David Blair for County Executive
Montgomery County, Maryland
As Deputy Outreach Director for the campaign, my task was to lead public engagement for the campaign. Our challenge was to take a candidate with a 0% name recognition—in a county against four incumbents—and win within four months. Challenge accepted.
Our team secured opportunities and support from constituency groups such as Chambers of Commerce, civic associations, senior centers, faith-based organizations, ethnic groups, and immigrant organizations. David and I also hosted a series of roundtable discussions with small-business leaders, veterans, and youth activists to help craft policy. In the end, we lost by 77 votes—a testament to the ground game and work we did in the County.
Highlight: Youth Engagement
It all started with a meeting in a library and a tweet...
After the Parkland shooting, I reached out to MoCo Students for Gun Control, a local Montgomery County high school student coalition group advocating for change around gun violence. The group was planning the National Walkout, a massive student demonstration at the U.S. Capitol urging Congress to enact legislation around gun safety.
In our initial meeting, we found that low-income students in the Glenmont and Silver Spring area were not planning on attending the Walkout. David wanted to help these students engage and paid for 640 students to attend the Walkout and March For Our Lives. Our partnership with MoCo Students for Gun Control received both local and national coverage.
After the march, students in the community heard about our work and wanted to get involved in the campaign. Over 150 high school and college students joined the campaign.
Exit polls at the end of the race showed early vote turnout among 18-24 years-olds in Montgomery County increased by over 276% from the 2014 primary.
Highlight: Earned Media Coverage
Buzzfeed News
A High School Senior Led Her Fellow Students On A Gun Walkout To The Heart Of The Nation's Capital
"....Montgomery County Students for Gun Control leaders received important aid from David Blair, a candidate for Montgomery County executive, who provided 500 Metro cards for Silver Spring–area students who otherwise wouldn't have been able to make the trip from Maryland to Washington, DC. Blair tweeted his support of the rally as students picked up their Metro cards and headed into the train station: "Every student should have an opportunity to participate in democracy and have their voice heard."
It's estimated that roughly 2,500 Montgomery County School District students participated in the walkout. Levitan estimates the representation from Montgomery Blair High School to be "around 600 but won’t be sure until I check attendance records."
“I felt it was important to note [David’s contributions] considering just how many lower-income teens were able to participate with David’s help. If 2,000 MoCo teens made it to DC, his metro cards accounted for 1/4 of the teens there, and intersectionality and inclusion are super important topics for our readers.”
Refinery29
16 Young Women On Why They Voted For The First Time Today
"I was born and raised on an agriculture reserve in Montgomery County, Maryland. I am voting for David Blair for County Executive because he has a plan to fight for stricter gun laws in Annapolis. One of the laws that I want to change is the 'boyfriend loophole.' Young people in a relationship are subject to abuse simply because they aren't legally married. In Maryland, people who have survived domestic violence from a spouse can seek protection, but someone who is simply dating cannot. Domestic abusers are barred from gun ownership in marriages, and the fact that legislators refuse to protect young people by closing the 'boyfriend loophole' is a blatant disregard of human life and of our nation's future."