Tax Woes for Embattled Democrats Worsen

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In: Community Feedback, Community Reports, Local Government, Lt. Governor, MCDCC, Pieter Friedrich

Court records show two committee members owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens to the IRS

ROCKVILLE, MD – September 26, 2023 – By Pieter Friedrich

It appears that Montgomery County’s Democratic Party just can’t catch a break. Barely a month after Moderately MoCo first broke the story that the party’s local governing body, MCDCC, was facing financial ruin over the mishandling of income tax withholding payments, local court records now reveal that two party leaders have failed to pay the IRS taxes.

One member owes well over six figures in back taxes, interest, and fees.

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The senior of the two political figures, Marjorie Goldman, is no stranger to political intrigue. Goldman was publicly accused by former political candidate Amy Frieder of North Potomac of orchestrating political appointments to the state legislature. In November of 2021, Frieder alleged on Twitter/X and in an interview with MoCo360.com that Goldman, then Vice Chair of the MCDCC, had — along with other party leaders — essentially assured the appointment of then party chair Linda Foley by failing to provide due notice of upcoming candidate forums just days before a formal vote by the MCDCC. Goldman denied the allegations.

Marjorie Goldman owes approximately $158,960 in back taxes, interest and fees to the IRS, public records show. Another MCDCC member owes nearly $100,000, per court records. Goldman is said to be a close ally of Saman Qadeer Ahmad, the controversial chairwoman of the MCDCC. At least one MCDCC member has called on Qadeer Ahmad to resign due to allegations of harassment and bullying.

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The MCDCC is empowered by the state constitution to recommend whom the governor should appoint to a legislative vacancy in the Maryland General Assembly whenever a Democrat resigns. The governor rarely overrides such a recommendation. According to MoCo360, nearly half of Montgomery County’s state elected officials are appointed rather than elected by the voters. The practice has been roundly criticized by activists and even party leaders, yet remains in place. Statistics show that such appointments are essentially gifts of lifetime incumbency, circumventing the county’s 1.1 million residents at the ballot box. 

The party committee has been hit with a seemingly never-ending cascade of negative news reporting ranging from local blogs to national and even international news outlets. Much of the coverage focuses on MCDCC Chairwoman Saman Qadeer Ahmad and her relationship with Lt. Governor Aruna Miller. Miller is known to have close ties to the extremist Hindutva movement. Ahmad has been publicly accused of helping to cover up those ties, and intimidating critics of the Lieutenant Governor. To date, The Intercept, Huffington Post, Salon.com, Baltimore Sun, MoCo360 and The Independent of London have reported extensively about the issue.

The MCDCC is suffering from a serious decline in campaign contributions over the past decade, with many fearing that this year will be its worst showing in recent memory. Central committee members report that fundraising attempts are met with hostility by elected officials and party donors alike over concerns that MCDCC’s ethics problems remain unresolved. Citing her poor ethics record, at least one elected official and one major party donor respectively have confirmed to Moderately MoCo that they will not contribute to the party as long as Saman Qadeer Ahmad remains the chair. The MCDCC has its annual gala on October 22 in North Bethesda, but time will tell if that event yields the desired results.

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