Dear Friends,
The video I’m sharing this holiday week is the first of a two-part look back at the year. We have had numerous challenges that we’ve had to stand up to, but there have also been many positive developments to celebrate. I encourage you to watch Part 1 this week and return next week to complete Part 2.
We have some great economic development news to share. I want to welcome Samsung Biologics to Montgomery County. The company is buying GSK's Rockville campus. This is the South Korean drug maker's first manufacturing facility in the United States. The acquisition is expected to be finalized sometime next year, underscoring our County’s position as a global hub for life sciences and biotechnology.
This is a win for our local workforce. More than 500 skilled employees will remain on that campus and will continue to call Montgomery County home. The company says it plans to expand its manufacturing capacity within the U.S. and reduce supply chain risks as it grows.
Montgomery County is home to one of the nation's strongest biotech clusters. Samsung Biologics' investment and AstraZeneca’s recent multi-million-dollar commitments to cell therapy and clinical manufacturing facilities here in the County demonstrate our leadership in innovation and biomanufacturing. I used this announcement as an opportunity to provide an update on our economic development efforts during my weekly media briefing.
When we travel overseas, we have been focusing on helping the global marketplace learn about our industry cluster, innovation resources, highly educated workforce, and diverse community so that they can feel confident that Montgomery County is a place where their companies can grow and thrive and where their employees feel welcome.
With GSK’s long-standing presence in Montgomery County, we are happy to know that the important work of their employees will continue with Samsung Biologics as their manufacturing partner for Benlysta and essential products for patients.
It’s essential to remember that our biohealth cluster is not only crucial for our economy, but also for patients worldwide. I look forward to welcoming the Samsung Biologics leadership team in person in the New Year.
DARCARS Donation to MCPS to Cover Student Lunch Debt
I would like to thank John and Jamie Darvish, along with the entire DARCARS Automotive Group, for the gift they presented to our community this week. A donation of $230,000 will help wipe out lunch debt for more than 80,000 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students. It will make a direct, meaningful difference in the lives of students and families across Montgomery County.
Before I was County Executive, I was a teacher at a high-poverty elementary school. And I’ll never forget some of my students whose only hot meal was at school. Long weekends weren’t something to look forward to because they meant days without a proper meal. That stays with you.
It taught me something important early on: poverty is a destabilizing force that affects a child’s health, growth, and ability to learn. If we are serious about closing the opportunity gap and helping children succeed, we must address the real-life impacts of poverty that manifest in classrooms every single day.
That’s why donations like this matter so much. This is an example of how the private sector can play a powerful role in helping level the playing field for children across Montgomery County. Wiping out school lunch debt is an investment in kids. It provides dignity and helps them focus on learning instead of worrying about whether they’ll eat.
We must also be honest about the broader context. We’re still living with the consequences of racist policies and practices that were created long ago. Even though those policies may be gone, their impacts are not. That’s why I’ve spent years fighting for things like a higher minimum wage—to help create more stable living situations for families.
Last week, I signed a bill giving families facing eviction more time—extending notice requirements from six days to fourteen days. That might sound small, but for a family on the brink, a little extra time can mean the difference between staying housed and losing their home.
This donation works the same way. It can help a family pay a bill. It can ease stress around finances. It can reduce the tension that so often spills over onto kids.
As we head into the New Year, this support gives families a fresh start. In Montgomery County, we don’t turn our backs on children or punish them for circumstances beyond their control. Thank you for the generosity shown by DARCARS. I’d also like to thank MCPS and the chambers of commerce in Rockville, Silver Spring, and elsewhere that help companies like this find a compassionate way to elevate our community.
HERO Act Enacted to Help Family Members of Fallen Firefighters
On Monday, I signed the HERO Act into law. The Expedited Bill 32-25 is an adjustment to the way families of firefighters who die in the line of duty receive benefits. Unfortunately, by no fault of her own, we saw that it took months for the widow of Master Firefighter Christopher Higgins to receive his pension. This new law will cut that wait time down to a matter of weeks. She sat by my side as we made this bill a law.
Another change prompted by this law allows the County to compensate families as if their lost loved one had served 20 years with Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service (MCFRS). I hope that this extension of benefits is never needed, but in the case of the unthinkable, families deserve peace of mind.
Our role as a government is to support firefighters financially and ensure we put them in the best position to remain safe. Emotional support is just as crucial, and this law helps show our community that we recognize the dangers firefighters face and the strain it puts on their families. I want to thank Councilmembers Evan Glass and Sydney Katz for sponsoring this bill.
Firefighters are some of our most dedicated public servants. The HERO Act demonstrates our support for them and acknowledges the personal risks they take to keep our community safe.
