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David Blair, the businessman and philanthropist who finished just 77 votes out of the money in the 2018 Democratic primary for Montgomery County executive, announced Wednesday morning that he plans to try again in 2022.
While Blair鈥檚 announcement wasn鈥檛 surprising 鈥� he has聽聽and civic and charitable activity in the county and state since the last election 鈥� the timing and manner of the announcement was: A slick聽聽and accompanying statement released at 7 a.m.
In the video, produced by a leading national Democratic media firm, SKDK, Blair promises to bring needed change to Montgomery County and recharge the county鈥檚 economy to bring new economic opportunities to residents.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 recover from COVID with the same thinking and same failed leadership,鈥� he says. 鈥溾�t鈥檚 time to think differently, act differently and lead differently.鈥�
Blair in the ad also touts his business skills 鈥� he started and ran a health care services company 鈥� and suggests he can make county spending more targeted and efficient.
鈥淲e lack vision and energy and our county is financially careless,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have a $6 billion budget. Are you getting your money鈥檚 worth?鈥�
Blair鈥檚 ad features testimonials from two educators and a community activist, as well as from his wife, Mikel Blair.
With his bid for executive in the June 2022 primary, Blair is once again on a collision course with incumbent Marc B. Elrich (D), a progressive warhorse who won 37,532 votes, or 29%, in the six-way Democratic primary compared to 37,455 for Blair.
Elrich only recently said he plans to seek a second term, which has been dominated by the multiple COVID-19 crises over the past year. He told the District 18 Democratic Club recently that he鈥檚 hoping to pursue some of his top campaign priorities 鈥� including more affordable housing, greater environmental protections and bus rapid transit 鈥� when the pandemic is over.
Although he spent a dozen years on the county council, Elrich has often found himself at odds with councilmembers since becoming executive, and was also tripped up by ethics problems surrounding his first chief administrative officer, Andrew Kleine. Kleine鈥檚 successor as CAO, former state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., has better relations with other political leaders in the county and internal operations appear to have stabilized to a degree.
贰濒谤颈肠丑听聽Scott Peterson, a seasoned government relations pro, to help him promote his agenda and disseminate his message.
Blair largely self-funded his campaign in 2018 and is likely to dig deep again in 2022, though he is better known this time and kicking off his campaign far earlier than he did last election cycle. Blair also benefited from support from聽The Washington Post, which is likely to be favorably inclined to his candidacy again.
He closed his 2018 campaign account and recently opened a new one, David Blair for Montgomery.
Elrich participated in the county鈥檚 public financing system for political candidates in 2018 and plans to do so again in 2022. Through mid-January, he had not raised a dime since the 2018 election.
It is unclear whether the Montgomery County executive election will remain a two-man contest. County Councilmember Hans Riemer (D), who is term limited in 2022, is also publicly contemplating the race, and others could follow. It seems inconceivable that in a progressive county in 2022, the Democratic primary wouldn鈥檛 feature a woman or a candidate of color.
箩办耻谤迟锄蔼尘补谤测濒补苍诲尘补迟迟别谤蝉.辞谤驳听
(Disclosure: The Blair Family Foundation is a financial supporter of Maryland Matters.)
