Dear Friends and Neighbors,

My name is Chris Wilhelm, and I'm a Four Corners, Silver Spring native; I attended elementary school, high school, undergraduate and graduate school - and now I teach - all on University Blvd.

In 2018, voters in Montgomery County will select a new County Executive and at least four new members of the County Council.

I'm running for an at-large Council seat because I want our County government and our Party to put the interests of organized people over organized money.

Yes, the biggest threat to our progressive priorities is coming from the current occupant of the White House and Republicans in Congress. But too many leaders in our County and Party act in ways that go against the progressive agenda that residents are demanding.

Here’s what I’m seeing:

-Residents are demanding a say in land use, environmental, and sustainable energy issues, but their voices are too often drowned out by industry and lobbyist campaign contributions.

-Students, parents, and teachers are demanding a steadfast commitment to equitable public education and debt-free higher education, yet in 2014 over half of our delegation to Annapolis supported a regressive estate tax cut for multimillionaires, robbing us of a critical funding source of education funding.

-And working class families are demanding New Economy solutions to address the wealth gap and the affordable housing crisis, but our economic development strategy isn’t designed to build assets in an equitable way.

People need elected leaders who can work alongside residents and activists at the grassroots to help shape bold and innovative solutions.

That’s why we are launching a grassroots campaign that will mobilize thousands of new voices to fight alongside those already working toward a more equitable and sustainable future.

We can do better. For every member of our community to thrive, we must do better.

I hope you will consider joining us in this work.

Chris