Acevero alone: Lawmakers again give cold shoulder to outspoken District 39 delegate

Democrat running for re-election says he's not in office to 'be liked'

June 18, 2026 2:15 p.m. | Updated: June 18, 2026 2:19 p.m.

Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery) speaks during a November rally outside the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had a hearing in court. Photo credit: William J. Ford/Maryland Matters

The “Team 39” slate in In Montgomery County’s 39th Legislative District includes most of the incumbent lawmakers from the district. But for the second consecutive election season, the team intentionally left one of its players on the sidelines.

Sen. Nancy King and Dels. Greg Wims and Lesley Lopez, all Democrats, added Gaithersburg City Councilmember Robert Wu to their ticket, bypassing Del. Gabriel Acevero (D), with whom they have long had a frayed relationship.

King, the Senate majority leader, said she wanted a slate of lawmakers who can work well together, but that is a challenge with Acevero.

“I find that it is so much easier to get things done in Annapolis and bring home as much as we can by having a team that works well together,” King said recently. “We haven’t really had that for the last several years because we have one member that really didn’t care much for any of us and it really just made it hard to do anything as a team.”

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The slight is nothing new for Acevero, first elected in 2018 and kept off the slate in 2022. He has managed to finish first or second in the race for one of three seats in each of the primary and general elections when he’s run.

“I don’t work for Nancy, Lesley or Greg. I work for the people of District 39,” said Acevero, saying he would rather run on his legislative accomplishments than as part of a slate. “I am not going to be distracted. The focus is the people … I’m not here to be liked. I’m here to do a job.”

Acevero, a self-described Democrat Socialist, is a former union organizer and field representative. Since taking office, he has advocated for legislation targeting criminal justice reform and divesting from Israel amid its war with Hamas, sometimes clashing with his more moderate colleagues.

But former Del. Kirill Reznik, who served from 2007 to 2023 when he resigned to take a job with Gov. Wes Moore’s administration, said Acevero typically worked independently from the rest of the delegation. He was part of the 2022 slate that excluded Acevero.

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“The main goal was to replace him with another candidate who we thought was going to be a better teammate and a more effective legislator,” Reznik said.

King said she does not feel that Acevero has been particularly productive since taking office, arguing that he has not passed bills or secured bond funding at the same level as other members of the delegation.

In the 2026 legislative session, Acevero was listed as a sponsor or co-sponsor on 25 pieces of enacted legislation. Lopez was listed on 54 enacted measures and Wims was on 41. As for bond money, Acevero is listed as a sponsor on initiatives totaling $480,000, with Wims and Lopez securing $865,000 and $700,000, respectively.

When asked about King’s comments, Acevero pointed to his role in the passage of Anton’s Law in 2021, which aims to improve police transparency, and the Equal Access to Public Services Act in 2025, which aims to improve access to public services for people with limited English fluency.

“I’m running on my record,” he said in an interview. “I think my record is strong enough for the people of District 39 to see through their lies, but also to see the kind of a people-powered campaign that we’re running.”

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Acevero said he has worked with all his colleagues in the General Assembly toward passing a Democratic agenda that supports the people in the district, which includes Gaithersburg, Germantown and Montgomery Village. He notes that he has secured key endorsements from Moore and from House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), with whom Acevero says he has a “great relationship.”

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery). Photo credit: Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters

Wu and King both said they did not form the slate to run specifically against any candidate, including Acevero. Instead, they emphasized that their goal is to be elected with people they know who will work well together. The slate candidates said they have collaborated on several initiatives in the past.

“We’re not running against anybody,” Wu said. “We’re running for the district and for the work that we think can be done better with relationships that matter.”

While Wu and King said there are financial and practical benefits to running on a slate, several of the other candidates running in District 39 say believe candidates should run on their own achievements and values.

George Lluberes, who is running for the House in District 39, said slates can make it difficult for voters to accurately evaluate candidates and can limit less-established politicians’ ability to take office.

Amar Mukunda, a first-time candidate who is challenging King in the Democratic primary for Senate, questions the idea that the slate was formed to promote collaboration.

“I think the fact that our incumbent senator hasn’t been able to get those personal issues behind us to have a delegation that works together and they’ve now tried this twice, is just a failure of leadership,” Mukunda said in an interview. “I think we all have to figure out how we are going to work together going forward.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine