Jim McNulty was elected to the Gaithersburg City Council, unofficial results show.
McNulty launched his second Gaithersburg City Council bid in June.
He announced his bid on social media and through his campaign website.
“I need your vote to help me bring a new voice and a new skill set to the Gaithersburg City Council,” McNulty said in his launch video.
Five candidates, including McNulty, ran for the city council in the 2021 cycle.
“When I ran four years ago, I had never run for public office before,” McNulty said in his launch video.
McNulty finished fourth in the 2017 election cycle and remained active in City matters.
Gaithersburg City Councilwoman Laurie-Anne Sayles did not seek re-election.
Sayles, however, launched a Montgomery County Council at-large seat during the summer.
Gaithersburg’s post-pandemic economic challenges
McNulty focused his campaign on the economic challenges facing Gaithersburg’ss small business community in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And McNulty says he’ll work to attract new businesses to open inside the City.
“We need a city council that can help our small business owners navigate their way out of this pandemic,” he said.
“No one knows what the job market is going to look like as we emerge from the pandemic.”
McNulty chairs the Olde Town Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the City’s Economic Development Committee.
He’s a former president of the Saybrooke Homeowners Association, a community of 478 single-family homes on the City’s east side.
“We need to make Gaithersburg an attractive place to create more jobs. Not just biotech, but all kinds of jobs: office jobs, union jobs, skilled labor, and entrepreneurs,” McNulty said.
Transportation and Education advocate
McNulty is a vocal advocate on education, transportation, and mental health issues.
He testified multiple times before the Montgomery County Board of Education and the Gaithersburg mayor and city council in support of building a new elementary school at Kelley Park.
In 2012, McNulty founded a peer-to-peer support group for trauma survivors at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Md.
McNulty was one of three people taken hostage by an eco-terrorist at the former headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Md., two years earlier.
Gaithersburg uses hybrid voting system
The City used a hybrid voting system this cycle that allowed mail-in balloting and in-person voting.
Gaithersburg registered voters received mail-in ballot applications weeks before the November election.
Early voting occurred at Activity Center at Bohrer Park on Oct. 23 and 24.
Election Day polls were open Tuesday, Nov. 2, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ryan Miner is the Editor, Founder, and Publisher of A Miner Detail, a leading Maryland politics blog featuring Maryland political news, political commentary, and opinion.
Feedback and News tips: Ryan@AMinerDetail.com.
