County Recreation Director Running To Be At-Large Member of Council
Gabe Albornoz | Submitted
Gabe Albornoz has entered the crowded at-large race for Montgomery County Council, becoming the second member of County Executive Ike Leggett’s cabinet to enter the race.
Albornoz, 41, lives in Kensington and is the county’s recreation director.
“I love the entire county. Because of my day job I’ve been able to build relationships and I can leverage those relationships to truly represent the entire county,” Albornoz said.
He gave three reasons for running:
- As a lifelong county resident, he said he wants to do his part to serve. “And I believe elective office puts you in a position to create sustainable change,” he said.
- The County Council is a unique legislative body that has connections to the planning board, the Montgomery County Board of Education and Montgomery College, he said. Those connections can build bridges and connect communities.
- The County Council has an opportunity to maintain quality of life and enhance it, he said.
Albornoz, who chaired the county’s Democratic Party for two years, said he has lived across the county, in Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, Bethesda and now Kensington.
“I’m familiar with the cultures of those communities,” he said. He said he’s gotten to know key civic leaders across the county.
The nine-member council has five district seats and four at-large seats. Fourteen Democrats have filed to run in the at-large race.
Cherri Branson, the county’s purchasing director, is also running for an at-large seat on the council. She has not filed her candidacy with the Maryland State Elections Board, according to the board’s online records.
Former Kensington mayor Peter Fosselman, who serves as the White Oak planning coordinator, has announced a run for the council’s District 1 seat. He has not filed.
Albornoz has filed his candidacy, as well as paperwork that he’s using the public election fund to finance his campaign. The fund limits the size of individual contributions. If candidates collect a minimum number of contributions, the fund will provide a match.
The fund has advantages to a first-time candidate, Albornoz said.
“Logistically for me it helps to get to know more county residents and have them feel more connected to the process,” he said.
You really should put in your headline that it is about the Dem Primary candidates. It takes quite a read to see that only Dems are listed in your article so the headline should be clarified.