Montgomery County executive candidates and County Council colleagues Will Jawando and Andrew Friedson differed sharply in a forum Wednesday over how the county should control rising rent and housing costs, which residents have cited as their top concerns.

The Democrats’ divergence on the issue also highlighted their dueling stances on the role that for-profit developers should play in the county’s growth and development.

In a notable moment, as the candidates discussed the looming consequences of recent federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other programs that low-income families rely on, Jawando said he plans to push for the county to raise income taxes for its highest earners.

“If you make $1 million, you’re going to get a $70,000 tax cut because someone lost Medicaid,” he said. “We have to grow our economy, but we also have to look at tax policy at a time when you have this massive transfer of wealth in the wrong direction.”

Wednesday’s debate, hosted by the Montgomery County Renters Alliance and held at Montgomery Community Media’s studio in Derwood, was open to candidates who’ve received at least $250,000 in campaign donations or received funding through the county’s public campaign financing program.

The third qualifying candidate, Democratic Councilmember Evan Glass, was unable to attend due to illness.

Of particular concern during the debate was the county’s roughly 2-year-old law capping annual rent increases. The law applies to properties that are at least 23 years old.

Jawando, the County Council vice president, sees a need for wholesale reform of a housing and rental system in which he says some profit-driven developers take advantage of low-income families.

“The system we have is completely broken,” Jawando said. “It’s an absolute joke that rent stabilization is getting in the way of those exorbitant profits. We have to change the whole conversation.”

But Friedson, who represents District 1, said the county lacks the time and resources to implement such a change. He said the rent stabilization law — which he voted against when the council passed it in 2023 — is also driving development away and hindering the push to lower rent costs.

“The data does not reflect that people want to build here right now. That’s just an undeniable fact,” Friedson said. “People are not investing in building housing in Montgomery County.”

Jawando countered that Montgomery County remains an attractive place for development and investment.

The candidates’ opinions on the rent stabilization law also provided insight into the role they see for-profit developers playing in the county’s growth and in its political conversations.

“The reason that developers are the No. 1 contributors to campaigns and have the loudest voice in the room is because they’re driving the conversation,” Jawando said. “If that were producing housing and we were all doing great, maybe I’d be OK with it. But it’s not.”

Jawando says he’s insulating himself from developer influence by using public financing, and he has inferred that Friedson is relying on their donations to fund his campaign. Jawando is using the county’s public campaign financing program. To qualify, candidates can receive money only from individual donors in amounts totaling $500 or less. The program provides a sliding scale of matching contributions from a county government fund.

Jawando has raised at least $68,501, according to state records, and received $214,229 in matching funds on Sept. 8.

Friedson, who has raised at least $1.5 million, is not taking part in the public campaign financing program and said the county cannot afford to adopt an “us versus them dynamic of the renters versus the developers.”

“We’re never going to solve our problem if that becomes the prevailing narrative,” he said.

This article has been updated.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the total amount of funds Will Jawando has received through the county’s public campaign financing program and to accurately reflect that the Jawando campaign has received those funds.