Dear Friends,
This week, I conclude my annual Top 10 video, and I’m sharing photos from the past year of some of the many events and milestones. I hope you enjoy this look back.
I joined County Executives and other colleagues from around the state for 2025 opening day of the Maryland General Assembly.
The annual MLK Day of Service effort brought out hundreds of volunteers throughout the County.
Montgomery County’s Commission for Women hosted its 45th Annual Women’s Legislative Briefing at The Universities at Shady Grove, which featured a panel on women who inspire change through innovative ideas.
In January, Maryland Governor Wes Moore visited the Wonders Early Learning Center in Chevy Chase to discuss the State’s investment in education and highlighted the need to make child care a priority.
In February, I joined many people to help celebrate Strathmore’s 20th anniversary in Montgomery County. Since its opening the venue has welcomed more than 2 million visitors and 5,000 artists to events including indoor and outdoor concerts, arts exhibitions, festivals, and lectures.
This year, we renamed the Executive Office Building in honor of former County Executive Ike Leggett to pay tribute to his extraordinary legacy and dedication to serving the people of Montgomery County. The official renaming ceremony gathered hundreds of Ike’s closest friends, coworkers, and colleagues from across the State to pay tribute and help us honor this living legend.
Montgomery County helped launch Daejeon’s (our sister city in South Korea) new U.S. Global Business Center in Rockville. This is an example of how our work to grow those relationships through the BIO Korea and Smart City conferences, as well as visits with government and university leaders, will continue to be mutually beneficial.
In March, I visited with children in Gaithersburg to celebrate Read Across America Day. It’s something I do yearly because I enjoy sharing stories with kids who participate through our Montgomery County Public Libraries.
This was an exciting year in White Oak. Significant progress was made on the VIVA White Oak development, and, in March, we welcomed a new Amazon Fresh grocery store.
I regularly visit businesses throughout the year. This picture is from my trip to the Germantown Innovation Center, where I met with a small business looking to grow with the County’s help.
This spring, I held 6 ‘Community Conversations’ about the Capital Improvements Program Budget. The forums provided an opportunity for residents and stakeholders to contribute to the budget making process for long-term County improvements.
In April, we hosted one of several job fairs designed to assist federal workers displaced by program cuts and layoffs. It helped set the table for Mobilize Montgomery.
In April, I signed Bill 6-25 into law, which helped protect renters and allowed the County to better enforce housing and safety code violations.
I delivered my State of the County speech in April, which focused on how our goals from health and transportation to education and the climate are tied together to make Montgomery County a better and more equitable place for everyone. You can watch that speech on the County’s YouTube page.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Tree Montgomery program. Since 2015, more than 18,000 shade trees have been planted around the County.
Our community welcomed back the Scotland AME Zion church after a terrible flood destroyed the old building in 2019. Scotland was one of the numerous post-Civil War black communities in the County, but only a handful still remain.
The Ride On bus transit system is the second-largest in the region, and one of the busiest, operating 7 days a week on over 80 routes. Starting in July, we made all rides within Montgomery County free. This year, we marked Ride On’s 50th anniversary.
May marked the opening of AstraZeneca’s new $300 million advanced manufacturing facility in Rockville. This facility will produce CAR-T cell therapies, cutting-edge treatments that are transforming how we fight cancer and will save countless lives.
I joined Howard County Executive Calvin Ball to announce a new transit partnership between the counties to forge regional transportation connections along US Route 29 into Columbia starting in 2026.
I joined Howard County Executive Calvin Ball to announce a new transit partnership between the counties to forge regional transportation connections along US Route 29 into Columbia starting in 2026.
In May, we marked an important milestone with the signing of the Sgt. Patrick Kepp Act by Maryland Governor Wes Moore, which will strengthen public safety on our roads across the State. It is sad that it took a tragic incident like the devastating injuries to Montgomery County Police Sgt. Kepp to prompt this legislation. Sgt. Kepp lost both legs after being hit by a speeding driver he was trying to stop; he was out of his vehicle, deploying stop sticks, when he was hit. This new law provides real consequences for people who ignore the rules of the road by speeding excessively and putting other drivers in danger.
In May, we joined WMATA and Maryland leaders to announce the selection of Hines as the master developer for the North Bethesda Metro Station site—a 13.9-acre North Bethesda joint development adjacent to the rail station and future home of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing.
