Gaithersburg election results: Harris, Hernandez, Wu on track to City Council victory

Yamil Hernandez

Tuesday was a good day to be an incumbent on the Gaithersburg City Council, and a great day to be Yamil Hernandez. Councilmembers Neil Harris and Robert Wu appear to have won reelection in unofficial City election results. Hernandez has edged out Shanika Whitehurst to potentially claim the third Council seat. Those top four candidates were in a very close race, while Daniel Lukomsky and Omodamola Williams were further back with triple digit vote totals, compared to the potential winners' 2000+ votes each. Like the City of Rockville's election yesterday, turnout was very low at 12.45%.

Hernandez, who garnered attention with a very creative online video ad campaign, tweeted that "I'm having a hard time putting into text and finding the right words to express the range of emotions I feel right now" this morning. "Gratitude* - To Gaithersburg residents for entrusting me with your vote, and this opportunity to serve you. Add in a big thank you to all the volunteers, elected officials, and supporters who guided, counseled, and worked tirelessly on our campaign." 

Maryland Governor Wes Moore visits AstraZeneca lab in Montgomery County

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) traveled to Gaithersburg to visit the AstraZeneca laboratory, and to make a big announcement. AstraZeneca is one of the largest biotech employers in Montgomery County and Maryland, and is located in the I-270 life sciences corridor. Moore chose the location to announce a new partnership between the Maryland Tech Council's Biohub Maryland initiative and Ireland's National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training. Ireland is one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical manufacturing countries in the world, and the agreement makes Biohub Maryland NIBRT's exclusive partner in the Washington, D.C. region.

Moore toured the complex, and greeted AstraZeneca employees and biotech leaders. At one point, the governor donned a white lab coat and safety glasses to enter an actual laboratory in the facility. “Today, we’re not just here to celebrate this new BioHub partnership. We’re here to celebrate a new direction for Maryland’s economy and workforce,” Moore said. “We are ready to win. We are ready to grow and we are ready to show the entire country what we’re made of.”

Photos courtesy Maryland Governor's office

Akira Ramen & Izakaya opening Tuesday in Gaithersburg

Akira Ramen & Izakaya will open its newest Montgomery County location tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 105 Paramount Park Drive at the Spectrum development in Gaithersburg. It will be located next to Ela Mesa Taste of Greece, and is convenient to the Watkins Mill interchange of I-270. Akira Ramen has an existing location in the county in Rockville.

Black People's March on the White House this Saturday, Nov. 4 in Washington, D.C.

The 15th annual Black People's March on the White House will be held tomorrow, Saturday, November 4, 2023 in Washington, D.C. It will begin with a rally at Malcolm X Park (Meridian Hill Park) at 16th Street and W Street N.W. at 11:00 AM. Attendees will then march to toward the White House, and a second rally at Lafayette Square Park. A pre-march event - where signs will be made, chants practiced, and you will have a chance to meet some of Saturday's speakers - will be held tonight, Friday, November 3 at 6:00 PM at the Thurgood Marshall Center at 1816 12th Street NW Washington, DC 20009.

Speakers will include Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, President of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition; broadcaster Garland Nixon; African People's Socialist Party Chair Omali Yeshitela; WPFW-FM Program Director Katea Stitt; Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition Chair Mwezi Odom; artist Yulong Jones of the International Women's Alliance; John McCarthy of the Center for Political Innovation; and a recorded message from Mumia Abu-Jamal. Cultural performances will feature Luci Murphy, Shirmina Geneva, and the Malcolm X Drummers. 

This year's march is being co-sponsored by the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, and the Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Fightback Committee. Registration for the march is available online. 

Dan Cox, endorsed by Donald Trump in 2022, enters Maryland 6th District race for U.S. Congress

Dan Cox, alongside wife Valerie,
announces his run for the open Congressional
seat in Maryland's 6th District

After several months of deliberation, former Maryland state delegate Dan Cox has officially entered the Republican race for U.S. Congress in the 6th Congressional District. Cox enters the race with the highest statewide name recognition of any candidate in any party in the race, thanks to his 2022 run for governor, and his high-profile legal action against former governor Larry Hogan's pandemic restrictions and lockdown. The Frederick attorney gained national attention when his gubernatorial campaign was endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Cox's entry closely follows the announcement by Democrat April McLain Delaney that she, too, is seeking the seat being vacated by David Trone, who is running for U.S. Senate. Delaney's husband, John, held the seat before Trone. April Delaney has had her own lengthy career in the federal and nonprofit sectors. Cox and Delaney immediately became the biggest names in the race upon announcing their candidacies. 

"We as a nation are facing challenges like other times in American history," Cox said in a speech announcing his entry into the race. "The decisions made in the halls of Washington, D.C. will genuinely impact our individual freedom, our families, businesses, our jobs, and schools." In his announcement, Cox highlighted several issues he will focus on in his campaign: immigration, the fentanyl overdose epidemic, America's more than $30 trillion in debt, and protecting Constitutional freedoms. Acknowledging the wealth the Delaneys have brought to past campaigns, Cox said he expects to compete against "well funded opponents."

The race may be closer than it will look on the campaign account ledgers. Delaney will have plenty of campaign cash, but the haul also comes with John Delaney's baggage. Many in Maryland's 6th District had the experience of their homes or farms being foreclosed on by the bank during the "Great Recession" of 2008. They'll likely want to know more about John Delaney's ties to Aeon Financial, a debt-collecting firm with an "extra-vicious business model," that aggressively foreclosed on homeowners during that financial crisis. Over 1000 of those foreclosures were in Maryland. Delaney's CapitalSource bank loaned Aeon $30 million in 2009, but the congressman denied he was aware of the expenditure - - despite being the CEO of the company at the time.

After its initial probe into Aeon and Delaney's connection to it, The Washington Post - whose editorial board strongly supported John Delaney over the years - mysteriously avoided the topic when covering Delaney's White House run in 2019. Cox could find success reminding voters of the Aeon scandal and Forbes magazine's branding of John Delaney as a "loan shark" in the largely working-and-middle-class 6th District. For that matter, so might some of April Delaney's Democratic primary opponents. 

Will Trump again endorse Cox in this race? That will be more of a question for the GOP primary, as former Washington County state delegate Neil Parrott makes his third run for Trone's seat, after coming surprisingly close to defeating the Total Wine founder in the 2022 Congressional race.

Strong-arm robbery in Montgomery Village

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a strong-arm robbery in Montgomery Village yesterday afternoon, November 1, 2023. The robbery was reported on the street in the 19200 block of Watkins Mill Road at 4:47 PM Wednesday. That's about a block away from the Montgomery Village Center.

Akira Ramen & Izakaya update at the Spectrum in Gaithersburg (Photos)

Here's a look at the advanced progress on the interior fit-out of Akira Ramen & Izakaya, which will be located at 105 Paramount Park Drive at the Spectrum development in Gaithersburg. The sign is up and lit over the storefront. This is next to Ela Mesa Taste of Greece. Akira has an existing location further down MD 355 in Rockville. They are now hiring staff for this new location.