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County Executive, Montgomery County

Vote for
1
Term
4 years
Candidates
2
Election
Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The county executive runs county government day to day, proposes the county budget and appoints department heads.

CandidatesCompare by issue

Taxes & budget

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Supports a higher tax rate on the wealthiest residents
    • Pledges review of corporate subsidies and developer incentives

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    • Proposes reversing the 4.7% property tax rate increase
    • Proposes cutting the county income tax rate to 2.25%

Public safety

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Supports police transparency and accountability measures
    • Supports addressing root causes of crime

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    • Supports restoring school resource officers in MCPS
    • Pledges to fully staff the county police department

Education

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Pledges to prioritize education and childcare in the budget

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    • Proposes scaling back Blueprint for Maryland's Future mandates

Housing

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Supports affordable housing near transit and renter protections

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    • Supports weakening rent control and keeping single-family zoning

Environment & parks

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Supports a two-year moratorium on new data centers

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    No documented position found.

Health & human services

  • Will JawandoDemocratic

    • Proposes expanding mental health, food and workforce assistance

  • Esther WellsRepublican

    • Proposes phasing out the Working Families Income Supplement
    • Proposes requiring job training and counseling for social services recipients

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 6 issues covered in this race.