Beyond the Poster: Gaithersburg’s Council Race Revealed

By Andrew Messick

The Gaithersburg city council race is heating up with the scheduled first debate already to go and the candidates set at six with two incumbents and one second-time candidate. There is a spread of moderate to progressive and various ideas new and old.

Candidates

The six candidates, in the same order as on the city website are Councilmember Neil Harris, Yamil Hernández, Daniel Lukomsky, Shanika Whitehurst, Omodamola Williams, and Councilmember Robert T. Wu.

The election is set for November 7, 2023, and the applications for mail-in ballots have already been sent. There is one open seat made by the appointment of now Delegate Ryan Spiegel and it is an open race. The two incumbents have both proven to be at least somewhat good at fundraising and are avid campaigners who do not appear to be taking things for granted but in a city race like this, anything can happen. This is a non-partisan race, and each candidate has their own strengths and weaknesses. So let us look at the candidates and what they have to offer for the next four years.

Neil Harris

The first candidate on the list is current Councilmember, Neil Harris. The 68-year-old council member has been serving since 2014 and is a well-respected individual in the area. He currently works as a senior program manager at Amazon. When asked what his proudest moment is so far, he responded via text, “As a member of the Gaithersburg city council, everything we do is a team effort, it took a full team effort by the council and senior staff to develop the plan to redevelop Lakeforest mall into a vibrant community with housing, shops, restaurants, and jobs. But speaking for my personal role, I am very proud of the work I did to lead the charge on school capacity.” The councilmember then went on to explain how a group of neighbors had gotten together to bring forth a complaint about overcrowding in schools and how that led to his efforts to get Harriet Tubman Elementary School opened and add others to reduce class sizes. When asked what he hopes to accomplish if he is reelected the first thing, he brought up was the redevelopment of Lakeforrest mall and turning what was once a thriving area when he first moved to Gaithersburg, back into a thriving community through the redevelopment of the area modeled after places like Downtown Crown and the Kentlands. He also mentioned that he has been the point person on transportation and is known to be the one leading the charge on the council for funding for and then expanding roadways, bike paths, transit, and pedestrian paths, with a focus on improving safety. Finally, when asked about the cost of housing being far higher than the national average here in Gaithersburg and what the best path forward is for the city that is exempt from the county Rent Stabilization bill, the Councilmember boiled it down to increasing supply. The city is a desirable place to live and according to the incumbent, the city has been lacking in the infrastructure to keep up with the demand that comes with living in a desirable area in the hope of bringing down the overall cost of living.

Yamil Hernandez

The next candidate is CBO and co-founder of a pharmaceutical company Yamil Hernandez. Mr Hernandez is a Kentlands resident with his wife and beloved dog. This is Mr. Hernandez’s second try at becoming a City Council member after falling just short in his first attempt 2 years ago, now is looking to be the candidate who takes the open seat. A veteran of the US Coast Guard who was born in the US territory of Puerto Rico and moved to the US as a child learning English from Sesame Street. When asked what he thinks the city does well, the first thing Mr. Hernandez brought up was public works and used an example of a bus stop shelter that needed its roof repaired and a timely manner that got fixed. Asked what he believed Gaithersburg could improve on, he immediately brought up diversity and his belief that diverse voices are not only wanted but needed perspective and should have a seat at the table “regardless of ethnicity or background.” Transportation is a big issue in Gaithersburg and to answer the third question, Mr. Hernandez gave three top actions he would take “1) Advocate/Influence/Prod/Nag/Cajole/etc. our Federal, State, and County leaders towards Gaithersburg transportation priorities; 2) Follow best practices for multi-modal transportation options within the city-controlled roads and transitways; and 3) Increase focus on Pedestrian Safety.” Mr. Hernandez, through his candidate newsletter called “Yamil’s Yodels,” has announced endorsements from D17 State Senator Cheryl Kagan, the entire D17 House Delegation, and others. That and a viral launch video using Legos and 3D technology and over 100k views. If there is a frontrunner candidate who is not an incumbent, it is Yamil Hernandez.

Daniel Lukomsky

Next is nonprofit worker Daniel Lukomsky. A relative newcomer to city politics overall but seems to be a strong campaigner who may surprise some folks. Asked what he believes the city does well, Mr. Lukomsky said “Violent crime is low, local police and city services are really there to serve and improve the quality of life.” When following up on what the city can improve upon, he mentioned an uptick in property crime and vehicle break-ins and that many of these go unreported according to the candidate. He goes on to say that there needs to be public information campaigns due to police designing routes based on crime spikes and so these all need to be reported properly. Offering a solution for combating root causes of crime to include “providing alternatives to younger people- they need to have access to job training programs and have enough recreational venues.” This answer leads to the last question about how to respond to the increase in hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community, the Jewish community, and more. Mentioning two recent instances in schools, Mr. Lokomsky then added “We need educational campaigns and programs at local schools, the earlier the better. Promoting understanding of differences and tolerance from elementary school on will change attitudes.” Speaking on the general trend of hate crimes in Montgomery County, he adds “The response should include people, local government, police, and businesses. I think the county has created a counsel for racial equity and social justice, and provided additional police training, which is great steps and needs to be continued.” summarizing what he believes, Mr. Lukomsky ends with Needless to say, violent hate crime needs to be swiftly prosecuted to provide deterrence.”

