Long time Democrat and county council member Nancy Floreen has begun her independent campaign for county executive against Democrat Marc Elrich and Republican Robin Ficker. Her candidacy was announced after Elrich won the Democratic primary in early July. Her filing came in the wake of an extended battle between Elrich and businessman David Blair, a race that tested the power of the county’s new public financing system.
This November’s general election is set to put public financing to the test again. Floreen, who began her campaign after the public financing filing deadline, is the only candidate out of the three who is not participating in public financing, instead drawing support from the newly formed “County Above Party” super PAC.
As reported by Bethesda Magazine, this super PAC has been primarily funded by real estate and development companies with a financial interest in Montgomery County. This PAC is not bound by the $6,000 limits on campaign contributions, for it is using its funds to promote Floreen independently of her campaign.
“I’ve had to put together a campaign at warp speed,” Floreen said in a recent interview. “My opponents have qualified for over a million dollars in public tax dollars for their campaigns. I’m not lacking it, but it makes it hard for me to compete.”
Floreen recently made headlines when her campaign returned $18,000 worth of contributions after a complaint that they seemed to have been made by the same business entity under different names. When asked for comment, Floreen stated that her campaign had no knowledge of the impropriety of the donations. Her campaign has publicly stated that it is fully cooperating with the state Board of Elections on the matter.
As an independent, Floreen’s campaign faces an uphill battle. The county executive’s office in Montgomery County has been held by a Democrat since the election of Charles Gilchrist in 1978. However, many county Democrats are worried that Floreen’s candidacy may pull enough votes away from Elrich to result in an independent or Republican victory.
The policies put in place by the newly elected executive this fall will undoubtedly have a significant impact on Montgomery County residents. One of the most hotly debated issues has been land use and real estate development. Long time colleagues on the county council, Floreen and Elrich have been at odds over the amount of power developers and corporations should hold in the county, and the role of the county council in supporting business.
At the forefront of these debates is the possibility that Amazon may establish their second headquarters in Montgomery County. Although Elrich has vowed to honor the agreements made between Governor Larry Hogan, current County Executive Ike Leggett, and Amazon executives, Bethesda Magazine reports that Floreen has publically implied that Amazon would be more reluctant to open their headquarters in Montgomery County if Elrich were to be elected.
“It’s been a great privilege to be posted as one of the top 20 choices, and that’s sort of a gold seal of approval in terms of what we’ve done so far in Montgomery county, in terms of making this a place where employers want to locate,” Floreen commented.
In a historically Democratic area, an Independent candidate like Floreen is at a disadvantage, but this race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in the history of the position in Montgomery County.
Article by Moco Student staff writer Elliot Davey of Wheaton High School