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20 April 2026

** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

MARYLAND HOUSE OF DELEGATES DEPUTY MINORITY WHIP LATOYA NKONGOLO ENDORSES JOHN MYRICK FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND

Severna Park, MD – Deputy Minority Whip of the House of Delegates LaToya Nkongolo (R-Dist. 31) of Anne Arundel County has endorsed John Myrick in his bid to become Maryland’s next Governor. In her endorsement, Delegate Nkongolo stated,

“Maryland is in a state of crisis, and John Myrick and Dr. Brenda Thiam have the experience and passion to put our State back on track. Their focus on common-sense solutions to Maryland’s problems is exactly what our State needs. They will be true partners with the Maryland General Assembly. John & Brenda have my full and unqualified endorsement.”

In response to the endorsement of Delegate Nkongolo, Myrick commented, “We are truly honored to receive the endorsement of such an esteemed and accomplished public servant as Delegate Nkongolo. Her impressive record of service to Maryland is unrivaled. To have her full faith and confidence is powerful.”

  News & Opinions

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Flush with Revenue, Drunk on Spending

Montgomery County is not broke. It is broken — broken by political will.

Since Fall 2023, a state-authorized property tax rate hike and back-to-back SDAT reassessment cycles have flooded the County with record revenues. Income tax collections surged. Property tax collections climbed without another rate increase. A $260 million windfall arrived in November 2025 alone. Yet County officials stood before cameras and declared a “structural deficit” — then proceeded to propose an $8.02 billion budget, a 26% spending increase in four years, and a progressive income tax hike they called a “restructuring.”

This report documents what the money bought — and what it did not. Residents are paying 29% more in property taxes than four years ago. Their streets are not safer. Their schools are not dramatically better. What did grow: county union paychecks at 6.5%+ effective raises per year while federal employees received 1.0%; non-competitive grants to political advocacy organizations that campaign for the same incumbents who write them checks; and a spending trajectory that the County’s own Revenue Estimating Group warns is unsustainable by $854 million over six years.

READ MORE

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165 Does Not Equal 8 | Montgomery Perspective | Adam Pagnucco | April 22, 2026

County executive candidates lay out vision for East County at White Oak forum | Bethesda Today | Elia Griffin | April 21, 2026, 6:10 pm Updated April 23, 2026 3:20 pm

Louella Tham for Montgomery County Council

I’ve known great Democrat and Republican leaders in Montgomery County. I’ve even voted for and supported some great Democrats who helped MoCo thrive. And here, in past years, folks would often vote in good Republicans, and we had some great ones.

Jim Gleason was our first elected County Executive, Connie Morella, Gilbert Gude, Newton Steers were great Congressmembers, Betty Ann Krahnke, Nancy Dacek and Howard Denis were effective County Council Members, and Stephen Abrams was a City Council and School Board Member…all Republicans, here are some pix

It made good sense, they were always the minority, but you always knew there was diversity of viewpoint, someone to watch the majority party carefully, and with a chair at the table, the ability to call into question any bone-headed idea that might come up. We’ve lost that. Most votes in MoCo and Annapolis are now 100% Democrat. Maybe we don’t need a fox watching the hen house, but maybe a few Republican guard dogs would be in order to make sure your money’s spent well, your rights aren’t diluted and your taxes aren't raised through the roof.

Yep, I recognize MoCo and Maryland are not majority Republican, they never have been. I remember that before the Civil War, we were a Democrat run slave state, that only stayed in the Union because the Army was in DC- on old MoCo land! But even as the minority party we have a substantial reason to want to participate in making MoCo great. It would take a Republican to say:

• Don’t buy million dollar electric buses that don’t work in winter.
• Don’t put lots of empty Ride On buses on the roads next to empty bike lanes.
• Don’t raise taxes to funnel money into a glut of public school administrative staff while schools are serving fewer students - and the ones we have poorly, keeping them less safe, and not teaching them STEM and patriotism.
• Keep boys out of girls sports and girls bathrooms.

We need some normal folks with common sense. True diversity means diversity of thought. Look at our great candidates, vote for the best, not the most red or blue, but the best. That’s the way we’ll get back on track, pull our country back together and enjoy the better quality of life that we had in MoCo before single party government was the norm.

Read this editorial I wrote in Bethesda Magazine about Ending One Party Rule and tell me what you think.

Tell me what issues we should address, what diversity really means and how you feel about single party government. Write to me at [email protected]

Dennis Melby