Government & Politics

CASA’s political arm revs up independent expenditure campaign for its MoCo endorsed candidates

Also: An endorsement switch in county executive race, at-large council candidates win support, new fundraising totals in Dist. 19 delegate contest

Louis Peck

Ceoli Jacoby

April 30, 2026 11:05 a.m. | Updated: April 30, 2026 11:06 a.m.

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With less than two months until the June 23 primary election, the political arm of the immigrant advocacy group We Are CASA has begun funneling money into an independent expenditure campaign to boost a half-dozen Montgomery County candidates it has endorsed.

The CASA in Action political action committee (PAC) has spent about $117,000 since the end of March on behalf of County Councilmember Will Jawando’s (D-At-large) bid for county executive, as well as to aid five of its favored candidates for council seats — including term-limited County Executive Marc Elrich (D).

Jawando and fellow Councilmembers Evan Glass (At-large) and Andrew Friedson (Dist. 1), along with Silver Spring project manager Mithun Banerjee and Gaithersburg businessman Peter James, are seeking the Democratic nomination for county executive. Esther Wells, a certified public accountant from Montgomery Village, and Friendship Heights Attorney Shelly Skolnick are seeking the Republican nomination. 

More than 90% of what CASA in Action has spent to date on the Montgomery candidates — more than $107,000 — was poured into the independent expenditure effort late last week, according to reports filed with the State Board of Elections.

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Besides Elrich, the CASA in Action PAC is spending to elect three other candidates running for council at-large nominations in a 17-way Democratic primary: incumbent Laurie-Anne Sayles of Gaithersburg, who is seeking a second term, plus attorney Fatmata Barrie and Navy veteran and LGBTQ activist Josie Caballero, both of Silver Spring.

Also benefiting from the independent expenditure campaign is Rockville City Councilmember Izola Shaw, one of three candidates for the Democratic nomination for the open District 3 council seat.

So far, CASA in Action has spent just more than $49,100 on behalf of Shaw — the same amount it has allocated to the benefit of Jawando. The four council at large candidates were funded at about $4,700 apiece by CASA in Action — which reported using much of the money to pay campaign staff, with most of the rest going for advertising and graphic design.

CASA in Action is using a so-called “super PAC.” The growth of super PACs at the federal and state level was fueled by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC, that found a number of prior strictures on campaign financing to be unconstitutional.

Former Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez switches her endorsement in the county executive contest

A prominent Montgomery County political figure who endorsed Jawando for county executive is now backing Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large) for the top job.

In a Monday newsletter from the Glass campaign, Ana Sol Gutierrez — a longtime Chevy Chase resident who was the first Latina elected to public office in both Montgomery County and Maryland — said she “made a mistake” in endorsing Jawando last year.

“In a time when trust in government is fragile, Evan’s transparency, hard work, and steady leadership is exactly what Montgomery County needs,” Gutierrez wrote in the newsletter.

“We need a County Executive who has a proven track record based on good management of people and institutions,” she continued. “I believe that Evan will not waiver in the face of pressure — he will put people before politics and understands that progress must include everyone.”

In a Wednesday email to Bethesda Today, Gutierrez confirmed the endorsement switch but said she was not available to discuss the reasons behind her decision this week. Jawando told Bethesda Today on Wednesday that he had no comment on Gutierrez’s decision.

As of Thursday morning, Gutierrez was still listed on Jawando’s official list of endorsements. Her name and image appear alongside the quote “Will Jawando has the courage, the experience, and the heart to lead Montgomery County forward.”

Goldberg lands endorsements of mayors of county’s two largest municipalities in council at-large bid

Former Montgomery Democratic Central Committee Chair Scott Goldberg, making his second run for a County Council at-large seat, has landed the endorsements of the elected heads of the county’s two largest municipalities: Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton.

Ashman — himself a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the open District 3 seat on the County Council — and Ashton are among a list of 17 elected city and town officials on a list of endorsements recently released by Goldberg.

The list includes two other local chief executives — Kensington Mayor Tracy Furman and Washington Grove Mayor John Compton.

Goldberg’s list of endorsements also includes four of five members of the Gaithersburg City Council: Neil Harris, Lisa Henderson, Yamil Hernandez and Rob Wu.

