Council Candidate Allison Eriksen To Bring Federal Lessons To MoCo

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Ahead of the primary elections in June, Patch has invited candidates running to represent the 3rd District on the Montgomery County Council 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 Allison Eriksen, who is running to serve the 3rd District, can be found below:

Name: Allison Eriksen

Age: 39

Hometown: Gaithersburg

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 have previous experience as a non-political federal employee. I worked at USAID for eight years at the Office of Food for Peace and later the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, where I managed $100 million in U.S. government programs to help communities prepare, respond and recover from natural disasters and conflict.

This gave me experience in government, interpreting and implementing legislation, the legislative process, government accountability, oversight, and budgeting and accounting for taxpayer funds.

At USAID, I strove to listen to communities and provide aid efficiently and to best meet the needs of those benefiting from the programs.

I will continue to focus on the most vulnerable in our communities, to keep Montgomery County a desirable place to live and work, and seek to make sure its people have the resources they need to thrive.

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?

The biggest issue facing voters is the high cost of housing in this district. If I were trying to move to Gaithersburg today, I literally could not afford to do it, especially since Gaithersburg and Rockville are incorporated and don't adhere to Montgomery County laws for rent control and tenants' rights.

While the county cannot control the cities' policies, it can work to increase the overall housing supply and create more affordable housing that stays affordable.

One of my ideas has been to create a tax for vacant properties — I have noticed many vacant and abandoned multifamily buildings in the area and would like to see an incentive for landlords to renovate them and provide housing once again rather than leaving them to blight neighborhoods and fall into further disrepair.

I believe that through a combination of new development, reintroduction of existing housing, and protections against price gouging tenants, we can bring down housing costs.

How do you differ from other candidates running against you?

I am not currently an incumbent in any office. I am a lifelong volunteer and public servant who seeks to continue to serve my community.

I have never before considered running for office, but was inspired to run after witnessing the complete failure of our national government in the last year. I realized that state and local governments will have to pick up the slack from failures at the federal level.

I have worked in many settings where national governments were not functioning well, and have experienced how local government can protect its residents and provide stability during turbulent times. I have the kind of creative problem-solving skills that local government will need in the years to come.

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

My experience at the federal level was primarily focused on procurement, contract compliance, and providing services. I think these are all directly relevant for the Council in selecting contracts; ensuring that contracts are being followed and that the quality of goods or services provided are acceptable; and evaluating the quality of county services, what populations are being reached, where any gaps of need may exist, and how those gaps can be closed.

I have overseen life-saving services for millions of people and, as a user of county services, will work to ensure that they are meeting the community's needs, are of high quality, and are meeting the goals of the Council.

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

I believe that I bring a different perspective from the current officeholder and the other candidates in this race. I worked with USAID improving lives in South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, and with nonprofits in DC/MD/VA.

I lived with and learned from Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists, and collaborated with people from all generations. I think that diverse cities deserve representation with a global perspective and with fresh ideas.

How do you believe Montgomery County should address data centers?

The environmental and economic impacts need to be studied further before Montgomery County allows new data centers to be built.

There should be a moratorium on the centers until they can be deemed to not burden residents with the costs of environmental cleanup and higher energy costs.

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

Yes, please see my answer above.

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

Yes.

Data centers need to be able to provide their own electricity to prevent increased demand on the grid and higher costs for residents. They also need to be regulated for noise, environmental impacts, and cleanup.

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

Data centers need to be able to provide their own clean electricity to prevent increased demand on the grid and higher costs for residents.

Gas-powered generators increase pollution, worsen air quality, and are not acceptable to power these facilities.

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

There are already data centers in the county, but they are generally smaller than the centers being proposed.

In my opinion, a good center would probably be smaller, follow environmental monitoring, create little to no noise for residents, and create its own electricity.

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

I support this legislation. I support further legislation to protect Maryland residents from federal officials.

I believe that the actions of federal immigration officers exceed their mandates and that states need to step in to protect the civil rights of residents.

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

I already support it.

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

I do not support the establishment of ICE centers in the county or my district.

These centers are not fit for humans and will contribute to the administration's capacity to create more human suffering in pursuit of its agenda.

What actionable plans would you undertake to address illegal immigration?

I support reforms to immigration laws, refugee/asylum laws, and amnesty. However, these are not actions that can be taken at the county level.

I would advocate and work with national-level politicians to promote legislation toward these goals.

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

The biggest issue is the failure of long-term planning for capital improvements and the unacceptable conditions in many of our schools.

Renovations and replacements have been put off until some of our school buildings have deteriorated and are no longer safe to work and learn in.

I would work with the Council and School Board to ensure that funding is set aside to ensure that the Capital Improvements Master Plan can be followed and that MCPS gets back on track for maintaining and renovating school facilities on a regular basis.

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?

I don't think that security measures alone can prevent this kind of incident. We can prevent it by reminding adults to safely store guns in their homes so that children cannot access them.

We can build supportive school communities that have staff who can recognize students who are experiencing emotional or mental health problems and address them early, before students turn to violence as a solution.

We can give students the tools to respond to conflict appropriately.

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

No, I believe that metal detectors and SROs in schools do not contribute to a safer learning environment for students.

I have been in schools with metal detectors, and taken students from MCPS into those schools and seen how their perception of their safety changed when faced with the devices.

Metal detectors in schools communicate to children that this is not a safe place, that they may need to prepare to defend themselves, and that they are all under suspicion.

The National Association of School Psychologists cautions against over-emphasizing extreme physical security measures or increasing armed security in schools "as such strategies may undermine the learning environment while not necessarily safeguarding students."

There is little evidence to support the effectiveness of metal detectors at preventing school shootings or successfully detecting weapons at schools, especially now that firearms can be 3D printed from plastic, and they, in fact, have the potential to harm school learning environments.

The presence of SROs creates situations where misbehavior that would typically be handled internally by school staff is now a crime with charges that can follow a student for the rest of their lives. A large study of SROs in schools found that "the presence of SROs was associated with increased prevalence of suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and student arrests — all of which can have long-term negative impacts on students by increasing disengagement, dropout rates, and incarceration. These effects were consistently larger for Black students and students with disabilities."

The best solution to school violence is building supportive school communities with mental health supports for students, social and emotional learning programs, building positive relationships between students and staff throughout the school, and reducing youth's access to weapons in the community.

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

The county needs to make sure that new housing developments have places for affordable housing that stays affordable. I support exploring options to create social housing in Montgomery County, either by the county government or nonprofits.

I believe that through a combination of new development, reintroduction of existing housing, and protections against price gouging tenants, we can bring down housing costs and make it more affordable for everyone.

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

Crime in Montgomery County is down 9% from 2024 to 2025. Crime against persons is down 10% in that same time frame.

I will address crime by continuing to work with the MCPD in tackling crime in the community and ensuring that they treat members of the community fairly and without bias.

I don't want to try to fix something that's not broken.

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

I agree that the proposed closure of Wootton was not handled well by the county. Decisions were made late in the school year, felt rushed, and did not follow the correct procedures for such sweeping changes. This should not happen again.

However, given the condition of Wootton and the close proximity of the Crown campus, I think Option H is the best solution for the students, who will keep their classmates, teachers, and receive a brand new school that is not a health and safety hazard to them.

I have received many emails from residents asking to save Wootton, but none of them have presented an alternative option that addresses the problems of the Wootton campus and would satisfy parents behind the initiative.

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?

I do not support this tax increase. It is burdening working families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

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

If we need to raise taxes to pay for schools, it should be targeted toward those who can better afford to pay them — the wealthy residents and businesses in this county who have not been asked to pay their fair share.