Longtime Mayor of Gaithersburg Jud Ashman will run for County Council against Rockville City Councilmember Izola Shaw in the June 2026 Democratic Primary to represent District 3, which includes the cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville and Washington Grove.
A committee by the name of Friends of Jud Ashman submitted a public financing committee registration as he announced his campaign.
Ashman was re-elected to his fourth mayoral term Nov. 4 and was sworn in Nov. 18.
Founder of the Gaithersburg Book Festival and owner of the digital marketing firm Web Mobile Image, Ashman is also a board member at Montgomery Community Media.
Both Ashman and Shaw seek to replace Sidney Katz, also a former Gaithersburg Mayor, who has reached his term limit for serving as a councilmember for District 3.