The only Gaithersburg council member not on Goldberg’s endorsement list is Jim McNulty — who, like Goldberg, is among 17 Democrats vying for four nominations to an at-large council seat. (Harris and Wu also have endorsed McNulty for another of the available at-large council slots, as has Ashman.)

Rounding out the recent list of the local elected officials backing Goldberg are:

Three of the Rockville City Council’s six members: Barry Jackson, Marissa Valeri and Adam Van Grack;

Three of the Kensington Town Council’s four members: Conor Crimmins, Nate Engle and Stuart Sparker; and

Three of the five Poolesville Town Commissioners: President Jim Brown and Commissioners Brian Bupp and Alan Hobbs.

Goldberg first ran for an at-large seat on the council in 2022, finishing fifth in an eight-way primary contest for the four available nominations.

Democratic Central Committee member Johnson holds fundraising edge in late-breaking Dist. 19 delegate race

The Democratic primary contest in legislative District 19 got off to a late start this year after one of the three incumbents, four-term Del. Bonnie Cullison, announced her retirement in late January — with five candidates to succeed her emerging in the weeks prior to the Feb. 24 filing deadline. No Republicans are running.

Most of the late-filing candidates didn’t have to file campaign finance reports with the State Board of Elections until last week —with the filings showing one of the contenders, Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee member Sebastian Johnson with a leg up on his rivals.

Johnson, a Glenmont resident, reported raising nearly $49,600 between late February and early April, leaving him with $42,440 in his campaign account with less than two months to go until the June 23 primary.

Johnson raised about three times as much as Alec Stone of Silver Spring, who is making his second run for a District 19 House of Delegates seat 20 years after narrowly losing his first bid in 2006. Stone, who has headed health care nonprofit groups in recent years, raised nearly $16,050 and reported just more than $15,200 in the bank as of earlier this month.

Two other District 19 candidates filed campaign finance reports as of last week’s deadline: Sunil Dasgupta of Rockville, a political science professor at the Universities at Shady Grove, reported raising just more than$8,300, with about $5,300 in his campaign account. Dasgupta ran for a county Board of Education at-large seat in 2020.

A political newcomer, Gabriel Sorrel of Gaithersburg, reported raising $715, with $693 remaining in his campaign account.

Also in the primary race is Christa Tichy of Aspen Hill, who along with Johnson currently represents District 19 on the county Democratic Central Committee. Because she was seeking a County Council seat before switching to the House of Delegates race, Tichy filed a financial report in mid-January — showing her raising about $30,800, with virtually all of it still on hand at that point.

The latest campaign finance filings came as Stone announced endorsements from Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman and County Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large).

Meanwhile, Johnson reported a $100 contribution from another council member, Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), and received a $50 donation from Matt Post, a Democratic candidate for an open delegate seat in District 14. Johnson and Post served as the student member of the county Board of Education while in high school.

Stone reported a $3,000 loan from a family member, while Johnson loaned himself $3,500. Johnson’s campaign got a boost from receiving the maximum allowed contribution for an individual under Maryland law — $6,000 — from four out-of-state donors, including three residing in Virginia and one in Tennessee.

District 19 stretches from Silver Spring to Gaithersburg, and includes communities such as Glenmont, Aspen Hill, Leisure World and Derwood, plus a portion of Rockville.

The candidates vying to succeed Cullison will appear at a forum sponsored by the Leisure World Democratic Club at 7 p.m. May 7 in Leisure World Clubhouse I in Silver Spring. Also included will be incumbent Dels. Charlotte Crutchfield of Silver Spring and Vaughn Stewart of Rockville, who are running to retain their seats in the three-member district.

Stewart and Crutchfield, both first elected in 2018, reported in January raising $93,350 and $42,300, respectively, since being re-elected in 2022. Stewart had $78,700 remaining in his campaign treasury, as compared to $17,500 for Crutchfield, at the beginning of this year.

Crutchfield and Stewart, along with District 19 Sen. Ben Kramer (D), are seeking re-election as a slate. So far, they have opted not to add one of the non-incumbents taking aim at Cullison’s open seat to that slate.

Louis Peck, a contributing editor for Bethesda Magazine, can be reached at lou.peck@bethesdamagazine.com.  

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine