The Maryland Sierra Club is backing Will Jawando for Montgomery County executive in the Nov. 3 general election, explicitly citing his work on data center policy — an issue with direct implications for Potomac River water supply and the proposed Dickerson campus upstream.

The endorsement, announced Aug. 22 and reported by Bethesda Magazine, marks a shift from the June primary, when the group's Montgomery County arm endorsed Councilmember Evan Glass. Glass finished third with about 22% of the vote; Jawando won the Democratic nomination with roughly 40%.

Al Carr, former District 18 delegate and political chair for the Montgomery County Sierra Club, wrote in an email: "We appreciate the great policy work he has done on the impact of data centers."

Carr said Jawando received the required two-thirds support of the Montgomery County Executive Committee, with the state chapter concurring.

Why it matters in Potomac

The endorsement lands less than a month after the County Council voted 11-0 on July 28 to impose an 18-month moratorium on new data center permits. That pause directly affects Atmosphere Data Centers' proposed five-building, 360-megawatt campus on a decommissioned coal plant site in Dickerson. The project would draw cooling water from the Potomac River, with a maximum daily withdrawal of 500,000 gallons, according to plans made public in May.

The Potomac supplies more than 75% of the region's drinking water, according to the West Montgomery County Citizens Association.

Jawando had pushed for a two-year moratorium. Glass proposed six months. The council split the difference at 18 months.

During the July 28 vote, Jawando listed the issues the council would examine during the pause: "noise, water usage, the Potomac River, one that I've been pushing really hard on and I'll mention every time, tax rates," he told WTOP.

Atmosphere's chief platform and sustainability officer, Chris Baughman, told WTOP after the vote: "It does not look like we can proceed at this moment."

The general election matchup

Jawando will face Republican Esther Wells, a certified public accountant and president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, on Nov. 3. No on-record statement from Wells on data center policy was found in available sources.

Jawando's campaign statement responding to the endorsement said the Sierra Club's priorities align with his on green spaces, clean energy and climate equity.

A Maryland state study on data center impacts, conducted by the Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration and the University of Maryland School of Business, is due to the governor and General Assembly by Sept. 1. The moratorium runs until early 2028. Residents will weigh in on data center policy through the Nov. 3 general election, when both the county executive seat and all nine council seats are on the ballot.