Melanie Diaz Family Donation
Potential life-saving changes are now in place to help protect renters who live in high-rise buildings. The Tenant Protection and Notification law, which took effect in October 2024, helps improve fire safety awareness by requiring landlords to disclose fire safety information when a lease is signed. Tenants are informed about the building's emergency plans, the status of the sprinkler system, insurance details, and maintenance information. Families also learn how to contact a building representative in the event of an emergency.
Last Saturday, the family of Melanie Diaz donated new smoke hoods to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. The hoods provide respiratory protection for firefighters in smoke-filled environments, giving them more time to rescue people inside buildings without harming and risking their respiratory systems. They are being added to all our fire response trucks.
Melanie was 25 years old when she died in a high-rise fire in Silver Spring in 2023. The smoke alarms on her floor did not go off, and the building was not required to have sprinklers in the stairwells and hallways. Her family said they wanted an impact that would be a testament to Melanie, a person who was always seeking to help others.
Her death inspired a new statewide law to better protect tenants and ensure the implementation of automatic sprinkler regulations for high-rises by 2033. Another aspect of Maryland’s law classifies fire alarms as a type of protective measure that tenants should be expected to have at no cost to them.
Melanie's parents, Cesar Diaz and Zuleika Madera, shared their grief and testified in Annapolis as they pushed for these changes on their daughter's behalf. Their generosity continues with this donation, and I would like to thank them for their determination to enact change. These protections will carry her name forward and hopefully prevent other families from losing a loved one.
Federal Government Actions on Local Jurisdictions During Holiday Weeks
I hope by now everyone is aware of the federal administration’s efforts to undermine the help and services we provide to end and prevent homelessness.
In a small bit of good news, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would have ended funding that helps move unhoused people to permanent supportive housing. More than 20 states, including Maryland, sued HUD over its proposed changes. However, late last week, the federal government changed the requirements for funding requests again, further complicating the situation and forcing the courts once again to decide if their actions are within the scope of the law.
This attempted policy change is cruel, counterproductive, and frustrating. As I’ve outlined before, we have a system in place that is working to keep people off the streets, and these changes would disrupt our work. There is a lack of compassion in the way that federal regulators are trying to victimize those in need of assistance. Meanwhile, as many people enjoy their holiday, federal regulators in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are attempting to quietly revise how vaccines and their safety are discussed. Last week, HHS leaders suggested that the U.S. would adopt a vaccine schedule similar to Denmark's. This would have been a major overhaul to vaccines and could have been disastrous. Those plans now seem like they’ve been scrapped, and the vaccine schedule remains in place for now. Still, it is concerning that years of careful, evidence-based vaccine policy could be disregarded through an opaque process that overlooks the significant differences between the U.S. and Denmark. It also disregards the real consequences for children and families.
The federal Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines is scheduled to meet virtually on Monday, Dec. 29, with virtually no public notice and very little information shared with the public. Its decisions can affect vaccine policy nationwide. The public, as well as state and local health departments, are being kept in the dark about what will be discussed or decided. Advocates for public health are sounding the alarm and urging the commission to share more information about its plans. In a recent article in Scientific American, public health experts say the move will endanger children.
Planning a meeting that affects the health and safety of vaccines between holidays, without meaningful disclosure and without accountability, undermines public trust and raises serious concerns about whether decisions are being made deliberately out of public view. This is not how evidence-based public health policy should be conducted.
Please know that we will continue to monitor and comment on these deeply concerning actions by the Trump administration.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
Before I was County Executive, I was a teacher at a high-poverty elementary school. And I’ll never forget some of my students whose only hot meal was at school. Long weekends weren’t something to look forward to because they meant days without a proper meal. That stays with you.
It taught me something important early on: poverty is a destabilizing force that affects a child’s health, growth, and ability to learn. If we are serious about closing the opportunity gap and helping children succeed, we must address the real-life impacts of poverty that manifest in classrooms every single day.
That’s why donations like this matter so much. This is an example of how the private sector can play a powerful role in helping level the playing field for children across Montgomery County. Wiping out school lunch debt is an investment in kids. It provides dignity and helps them focus on learning instead of worrying about whether they’ll eat.
We must also be honest about the broader context. We’re still living with the consequences of racist policies and practices that were created long ago. Even though those policies may be gone, their impacts are not. That’s why I’ve spent years fighting for things like a higher minimum wage—to help create more stable living situations for families.
Last week, I signed a bill giving families facing eviction more time—extending notice requirements from six days to fourteen days. That might sound small, but for a family on the brink, a little extra time can mean the difference between staying housed and losing their home.
This donation works the same way. It can help a family pay a bill. It can ease stress around finances. It can reduce the tension that so often spills over onto kids.
