Hours after decidedly winning the race for county executive of Maryland’s largest county, Will Jawando announced the team who will be guiding him into office, including former Obama and Biden-era officials.
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — whom Jawando worked with in the Obama White House — and former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young are among those serving on his transition steering committee. The group also features community leaders ranging from current and former Montgomery County Council members to a pastor and mayor emeritus.
“It will be unlike any other in my memory and maybe in county history,” Jawando said of the transition at a news conference. “We’re going to ask questions of our leaders and our everyday residents to think about big ideas of who we can be and what we can do.”
He will succeed Marc Elrich, who served as county executive for two terms and is poised to return to the county council after Tuesday’s elections.
Jawando, who will serve as a county council member for a few more weeks, minted the transition as “Our Moment Montgomery.” He said he has heard from residents about what they want, such as creating a government that works for them and being able to live in safe and affordable neighborhoods. “So, that’s the work,” he said.
Alongside his transition team, Jawando has selected co-chairs for 11 policy committees who hail from nonprofits, civic groups, congregations and businesses. Together, they will help construct a 100-day action plan to be released on Dec. 8, a day after he takes office, he said.
Among other goals, ahead of them lies shaping a budget and choosing the county’s next police chief.
Jawando said the blue wave that swept the country in Tuesday’s midterms gives largely Democratic areas, such as Montgomery County, a partner in Congress, too.
Jawando encouraged residents to get involved in the transition and participate in community workshops he plans to host starting the week of Nov. 30.
“We’re going to work every day to earn your trust,” Jawando said.
He described the members of his steering committee as a “very impressive group.”
As part of the Obama White House, Jawando said he worked alongside Jean-Pierre, and their offices were just a few doors down from each other. Jean-Pierre lives in the county and is a “proud parent of MCPS students,” Jawando said.
He described Young as a “dear friend.” As Biden’s budget director, she played a crucial role in reaching a deal with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling, among other issues.
Jawando delivered his remarks Wednesday from the Grey Courthouse in Rockville, which he announced will be the new location of the county executive’s office.
The site was where William Gibbs, a Black teacher and principal in Montgomery County represented by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, argued for teachers to be paid equally, regardless of race. The case helped lay the groundwork for the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, barring segregation by race in public schools.
Jawando, a civil rights attorney, said the recently restored building will serve as a community gathering space, open to all.
“That’s the kind of county executive I want to be,” Jawando said.
The post Jawando taps ex-White House officials as he moves into Montgomery County’s top job appeared first on Washington Post.
