4th District Councilmember Kate Stewart Is All In For Reelection

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Ahead of the primary elections in June, Patch has invited candidates running to represent Montgomery County to complete a questionnaire touching on a variety of key issues.

Candidate responses will be published verbatim in the run-up to the primaries on Tuesday, June 23.

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Questionnaire responses for incumbent candidate Kate Stewart, who is running to serve as the 4th District councilmember, can be found below:

Name: Kate Stewart

Age: Not provided

Hometown: Takoma Park, Maryland

Political Affiliation: Democrat

Do you have any previous political experience? If so, please state and explain how that experience will influence your time in office if elected.

I am a former member of City Council and Mayor of Takoma Park, and I am the current District 4 Councilmember for Montgomery County. I chair the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee and Audit Committee. I also serve as a member of the Transportation and Environment Committee. I have a deep understanding of our County’s financial position, and the policies that have continued to earn Montgomery County’s AAA bond ratings.

In addition, as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board, which is an organization of 24 local jurisdictions in the region, I have the practical experience of working on cross regional challenges, such as housing and affordability, public safety, WMATA funding, and the increasing needs of our regional unhoused population.

I have worked on over a dozen municipal budgets and was unanimously elected by colleagues to serve as the Council President from December 2024 to December 2025.

All of these experiences influence my work daily. As a Councilmember, I have centered my work on positive outcomes for residents. The work, at its core, to solve problems and to be collaborative and thoughtful about policy when addressing problems and providing feasible solutions.

What do you believe is the single-most important issue facing voters in the district you’re looking to represent? How do you intend to address those issues?

Current policies of the federal administration adversely impacting the lives of Montgomery County residents. These policies both directly and indirectly do harm. Whether it is firing federal workers or contractors, including medical experts at NIH or climate scientists at NOAA, illegally detaining immigrants and citizens, or cutting safety net services, our communities, and our institutions have been harmed.

In the face of the cruel federal actions at the federal level, I continue to stand with our immigrant community and have advanced legislation to help those impacted by detention. I also worked to secure the County’s first ever sustained funding for the MoCo Pride Center, making sure the County is a safe, welcoming place for the LGBTQIA+ community and when I was Council President last year, I began the United in Service and Support series to assist residents, including those who worked for the federal government or where government contractors access services.

The Council has acted to protect our immigrant communities and has pushed back on the cruel policies and actions of the federal administration. I have supported every Montgomery County bill related to immigration, including the Trust Act, the Values Act, the Unmask Ice Act, and the ICE OUT Act. I am leading the Vehicle Recovery Act. When our neighbors are taken from our communities, many times their vehicles are left behind on the road and towed. Impacted families are forced to navigate one hurdle after another, and this bill will facilitate the recovery of the vehicle by a trusted person upon presentation of required documentation. I introduced this bill after hearing from impacted families, community leaders and organizations. I work with groups supporting our immigrant community, including the MoCo-IRC, We Are CASA and any other organization doing this work. I will continue to stand with our communities and will continue to join efforts to push back on this federal administration.

How do you differ from other candidates running against you?

My experience over the last 12 years working with residents, other elected officials, businesses and other stakeholders to put in place meaningful policies and programs to address the needs in our community through the first Trump Administration, COVID-19 and now during the second Trump Administration. I have worked on housing policy and put in place a Housing Affordability Fund and a downpayment assistance program in Takoma Park. When I was Mayor and now as a County Councilmember, I have successfully led efforts to change our County zoning laws to allow houses of worship to more easily build affordable housing.

How would your work experience benefit the goals/objectives you’ve outlined in your campaign and/or the office you’re seeking?

I have over 12 years experience working at the local, state and federal level to make policy changes and put in place programs that positively impact people’s lives. Specifically, I have worked to push back on the Trump Administration's harmful and cruel policies not just in the last 15 months but I was a Mayor under the first Trump Administration. I will continue to do this work and build on the United in Support and Service program I initiated while Council President, as well as passing bills such as the Vehicle Recovery Act, which helps people who have loved ones detained by ICE recover their vehicle from impoundment.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current officeholder, and how will you improve on it?

As the current officeholder, I always look for ways to improve and will continue to work with the community on policy issues and will continue to provide constituent services to all residents navigating government.

How do you believe Montgomery County should address data centers?

The county should look at data centers in the context of our overall energy needs and challenges, and our climate and conservation goals. We know that electricity demand is increasing, especially due to data centers, and Montgomery County residents’ energy costs are among the highest in the nation. While data centers exist at a small scale in the county, we see the damage larger data centers have caused to natural resources and surrounding communities in other parts of the country.

Before large data center development moves forward, we need to establish appropriate guardrails. We also need more renewable energy generated locally, and we need more battery storage deployed to insulate us from energy market instability. Therefore, the County should require 100% clean, renewable energy and that new data centers bring electricity generation infrastructure with them.

Do you believe there should be a data center moratorium or a temporary pause? Explain.

We should create guardrails ahead of new large scale data centers moving forward. We currently have a zoning text amendment before the Council and we will be taking that up after the budget is completed.

Do you believe there should be data center regulations put in place? Explain.

Yes. See above.

What steps would you take to offset data center impacts to residents’ standard of living, such as rising energy prices?

Any new data centers should require 100% clean, renewable energy and that new data centers bring electricity generation infrastructure with them.

How would you distinguish between a good vs. bad data center? Or do you believe no data centers should be in the county/district?

I believe we need to create a framework with requirements to help manage any new centers.

Gov. Wes Moore signed bills banning agreements between local police and federal immigration officials in February. What is your opinion of the legislation?

