now, some residents are experiencing rent increases north of 25 percent and more. This is unconscionable, but unfortunately, until now, it was allowed.
I want to thank everyone who had a part in making this happen. Rent stabilization bills are important, and they have the potential to change lives. When I was on the Takoma Park City Council, I represented a neighborhood in which 80 percent of the residents were tenants with some of the lowest incomes in Montgomery County. I knew what rent stabilization meant to them.
I knew the impact that increases above the rate of inflation had on working people. For some families, it was the difference in the number of bags of groceries on the table. I could see the tangible relationship between how high the rent was and what the impacts were for families with limited incomes. This will make a difference for families in apartments with rent stabilization, and, hopefully, people will see how it is working and we will have the opportunity to expand and modify the law in the future. This is an important moment now. We talk a lot about safer, healthier communities. This is one of the ways to make it happen.
Updated rent stabilization information can be found here.
Farm Tour and Harvest Sale This Weekend
The Montgomery County Farm Tour and Harvest Sale will return Saturday and Sunday, July 27 and 28.
Two farms are joining the tour for the first time: Deere Valley Farm in Dickerson and Koiner Farm (seen above) in Silver Spring. Koiner is the first urban farm to be part of this special weekend. I encourage you to use the Visit Montgomery website and Adventure Planner app to plan your visit to participating farms. The app is a helpful way of identifying participating farms and suggesting unique experiences across the County without visiting multiple websites.
Many years ago, County leaders designated about one-third of the County’s land as the “Agriculture Reserve.” Development limits were placed on 93,000 acres to keep residential, industrial and commercial development from encroaching on farmland. The Ag Reserve is home to more than 550 farms.
Governor Moore Encouraging Heat Pumps
The heat waves we suffered this summer are a good opportunity to highlight Maryland Governor Wes Moore's recent climate action directive. It is something Montgomery County’s Chief Climate Officer Sarah Kogel-Smucker wrote about recently for Maryland Matters. You can read that here.
In June, the governor signed an executive order with significant environmental implications. I want to focus on one aspect of that plan that deserves more attention.
The directive orders the Maryland Department of the Environment to develop zero-emission heating equipment standards this year. It will ensure that all new HVAC systems in Maryland will be heat pumps, delivering highly efficient heating and cooling.
In Montgomery County, we are already focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings. I have also been asking our community to go green. However, if we do not have public buy-in and get every family to reduce their carbon footprint, we will not reach our climate goals in the County.
The governor’s order to require heat pumps to replace outdated HVAC systems is important to help make homes more resilient to extreme heat. Heat pumps are overall more efficient than traditional heating and cooling systems.
Upgrading to a heat pump could save families an average of $740 per year on utility bills, with an additional $380 in savings when residents upgrade to a heat pump for water heating. These savings are especially important for low-income households facing the burden of high energy costs.
Recently, Maryland lawmakers opened the door to State-level funding to help more low-income families and those living in multifamily housing pay for heat pump upgrades. This order will not require immediate wholesale changes. Still, it will prepare the business community and retailers for a future in which families and business owners alike use heat pumps to improve energy efficiency.
You can learn more about the benefits of heat pumps by visiting mygreenmontgomery.org and searching “heat pump.”
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