As we head into the New Year, this support gives families a fresh start. In Montgomery County, we don’t turn our backs on children or punish them for circumstances beyond their control. Thank you for the generosity shown by DARCARS. I’d also like to thank MCPS and the chambers of commerce in Rockville, Silver Spring, and elsewhere that help companies like this find a compassionate way to elevate our community.
HERO Act Enacted to Help Family Members of Fallen Firefighters
On Monday, I signed the HERO Act into law. The Expedited Bill 32-25 is an adjustment to the way families of firefighters who die in the line of duty receive benefits. Unfortunately, by no fault of her own, we saw that it took months for the widow of Master Firefighter Christopher Higgins to receive his pension. This new law will cut that wait time down to a matter of weeks. She sat by my side as we made this bill a law.
Another change prompted by this law allows the County to compensate families as if their lost loved one had served 20 years with Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service (MCFRS). I hope that this extension of benefits is never needed, but in the case of the unthinkable, families deserve peace of mind.
Our role as a government is to support firefighters financially and ensure we put them in the best position to remain safe. Emotional support is just as crucial, and this law helps show our community that we recognize the dangers firefighters face and the strain it puts on their families. I want to thank Councilmembers Evan Glass and Sydney Katz for sponsoring this bill.
Firefighters are some of our most dedicated public servants. The HERO Act demonstrates our support for them and acknowledges the personal risks they take to keep our community safe.
Melanie Diaz Family Donation
Potential life-saving changes are now in place to help protect renters who live in high-rise buildings. The Tenant Protection and Notification law, which took effect in October 2024, helps improve fire safety awareness by requiring landlords to disclose fire safety information when a lease is signed. Tenants are informed about the building's emergency plans, the status of the sprinkler system, insurance details, and maintenance information. Families also learn how to contact a building representative in the event of an emergency.
Last Saturday, the family of Melanie Diaz donated new smoke hoods to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. The hoods provide respiratory protection for firefighters in smoke-filled environments, giving them more time to rescue people inside buildings without harming and risking their respiratory systems. They are being added to all our fire response trucks.
Melanie was 25 years old when she died in a high-rise fire in Silver Spring in 2023. The smoke alarms on her floor did not go off, and the building was not required to have sprinklers in the stairwells and hallways. Her family said they wanted an impact that would be a testament to Melanie, a person who was always seeking to help others.
Her death inspired a new statewide law to better protect tenants and ensure the implementation of automatic sprinkler regulations for high-rises by 2033. Another aspect of Maryland’s law classifies fire alarms as a type of protective measure that tenants should be expected to have at no cost to them.
Melanie's parents, Cesar Diaz and Zuleika Madera, shared their grief and testified in Annapolis as they pushed for these changes on their daughter's behalf. Their generosity continues with this donation, and I would like to thank them for their determination to enact change. These protections will carry her name forward and hopefully prevent other families from losing a loved one.
Federal Government Actions on Local Jurisdictions During Holiday Weeks
I hope by now everyone is aware of the federal administration’s efforts to undermine the help and services we provide to end and prevent homelessness.
In a small bit of good news, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would have ended funding that helps move unhoused people to permanent supportive housing. More than 20 states, including Maryland, sued HUD over its proposed changes. However, late last week, the federal government changed the requirements for funding requests again, further complicating the situation and forcing the courts once again to decide if their actions are within the scope of the law.
This attempted policy change is cruel, counterproductive, and frustrating. As I’ve outlined before, we have a system in place that is working to keep people off the streets, and these changes would disrupt our work. There is a lack of compassion in the way that federal regulators are trying to victimize those in need of assistance. Meanwhile, as many people enjoy their holiday, federal regulators in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are attempting to quietly revise how vaccines and their safety are discussed. Last week, HHS leaders suggested that the U.S. would adopt a vaccine schedule similar to Denmark's. This would have been a major overhaul to vaccines and could have been disastrous. Those plans now seem like they’ve been scrapped, and the vaccine schedule remains in place for now. Still, it is concerning that years of careful, evidence-based vaccine policy could be disregarded through an opaque process that overlooks the significant differences between the U.S. and Denmark. It also disregards the real consequences for children and families.
The federal Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines is scheduled to meet virtually on Monday, Dec. 29, with virtually no public notice and very little information shared with the public. Its decisions can affect vaccine policy nationwide. The public, as well as state and local health departments, are being kept in the dark about what will be discussed or decided. Advocates for public health are sounding the alarm and urging the commission to share more information about its plans. In a recent article in Scientific American, public health experts say the move will endanger children.
Planning a meeting that affects the health and safety of vaccines between holidays, without meaningful disclosure and without accountability, undermines public trust and raises serious concerns about whether decisions are being made deliberately out of public view. This is not how evidence-based public health policy should be conducted.
Please know that we will continue to monitor and comment on these deeply concerning actions by the Trump administration.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
