With start of primary voting looming, cavalcade of candidate forums speeds up
Here’s a look at the MoCo political schedule for the coming weeks
By
Louis PeckApril 6, 2026 11:44 a.m.
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It began last fall—more than eight months prior to the June primary election—and accelerated into the new year.
And now, with the advent of spring—and with the start of mail-in balloting little more than a month away for the June 23 primary election–the cavalcade of Montgomery County candidate forums that accompany the quadrennial elections for state and local office has reached full bloom.
More than a dozen forums are scheduled around the county from this week through early May in which candidates for the open county executive seat—as well as those seeking at-large and district seats on the County Council—will appear on the same stage to field voters’ questions.
Heading into May, voters can hear from candidates for “courthouse” offices—such as Circuit Court judge and sheriff—and those running in at least one of the contested primaries for the county’s General Assembly seats.
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Mail ballots begin going out to voters who requested them in mid-May—30 to 45 days prior to the primary; early in-person voting follows on June 11 and concludes a week later.
Here is a schedule of upcoming candidate forums:
County Executive
April 15: The Citizens Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights–which focuses on land use and infrastructure issues in 18 communities in southwest Montgomery—will hold a forum from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Westland Middle School cafeteria at 5511 Massachusetts Ave. in Bethesda.
All seven candidates who have filed to run for executive are expected to be there: On the Democratic side, contenders for the party’s general election nomination include County Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (Dist. 1), Evan Glass and Will Jawando (both At-large), along with project manager Mithun Banerjee and small business owner Peter James. Republicans vying for their party’s nod are attorney Shelly Skolnick, a frequent candidate for office in the past, and certified public accountant Esther James, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League.
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April 18: A forum entitled “The State of Black Montgomery,” sponsored by the Black Collective and the Association of Black Democrats of Montgomery County, will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the Montgomery College Theater Arts Building at 51 Mannakee St. in Rockville. Forum organizers did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s queries about which county executive candidates would attend.
April 19: Another group comprised of Black county residents—the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Montgomery County, which represents members of Black fraternities and sororities—is sponsoring a candidate forum from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Colesville United Methodist Church at 52 Randolph Road in Silver Spring. It was not immediately clear which county executive candidates would attend.
April 20: The third county executive forum in as many days—sponsored by the Friends of White Oak—will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the White Oak Community Recreation Center at 1700 April Lane in Silver Spring.
Entitled “Reimagining White Oak,” the forum will focus on the 280-acre, mixed-use development underway in eastern Montgomery County. The five Democratic executive candidates and the two Republican contenders have confirmed their participation.
April 29: All of the Democratic and Republican candidates will participate in a forum sponsored by the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce at the KID Museum at 3 Bethesda Metro Center in downtown Bethesda. Attendance at the session—which is expected to focus on business climate, taxes and economic development—is limited to members of the two sponsoring organizations.
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May 3: The five Democrats running for executive will participate in a forum sponsored by the Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club from 3 to 5 p.m. at Gaithersburg High Schoo1 at 101 Education Blvd.
County Council
Tuesday: The District 16 Democratic Club will sponsor a virtual forum with the three candidates for the open District 1 Bethesda/Chevy Chase-based council seat being given up by Friedson in his bid for executive. The Democratic contenders include former County Council aide and state transportation official Drew Morrison; Debbie Spielberg, a long-time aide to County Executive Marc Elrich; and county Board of Education member Julie Yang. Access the 7 p.m. session here.
Tuesday: A forum featuring some of the 17 Democratic candidates for four County Council at-large seats will be held via Zoom starting at 7:30 a.m. under the sponsorship of the Bethesda Chey Chase Democratic Breakfast Club. To obtain a Zoom link, email: keller.johnw@gmail.com.
Participants in this session include: Radwan Chowhdury, chair of the East County Citizens Advisory Board; local party activist Hamza Khan; emergency room physician and Air Force veteran Prabu Selvam; and University of Maryland student Muhammad Arif Wali, organizer of a sports club for immigrant youth.
