With Councilmember Andrew Friedson running for Montgomery County Executive, the District 1 council seat will soon be open. Three Democrats have filed to run in the district that includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac.
Those candidates are Drew Morrison, Debbie Spielberg and Julie Yang. Reardon Sullivan runs unopposed on the Republican ticket.
Friedson told MCM, “I haven’t endorsed a candidate and am not planning to at this time.”
Drew Morrison
Morrison is a senior policy advisor with the Maryland Department of Transportation. He has served as a legislative senior aide to former Councilmember Roger Berliner.
“I think that fundamentally our community is facing pretty unprecedented challenges,” he said during a recent interview. He listed such issues as federal cuts, the economy, transparency, affordability, childcare and energy.
He promised to be transparent and work to better communicate and educate residents on issues and projects. “It isn’t always clear to people how decisions are made. I am a big believer that a councilmember should take the time – in person and online – to ask what they think, to explain what the different tradeoffs are,” he said.
Morrison, 34, and his wife are renters. One of his priorities would be to make home ownership more affordable.
“It’s really become quite a problem for young people who want to stay here,” Morrison said.
The county’s rent stabilization law hasn’t achieved what it was supposed to do, according to Morrison. There has been “a big reduction in housing production” since its adoption. “If it’s affecting supply, and it’s not seeming to have a big effect on evictions, which was one of its goals,” something else needs to be done, he said.
He also criticized the county’s Office of Landlord Tenant Affairs, saying it has not been effective, especially in the area of code enforcement.
Right now, the council has “the dual challenge of rebuilding good paying jobs” lost during the federal reductions and keeping things affordable, he said.
If elected he would work to “grow good paying jobs here. Schools need to better train for jobs that are available.”
In his current job, he said he has learned to build alliances and coalitions together to support initiatives.
The residents he speaks with while campaigning “are looking for a councilmember who approaches these issues with urgency. I think there is a feeling that the status quo just isn’t cutting it, and that really is the kind of leadership I want to bring.”
Debbie Spielberg
Spielberg is a special assistant to Executive Marc Elrich, working “on virtually every issue depending on what needs help.” That includes potholes and stop signs and trying to shut down the incinerator, she said. She was “part of most of the deliberations” for the county budget just adopted.
She decided to run because “I felt like I could really make a difference on the council with my years of experience.” She added, “I think experience matters, and I think integrity matters, and I think connections to the community matter, and I have all of those.”
She vowed to take the concerns and issues that residents have and “translate that into something that works, and I feel I know how to do that.”
She would not have voted for the current budget, questioning the council’s decision to eliminate the $692 tax credit for homeowners. While she admits the county needs more revenues, “I don’t think it was the best approach to put it on the backs of homeowners.”
She said she was “uncomfortable” with councilmembers who kept saying no to new taxes and yes to spending without identifying cuts.
Although not opposed to a progressive income tax rate, she criticized what the council did, noting, “Pretty much everyone will get the lower rate.” The county could lose $100 million in revenue under the adopted budget, she noted.
If elected, “I want to work on tree preservation and tree canopy, issues around trash disposal, I love trash. I love talking about trash,” she said. Other issues she considers high priority are support for school, the need to bring in jobs and strict rules for data centers.
She called District 1 “in many ways, the economic driver of the county.”
She said that the number of meetings on a subject should not be a measure of success. What happens in those meetings and what changes were made as a result of those meetings are what’s important to Spielberg.
“We owe them [residents] real governance, because otherwise, if you just govern with slogans, it makes people cynical about government, and I try to be sincere and honest about what is doable and what’s not and where our impact can be.”
Julie Yang
Yang has been a Montgomery County Public School Board of Education member since 2023. She served one term as its president in 2025. Yang worked at MCPS for 11 years, including jobs in pre-k and as a college career navigator. She also has served on several nonprofit boards, including The Arc of Montgomery County.
When asked why she wanted to sit on council, Yang said, “I thought about it carefully. One of the things I noticed, education is the foundation” to improving the area. The council needs someone who understands the schools.
“I am an immigrant,” she said noting she came to Hawaii in 1992 with “two suitcases and a lot of determination.” She received a master’s degree in early education and began a career as a pre-k teacher.
“I was told if you took the elevator up, you should send it back down for the next person,” she said. “I got opportunities in this country, and I want to help others.”
The county needs more revenue, which would help fund the school system, she said. “We do need to say Montgomery County is open for business.” She favors easing permitting rules and increasing financing to bring businesses to the county. Businesses need to feel wanted and believe the county would be a partner, she said.
“We create a lot of talent in Montgomery County, but we are rarely connecting them to jobs in Montgomery County,” she said. “Local residents should get the jobs.”
Education that provides certifications and accreditation programs would enable more young people to find jobs in the county, she said. As would more affordable housing.
“We are at a risk of losing our workforce if we don’t have housing for our workers,” she said. Yang favors more housing options, including those help senior adults and young people to remain in the county.
She would like to see the county incentivize building on “land that is already in use but underutilized.” She pointed to older shopping centers with large parking lots. Those lots could be used to add housing, she said, questioning, “Could we find partners to revitalize them?”
Yang noted, “We are never going to cut our way to prosperity. We have to grow our way to prosperity.”
Yang would strive to “keep everyone safe, build trust and focus on the local economy….my goal is to build community and opportunity.”
