Every month over 130,000 households in Montgomery County struggle to make rent. At a time when budgets were already stretched, Covid-19 exacerbated economic insecurity and made it even more difficult to pay rent. Councilmember Evan Glass successfully secured an initial $2 million and then another $20 million in rental assistance for Montgomery County renters. Click here to learn more about this program.

Montgomery County retailers and restaurants have been required to pay annual license fees to the state ranging as high as $750. Councilmember Evan Glass passed legislation to cap these fees at $15 in an effort to increase competitiveness and ease the burden on our county’s small businesses. Read more here.

Prior to the pandemic, the arts sector was a robust component of our local economy that provided jobs, tax revenues and entertainment for all our residents. Recognizing the value that the arts add to our community, Councilmember Evan Glass secured $3.25 million in emergency grant funding for creative professionals in Montgomery County. Read more here. 

The number of individuals experiencing homeleness had been on the rise at the start of the pandemic. Organizations like Bethesda Cares were on the front lines using their already limited resources to house as many people as possible. Believing that Bethesda Cares should not be acting alone, Councilmember Evan Glass secured close to $355,000 for the organization to continue supporting the county’s goal of ensuring homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring.  

While Montgomery County continues leading the way to reduce and eliminate homelessness among veterans and chronically homeless residents, there is still more we can do. The Housing Justice Act will help more individuals access housing by strengthening our anti discrimination laws.  

Montgomery County is home to many cutting-edge research agencies and in the pandemic, we need these agencies to be doing more research not less. Current grant programs do not capture the full value of Montgomery County research organizations and make it hard for the county to track how tax-payer dollars are being spent. Councilmember Evan Glass introduced Bill 37-19 to expand grant funding to more cutting-edge research organizations in Montgomery County and also put in place reporting requirements to ensure public dollars are being spent wisely and effectively.  

One of the leading indicators of social mobility is access to reliable transportation. That is why one of Councilmember Evan Glass’ top priorities was to ensure that young people have expanded and free access to our region's bus services. For many individuals –– and especially for youth working minimum wage jobs, doing internships, or participating in afterschool programs –– paying for bus service cuts heavily into their paychecks and makes public transportation an unaffordable option.  

A fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay: After identifying out-dated hiring practices that perpetuated the wage gap across race and gender identity, Councilmember Evan Glass passed the Pay Equity Act to forbid the County from using previous salary history to determine new pay. Data collected from department salaries show that men, regardless of their length of service, make more than women. Councilmember Glass strongly believes that a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay, regardless of race or gender identity. 

Montgomery County generates 147,000 tons of food waste each year. Food that is not recovered, gets burned at the Dickerson Incinerator in Poolesville. ZTA 20-04 increases the amount of materials Montgomery County farmers can take in from off-site sources for the creation of compost or mulch. Returning valuable nutrients to the soil increases our food waste diversion rates, improves the health of the soil and sequesters carbon in the ground helping Montgomery County to achieve its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. Click here to read more.  

In November 2020, Montgomery County residents overwhelmingly voted to pass Councilmember Evan Glass’ proposal to increase the number of seats on the County Council from nine to 11. In the 30 years since the Council last had a major restructuring, the county’s population has increased by 50% to 1.1 million residents. The measure adds two additional district seats and retains the current At-Large seats to increase overall county representation.  

The LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights strengthens legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer residents by expanding Montgomery County’s anti-discrimination code to include gender expression and HIV status. The LGBTQ Bill of Rights explicitly bans LGBTQ+ discrimination in healthcare facilities, nursing homes and personal care facilities. 

When faced with $44 million worth of budget cuts in 2019, Councilmember Evan Glass recognized the importance of preserving bus service, particularly in Upcounty. The proposed cuts would have impacted the busiest north-south lines that serve populations who are less likely to own vehicles and already have few transit options. As a frequent user of public transit, Councilmember Evan Glass recognizes that fast and reliable bus service is critical for strong communities and strong local economies.    

Serving as the Council’s point person on homelessness and vulnerable communities, Councilmember Evan Glass spearheaded legislation to strengthen the structure and governance of the Interagency Commission on Homelessness, which manages all efforts - public and private - to reduce homelessness in Montgomery County. This legislation ensures Montgomery County prioritizes housing families, youth and individuals experiencing street homelessness.    

For some of us, our bike is our most prized possession and we shouldn’t be penalized by archaic laws for simply riding a bike. Councilmember Evan Glass helped spearhead into law an update to the County’s bicycle laws, which would make bicycle registration voluntary and change the instances where county police can impound bikes.