The club’s series of at-large council candidate forums kicked off last week with Matt Losak, executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance; Gaithersburg City Councilmember Jim McNulty; and radio host and podcaster Steve Solomon, who also ran for County Council in 2018 and 2022.
Tuesday: The District 16 Democratic Club will sponsor a 7 p.m. virtual forum with the three candidates for the open District 1 Bethesda/Chevy Chase-based council seat being given up by Friedson in his bid for executive. The Democratic contenders include former County Council aide and state transportation official Drew Morrison; Debbie Spielberg, a long-time aide to County Executive Marc Elrich; and county Board of Education member Julie Yang. Access the session here.
Thursday: The Leisure World Democratic Club will hold the first of two forums, each with a half-dozen of the County Council at-large candidates. It takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Leisure World Clubhouse I at 3700 Rossmoor Blvd. in Silver Spring and will also be streamed via Zoom.
Participants at this forum, in addition to Selvam and Solomon, include Navy veteran and LGBTQ activist Josie Caballero; term-limited County Executive Elrich, who served three terms on the council before winning his current post; former Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Scott Goldberg; and County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles, the only incumbent seeking re-election to an at-large seat this year.
April 16: The third of four scheduled Bethesda Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club sessions with the at-large council candidates includes Caballero as well as attorney and former council aide Fatmata Barrie and county Board of Education member Karla Silvestre. The forum begins at 7:30 a.m. via Zoom. To obtain a Zoom link, email: keller.johnw@gmail.com.
April 16: Later in the day, the Leisure World Democratic Club holds the second of its at-large candidate forums from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Leisure World Clubhouse I at 3700 Rossmoor Blvd. in Silver Spring. This session includes General Assembly aide Jeremiah Pope, who sought a district council seat four years ago, as well as Barrie, Khan, Losak, McNulty and Silvestre.
April 19: The District 1 council candidates–Democrats Morrison, Spielberg and Yang plus former Montgomery County Republican Party Chair Reardon Sullivan–appear at a forum from 3 to 5 p.m. sponsored by the Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights at the Westland Middle School Cafeteria at 5511 Massachusetts Ave. in Bethesda.
April 27: The last of four council at-large forums sponsored by the Bethesda Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club features Elrich, Goldberg, Pope and Vicki Vergagni—a community activist who sought a district council seat in 2022. It starts at 7:30 a.m. via Zoom. To obtain a Zoom link, email: keller.johnw@gmail.com.
‘Courthouse’ Officers
May 11: The District 18 Breakfast Club hosts at 7:30 a.m. the two candidates for sheriff, both Democrats—incumbent Maxwell Uy and challenger Will Milam, a former Prince George’s County chief assistant sheriff —in a usually sleepy race that has turned acrimonious this year. Milam and Uy will field questions at the Parkway Deli at 8317 Grubb Road in Silver Spring.
May 27: Four sitting Circuit Court judges–Sharon Burrell, Victor Del Pino, James Dietrich and Catherine McQueen—are seeking election to 15-year terms after first ascending to the bench via gubernatorial appointment, They face challenger Marylin Pierre, a Rockville attorney making her fifth try at toppling a sitting judge. The five appear from 7 to 8:30 p.m. before the Leisure World Democratic Club at the Leisure World Clubhouse I at 3700 Rossmoor Blvd. in Silver Spring.
Maryland General Assembly
May 7: A forum sponsored by the Leisure World Democratic Club will include District 19 Dels. Charlotte Crutchfield and Vaughn Stewart, both seeking re-election, along with three candidates taking aim at the seat left open by the retirement of Del. Bonnie Cullison: Sunil Dasgupta, a political science professor at The Universities at Shady Grove, as well as Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee members Sebastian Johnson and Christa Tichy. The session takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Leisure World Clubhouse I at 3700 Rossmoor Blvd. in Silver Spring.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine