The Montgomery County Council named three finalists Monday to fill the seat of at-large council member Gabe Albornoz, who is leaving to head the county’s recreation department.

Former school board member Shebra Evans, dentist and member of the Asian American Political Alliance Henry Lee and former Silver Spring regional services director Reemberto Rodriquez will be publicly interviewed during the council’s Dec. 2 meeting.

The council will choose one of the three to fill the last year of Albornoz’s term at its Dec. 9 meeting. The person’s term will begin after they are sworn in on a date yet to be announced.

Albornoz announced last month that he will resign Dec. 1.His term would have ended in December 2026, along with the other 10 council members’.

Evans, who lives in Silver Spring, was a member of the county school board from 2016 through 2024. She served two consecutive terms as the board president and twice as vice president. She was chair of the board’s Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee. She was also the treasurer for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education and held multiple roles with Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

Lee, from Derwood, owns and operates Twin Dentistry in Olney. In addition to his membership in the Asian American Political Alliance, he serves on the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Dentistry. He briefly served on the county school board in 2004 after he was appointed to fill a vacancy, but left after a few months, citing the time commitment and a need to spend more time with his children.

Rodriguez, of Silver Spring, was the Silver Spring regional services director for the county from 2009 until his retirement in 2021. He worked there on housing, business growth and other issues. He is a contractor with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland.

The council chose finalists for in-person interviews from a pool of 67 candidates during closed sessions earlier this month.

“These interviews will enable the Council to find the best fit for this caretaker role which is focused on budgetary, public policy and legislative work as well as understanding the diverse needs of more than one million residents,” Council President Kate Stewart said in a statement Monday.

Candidates who are running for a council seat in 2026 were not eligible for the opening. This will “eliminate any unfair advantage,” Stewart said.

According to the county’s charter and code, a vacancy occurring on or after Dec. 1 the year before the election is filled with an appointee. Had Albornoz set his resignation date for even one day prior, a special election would have been required.