Shanika Whitehurst

Next is former EPA worker Shanika Whitehurst. Ms. Whitehurst has lived in Gaithersburg for the last 5 years and is running with environmental policy front and center as an environmental scientist and advocate. The first question each candidate had to answer was what Gaithersburg does well in their eyes. Ms. Whitehurst had this to say, “I think the city government as a whole functions very well. Under Tanisha’s leadership (City Manager), I feel that all departments are empowered to do their jobs and work through any issues residents may have.” She believes that functionality in city government is one of the most important functions a government has, and that Gaithersburg is run particularly well. The thing she believes that the city needs to improve on the most is the availability of affordable housing. Going on to say the city lacks a stock of affordable housing that “first time homebuyers can afford.” When asked a public safety question the first thing that was bought up was a study to determine “where the most pedestrian deaths, hate crimes, or other issues are occurring.” In her words, this would be then used to analyze the best path forward bringing together the councilmembers and the other agencies involved to craft long term solutions.

Omodamola “Omo” Williams

The youngest candidate currently running is Omodamola “Omo” Williams. A community organizer with the Montgomery County Racial Equity Network and a board member for Young People for Progress. Mr. Williams has lived in the city of Gaithersburg with his two daughters for the last 5 years. He believes Gaithersburg is “very family friendly where you will see people jogging, biking, a playground almost every corner, and a well diverse community.” as the things Gaithersburg does well. Then he goes on to say that Gaithersburg can always improve and do things in a better way such as “pedestrian safety, secured bike lanes, shelter at every bus stop, incentives for business to thrive, more automated traffic devices applied, and better access to resources for the community.” Mr. Williams was heavily involved with the Rent Stabilization fight and worked to advocate for renters. When asked what his plans were to make Gaithersburg better for the roughly 50% renters in the city, he had this to say, “Rent stabilization must be approved for the city. We need better inspectors to hold those accountable for any deplorable living conditions tenants may face. We also need an established tenant association for each community.” Mr. Williams is specifically running on Rent stabilization and working to improve public safety by advocating for preventative measures that move enforcement away from police as much as possible while acknowledging the necessity of a police force overall. Mr. Williams is a first-time candidate and made a point of the fact he chose to collect the 180 signatures he received on paper because in his words he wanted to “prove he spoke with each and every person who signed.”

Robert T. Wu

Last on the list, but certainly not least, is current city council member Robert T. Wu. Councilmember Wu is running for his third term in office after being one of the top vote-getters in his last race and having lived in Gaithersburg for the last 11 years with his wife and two kids. Councilmember Wu is a US Army reserve JAG officer as well as currently senior counsel for Northrop Grumman. When asked what he was most proud of after 8 years in office, Councilmember Wu had this to say “It has been my honor to serve the residents of Gaithersburg for the past eight years.  In that time, I have focused on priorities such as pedestrian/bicycle safety, strengthening the City’s commitment to environmental stewardship, and balancing vibrant growth in new and existing communities, with preserving the lifestyle that we know and love here in Gaithersburg.” He mentioned that he was also very proud to have worked to open the long-awaited NIST path along Quince Orchard Road and “moving forward with plans for a mixed-use path along Quince Orchard Boulevard and are advancing projects for a connection from Olde Towne to Shady Grove Metro Station, as well as paths around NIST.” As well as pointed out that he was particularly proud of passing legislation that changed the law to allow bicyclists to ride on sidewalks to improve safety while infrastructure was improved for alternate modes of transportation. When asked what he will prioritize in his next term, if he is given one, said, “I very much want to see the City work to address pedestrian/bicycle safety more holistically.” He went on to add “Every injury or death on our streets is like a dagger through my heart.” The councilmember by all accounts should win reelection barring a surprise.

Next City Council

The next city council will have many challenges to face and continue with the Lakeforest mall project, olde town redevelopment, transportation issues, and high housing costs. With one open seat and a list of quality candidates, this could end with a few surprises. The election will be held on November 7 and each resident will receive an application for a mail-in ballot or vote in person at Bohrer Park.

DISCLAIMER: Andrew Messick is working with 3 of these campaigns in a mostly unpaid role: Yamil Hernandez, Rob Wu, and Omodamola Williams. He sent questions to each of the candidates and compiled this article from their replies and publicly available information.

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