I agree with these bills. Our local enforcement should not be involved in enforcing civil immigration. That is the role of the federal government and forcing localities to do so is a violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.

What steps would you take to support or readjust that initiative?

We have passed a number of similar laws at the county level and I fully support these efforts, and as a Council we expressed our support of the legislature’s and governor’s actions.

What is your stance on the establishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in the county and/or your district?

I oppose the establishment of ICE centers anywhere in Maryland, in my District, and in the County.

What actionable plans would you undertake to address illegal immigration?

Civil immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government. I see my role representing residents of Montgomery County to ensure all our residents, regardless of their immigration status, are supported and that they and their families can live healthy and thriving lives.

Education: What is the biggest issue facing Montgomery County Public Schools? How would you address it?

We have seen the needs of our students and families grow in many areas over the last few years, especially after COVID. One of the biggest issues is the health and wellbeing of the students, especially students’ mental health.

A student brings a gun/weapon to campus without setting off any red flags. What security measures would you advocate for to prevent such an incident?

While Montgomery County Public Schools and the Board of Education have the direct oversight of all school policies, including choices related to student safety, the County Council works in close collaboration with our school system, County Departments and our non-profit community to put in place programs and funding to prevent such incidents.

The Council has acted as a convener to bring together MCPS, the Police Dept, the Dept of Health and Human Services, as well as the Recreation Department to do a better job of coordinating efforts in and out of the school day to address issues before they occur. Examples of programs we have in the County to assist young people include the Youth Resilience Initiative and Street Outreach Team. These are just two examples of programs that work with young people to ensure they provide the needed assistance and programming before a situation escalates.

Do you believe schools need stricter security measures? Metal detectors? Move away from CEOs and revert to SROs? Explain.

During a recent Council briefing with our Department of Health and Human Services, MCPS, and the Police Department, we discussed how there is not one solution to address safety concerns. We must think holistically at how we are preventing incidents from occurring, as well as ensure there is the proper staff in place when something does happen. As we continue these discussions, I want us to carefully consider how we best address safety concerns and make sure we are hearing from a range of students and families about their needs and how we can best address them.

I continue to have concerns about the well documented data that demonstrate racial disparities in outcomes for students of color. In addition, I have heard from students and families regarding the increase in federal immigration enforcement, and that while they understand our local police do not enforce federal immigration policies, the idea of more law enforcement in the schools negatively impacts their mental wellness rather than making them feel safer.

What will you do to encourage affordable/public housing in the county?

I have worked since my time as Mayor in Takoma Park and now on the County Council to advance policies to ensure everyone in Montgomery County has access to affordable, safe, stable housing.

I have supported rent stabilization which has successfully kept rents from being unreasonably increased in the County. The program works for three reasons:

Predictable costs. Everyone needs to plan and budget, being able to plan gives people control of their lives.

Stability. No one wants to continually move, and have their kids change schools. People deserve to have stability in their lives.

Affordability. We need to make sure everyone can afford housing, and this doesn't mean we make it impossible for owners to afford to provide rental units.

While this law has worked, it is important to note this is not the only thing we need to address affordability. We need an all-of-the-above approach to addressing the affordable housing crisis. We also need to make sure we are using tools to incentivise building more housing, with specific attention being paid to affordability. This means changing some zoning to allow for more density in areas where it makes sense. It means using tools such as tax credits and other incentives to build new housing and maximize affordable units. I have been concerned with how the housing debate has become polarized. We will do better when we collaborate and work together.

How will you address crime in Montgomery County/your district?

As I was elected in 2022, there were serious concerns about public safety in Silver Spring. I proactively worked with our police department, our business community and residents to find sensible solutions. First, we held meetings across different neighborhoods and in our apartment buildings with our police department. We also held a summit and did public safety walks with residents to better understand challenges and areas needing further attention.

We found some serious challenges, especially in the hours after most regional bars would close and our lounges would remain open- frequently overnight and into the early morning hours when most people would be going to work. The main issues was the heightened need for officers overnight, and because of other regional locations having an earlier closing time, pushed a lot of afterparty activities to Silver Spring.

We worked to pass two pieces of legislation- the late night safety plan bill, which requires businesses with repeat incidents work through a safety plan with County departments. Second, I led the late night closing time bill which stopped lounges from remaining open into the early mornings. We also supported the new Drone as a First responder program, which has enabled much faster response times to incidents in the downtown area.

In the two years that this work has taken place, we have seen a significant drop of nearly 60 percent in crime in Downtown Silver Spring. The most important takeaway is that this work was collaborative with residents, businesses and our police department. This is a good model for working together to find policy solutions to improve public safety.

What is your stance on the "Save Wootton" initiative by community members?

I am concerned with how MCPS managed the plan regarding Wootton High School and the decisions that impacted the community. The biggest issue with the plan was the lack of communication and collaboration with the community. Ultimately, because of the process, the community felt surprised and frustrated.

A 6% property tax increase was proposed for the fiscal 2027 budget to raise funds for schools. Homeowners are reluctant to pay more.

What is your position?

We should not increase property taxes on residents right now. Especially because of the uncertainty of the economy and the many residents who have been negatively impacted due to federal job loss, immigration actions, and because of a worsening economy.

What other options would you consider to raise money that does not include raising taxes?

The Council is in the position of reviewing all county programs and can potentially help reduce the cost of the budget through targeted reductions and better management of things like unfilled positions and duplicative programs. Regardless, we need to focus on those who need the most help during these uncertain times, so I am working hard to preserve social safety net programs as they are now more important than ever.