Karla Silvestre, a member of Montgomery County’s school board, is running for an at-large seat on the County Council in 2026.

Her announcement Tuesday makes her the ninth candidate to enter the at-large race.

Three of the four at-large seats on the council will be open contests in the May election, and will include all 11 Council seats.

“Our county faces great challenges with strained resources and now federal actions disrupting our workforce and our community,” Silvestre said in a press release. “I want to put my proven experience to work.”

Advertise with us

A Democrat, Silvestre was first elected to the Board of Education in 2018 and was reelected in 2022, serving as its president in 2023 and 2024. She chairs its Fiscal Management Committee and works as Montgomery College’s director of Community Engagement.

Silvestre, a Silver Spring resident, has been in the national spotlight recently, testifying before a U.S. House hearing on antisemitism in schools. She was also a defendant in Mahmoud v. Taylor, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents of Montgomery County Public Schools students could opt their children out of books and lessons involving LGBTQIA+ characters and themes.

Read More

Montgomery County hotels supported by government funding must allow unions, council says

Albornoz says he won’t seek third term on Montgomery County Council

Poll: Why people love Montgomery County — and what they hate about it, too

At-large council member Gabe Albornoz announced Monday he will not seek a third term in the 2026 election. At-large council members Evan Glass and Will Jawando are both running in May’s Democratic primary for county executive. At-large council member Laurie-Ann Sayles is running for reelection.

County Executive Marc Elrich, who is term-limited in his current job, is also running for an at-large seat.

Other contenders include Fatmata Barrie, an attorney; Josie Caballero, an LGBTQIA+ policy advocate and Navy veteran; Scott Goldberg, a real estate attorney and former Montgomery County Democratic Party chair; Jeremiah Pope, chief of staff for Del. Charlotte Crutchfield, a Democrat who represents District 19; Steve Solomon, a podcaster and radio producer; and Christa Tichy, a member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and a master electrician.

No one has formally entered the Republican primary for an at-large seat. All 11 seats on the council are up for election.