Olde Towne Plaza in Gaithersburg will become Sidney A. Katz Plaza to honor the lifelong Gaithersburg resident who has been in public service for 50 years.
“I truly am honored and I truly am humbled by this,” County Councilmember Sidney Katz said Friday at the plaza at E. Diamond and S. Summit avenues.
The sign unveiled Friday currently reads “Sidney Katz Plaza,” but it will be modified to include his middle initial.
Katz, a Gaithersburg High School graduate, started his public service on the Gaithersburg Planning Commission from 1976-78. He was on the Gaithersburg City Council from 1978 until he was appointed mayor in 1998 after the passing of the previous mayor. He was then elected to the office and served in the position until 2014, when he was elected to the county council. Now, Katz is term-limited on the council and cannot run for re-election this year.
His family’s legacy in Gaithersburg goes back more than a century. His grandparents came to the U.S. from Lithuania and opened Wolfson’s Department Store in 1918. He went on to own the store until it closed in 2013. Now, the plaza named for Katz is close to where Wolfson’s Department Store once was. There is also a clock tower nearby that the city dedicated to Katz’ parents in 2019.
During the ceremony, Katz reflected on his family’s journey in Gaithersburg, since his grandparents came to the U.S.
“I think that we all need to remember that my grandparents came here for the same reason that people are coming here today and that’s to be able to prosper, that’s to be able to be a part of a community, that’s to be respected in a community and respect others in the community,” Katz emphasized.
The event Friday acknowledged “Gaithersburg’s once favorite son as now, one of our favorite fathers,” according to Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman, who won the democratic primary to fill Katz’s District 3 council seat on June 23. Ashman is a member of MCM’s Board of Directors.
While being only briefly interrupted by a roaring railroad train, officials reflected on Katz’ decades of influence in Gaithersburg and Montgomery County.
“Through my life here in Gaithersburg, Sidney has been bigger than life,” said Lisa Henderson, a city councilmember.
County Councilmember Kate Stewart remarked on Katz’s steady and calm presence helped his colleagues us get through tough times, like the COVID-19 pandemic
“But I also want to say, it’s that, and Sidney’s not ever afraid to say the truth and to call out injustice or just plain things that are wrong and I appreciate that as well because sometimes that can be very difficult to do and he has always done that,” Stewart said.
Under Katz’ leadership, said Ashman, Gaithersburg experienced a transformation with new walkable mixed-use communities like Kentlands, Downtown Crown and Spectrum Town Center.
State legislators were also in attendance to present a citation from the Senate of Maryland in honor of Katz.
“He’s calm, he’s thoughtful, he’s humble and he kind of always had the right strategy,” said State Sen. Cheryl Kagan.
“We see Gaithersburg now — very diverse. But it’s because of Sidney’s leadership. Back — we’re talking about in elementary school through middle and through high school — before he became elected, bringing all of us together,” said Del. Greg Wims, who was a third-grade classmate of Katz.
