Julie Yang, a Democrat, is running for Montgomery County Council District 1 in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Republican Reardon Sullivan.

Yang spent a decade at Montgomery County Public Schools before becoming a self-employed educator and community advocate. Her platform focuses on education and workforce development, economic growth and housing affordability.

This profile is based on candidate responses available on Yang's campaign website and BallotReady election data. Policy positions reflect the candidate's own statements unless otherwise noted.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: Montgomery County Council, District 1
  • Education: Master's in education, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Experience and public service

Yang worked as an instructional data analyst at Montgomery County Public Schools from 2011 to 2017, according to BallotReady profile data. She then served as a college and career information coordinator at MCPS from 2017 to 2021. Since 2022, she has worked as a self-employed educator and community advocate.

On the issues

Education

Yang said she wants to expand STEM offerings in areas such as artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, environmental studies and business entrepreneurship. She said she would work with MCPS to convert all part-day pre-K seats to full-day seats and increase program capacity. She also called for school-based wellness centers funded through collaboration with the County Council and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Yang said she supports short-term credentials tied directly to jobs, green job apprentice programs and co-designed programs with employers. She said she would strengthen community outreach through town hall meetings.

Economy and taxes

Yang said she opposes broad tax increases. "As a county, we must live within our means," she said via her candidate questionnaire. She called for finding efficiencies, evaluating programs based on results and growing the economy rather than raising taxes on residents.

She said she wants to expand support for the county's economic development agency, targeting tech, biotech, AI and healthcare industries. Yang also called for tax abatements for new small businesses under 250,000, mentorship programs for small businesses and streamlined career pathways between MCPS, Montgomery College and the University of Shady Grove.

Housing and growth

Yang said she would modernize the planning, permitting and approval process to reduce costs and expand housing supply. She called for leveraging publicly owned sites from government or local churches to create mixed-income workforce housing for teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and county employees, without touching parks or green spaces.

She said development incentives should extend beyond Bethesda and North Bethesda. Yang said smart growth should be "strategic and contextual" and fit a neighborhood's scale with appropriate infrastructure in place.

Environment

Yang said she supports green infrastructure investments such as reduced-cost solar and algae-to-energy technology. She said tree canopies should be protected because they manage stormwater, reduce heat and protect air quality.

Social services and public safety

Yang said she wants community and regional service centers to serve as hubs where seniors can access resources and find opportunities to contribute. She called for expert-led training for county staff responding to hate and bias incidents and said the county should refuse cooperation with ICE detainers.

Endorsements

The following endorsement was claimed by the endorser, according to BallotReady profile data:

  • Maryland State Education Association