The Montgomery County Council is interviewing two candidates Tuesday for a vacant Planning Board seat. The five-member board controls zoning, development approvals, and master plans across the county, including the Potomac Subregion Master Plan that has preserved the area's low-density "green wedge" character for more than two decades.

James Hedrick and John Schlichting, both registered Democrats, are scheduled to appear before the full council at 10:30 a.m. at the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville, according to a council staff report. The seat became available after Hedrick's partial term expired June 14; he is now seeking reappointment to a full four-year term.

Why it matters for Potomac

The Planning Board serves as the council's principal adviser on land use. It prepares and amends master plans, approves development proposals, and oversees the county's 37,000-acre park system. A 2024 Montgomery Planning Department review of the 2002 Potomac Subregion Master Plan found the plan's "green wedge" vision has been largely maintained, including through six denials or deferrals of water and sewer category change requests in Glen Hills. Whoever fills this seat will vote on future amendments to that plan.

The candidates

James Hedrick has served as a Planning Board commissioner since March 2023 and currently works as executive director of Rockville Housing Enterprises, the city's public housing authority, managing a budget exceeding $25 million annually. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Rice University.

Hedrick's first appointment came with controversy. In March 2023, County Executive Marc Elrich vetoed Hedrick's selection, saying Hedrick had "made insulting and dismissive statements about those with opposing viewpoints" regarding housing, according to Bethesda Magazine's reporting on the veto. The council unanimously overrode that veto.

John Schlichting served as director of planning and code administration for the City of Gaithersburg from 2012 to 2024, overseeing 55 staff members. Before that, he spent 27 years as a real estate developer of mixed-use projects in the Washington, D.C., region, including work at The JBG Companies on Reston Heights, a 4-million-square-foot project, and several developments in downtown Bethesda.

Schlichting also served on the Gaithersburg City Council from 2001 to 2007. At a June 2025 Planning Board interview for a different vacancy, he said implementing Thrive Montgomery 2050 is "key to tackling each of those issues in a meaningful way," referring to housing affordability and regional competitiveness.

Party balance constraint

Maryland law bars more than three Planning Board members from belonging to the same political party. The current board includes Chair Artie Harris (Democrat), Mitra Pedoeem (Unaffiliated), Josh Linden (Unaffiliated), and Shawn Bartley (Republican). Since both candidates are Democrats, appointing either one would bring the board to its three-Democrat maximum.

What's next

The council has not announced whether a formal appointment vote will occur at the same session or at a later meeting. Commissioners earn $30,000 annually and serve four-year terms, limited to two full terms.

The Tuesday, July 14, 2026, meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the council's website, YouTube, and Facebook.