On June 2, the new 6th District Police Station in Gaithersburg opened, serving Montgomery Village and other Upcounty communities. Moving the Central Traffic Unit into the building allows us to improve service to the community.
The County’s commitment to our LGBTQ+ community continued this year with the raising of the Pride flag at the Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville.
I was invited to be part of the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts 25th anniversary celebration in June. The Collegiate Baseball League team plays its homes games at Blair High School. I am pleased that I can still throw a pretty good fastball from the pitcher’s mound.
This was a big deal. We marked a major milestone in our efforts to tackle the affordable housing crisis with the opening of Allium Place in Wheaton. It features 168 apartments and 27 homes for sale that help families who would struggle to afford similar options anywhere else in the County.
This year marked the debut of the County’s Mobile Health Clinic, offering health care and dental services to communities in need.
Montgomery County was home to more than 20 National Night Out events in August, allowing the community to get to know the men and women serving our community through law enforcement.
I hope you got a chance to watch my discussion about Viva White Oak during August’s Bisnow event. It is the largest private sector investment ever in East County.
This September, we drew another strong crowd for the annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival, headlined this year by the legendary Perservation Hall Jazz Band. It was an incredible show.
In September, Montgomery County welcomed the Maryland Tech Council Bio Innovation Conference to promote growth and innovation in Maryland's life sciences community.
Montgomery County made a $10 million investment in early education with the expansion of Head Start to provide early childhood education and care for the youngest children – infants through 3-year-olds.
In October, Silver Spring saw the opening of Park Montgomery West, a project that preserved and developed 217 affordable apartments along the forthcoming Purple Line.
The federal government shutdown brought hardship upon many in our community. This roundtable discussion about the impact of the shutdown on food assistance programs was held at Manna and featured Rep. Jamie Raskin and Rep. April McLain Delaney.
I was proud to stand with advocates for the homeless community and decry the cuts planned by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, which still threaten to take funding from proven programs that keep people off the street.
The Montgomery County History Conference in November prepared for the 250th anniversary of the County. Ralph Buglass, a Montgomery County native and instructor associated with Johns Hopkins and Montgomery College, presented Montgomery Montage: A 250-Year Tapestry of Time, People and Place. As a history major, I understand the importance of knowing our history to find the best path forward.
In the fall, we held 12 ‘Community Conversations’ focused on the county’s operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July. The meeting pictured above was translated for the in-person audience into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese to help our residents.
We saw a significant increase in the need for food this year, and for Thanksgiving, I joined volunteers in handing out 850 food kits prepared by Nourish Bethesda.
We debuted our ‘250’ logo at the Thanksgiving Parade in Silver Spring. We are spreading the word about the County’s anniversary event on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026.
The East County Cold Storage facility opened in December to help reduce food waste and provide nonprofits with a flexible, shared-use storage facility that can help save donated products from being thrown away.
As 2026 begins, remember that plastic bags are generally prohibited at most stores. If you are offered a bag, it will be paper and cost you 10 cents. The change is part of our effort to keep single-use plastics out of our waste stream, our waterways, and our sewer lines.
I hope this gives you some sense of the past year. As I say at the end of my top ten video, this year: we honored our history; we advocated for residents; we passed significant legislation; we enhanced public safety; we advanced climate solutions; we improved transit; we supported our families; we boosted our economy; we built more affordable housing; and we upheld our principles despite federal pressures. Montgomery County is a place where people persevere, keep striving, and believe in a better future.
I wish you all a peaceful, prosperous and just New Year.
As 2026 begins, remember that plastic bags are generally prohibited at most stores. If you are offered a bag, it will be paper and cost you 10 cents. The change is part of our effort to keep single-use plastics out of our waste stream, our waterways, and our sewer lines.
I hope this gives you some sense of the past year. As I say at the end of my top ten video, this year: we honored our history; we advocated for residents; we passed significant legislation; we enhanced public safety; we advanced climate solutions; we improved transit; we supported our families; we boosted our economy; we built more affordable housing; and we upheld our principles despite federal pressures. Montgomery County is a place where people persevere, keep striving, and believe in a better future.
I wish you all a peaceful, prosperous and just New Year.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
Marc Elrich
County Executive
