Laurie-Anne Sayles, a Democrat and the first Black woman elected to the Montgomery County Council, is running for a second at-large term in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Four at-large seats are on the ballot. Voters choose up to four candidates. Sayles shares the ballot with Democrats Karla Silvestre, Marc Elrich and Scott Evan Goldberg, along with Republican Sherwin Wells, according to BallotReady election data.
At-large council members represent every resident in Montgomery County. The nine-member council sets the county budget, writes local legislation and oversees land-use and zoning decisions that shape neighborhoods across the county.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Montgomery County Council, at large
- Residence: Sayles is a first-generation Jamaican-American born and raised in Lanham, Maryland, and the youngest of six children, according to her county council biography.
- Education: Prince George's Community College; bachelor's in public health, University of Maryland; master's in public administration, University of Baltimore
Experience and public service
Sayles was inaugurated Dec. 5, 2022, for a four-year term as an at-large council member, according to her county council biography. She previously served on the Gaithersburg City Council from 2017 to 2021, according to BallotReady profile data, making history as the first Black person elected to that office.
Before entering elected office, Sayles worked as a clinical trials communications coordinator at the National Institutes of Health from 2013 to 2016. She then served as a communications coordinator and special assistant at the Nature Conservancy from 2017 to 2018 and as senior legislative staff at the Maryland General Assembly in 2017, according to BallotReady profile data. She was a senior associate consultant at the FDA from 2019 to 2022.
Her earlier career included work as a public health educator at the Prince George's County Health Department, a health program manager at Kaiser Permanente and a paraeducator at Montgomery County Public Schools.
Sayles has also served as vice president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats and president of the African American Democratic Club. She was a board member of the National League of Cities and the Maryland Municipal League and chaired the Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Sayles' responses on her campaign website via BallotReady. They reflect the candidate's own stated priorities.
Housing: Sayles says she supports down payment assistance programs that incentivize homeownership and backs residential projects that create more housing near jobs and transit, with a goal of 10,000 additional units by 2030. She says she wants to fully fund the county's rental assistance program and increase the set-aside floor for moderately priced dwelling units, known locally as MPDUs, to 15 percent, matching Gaithersburg's affordable housing policy.
Transportation: Sayles says she supports investing in green infrastructure such as cycling, smart traffic signals and a greener bus fleet. She calls for efficient completion of transit projects including the Purple Line, Bus Rapid Transit, FLASH and the Corridor Cities Transitway, saying those projects are crucial to economic growth along the biotech corridor.
She also says she wants a feasibility study on funding for transportation projects to address transit deserts.
Economy: Sayles says she wants to strengthen the county's relationship with federal agencies and corporate offices to develop opportunities across the regional tech corridor. She says she supports public-private partnerships in workforce training and leveraging the county's creative economy to drive development.
Education: Sayles says she supports closing the digital divide, developing apprenticeship programs through public-private partnerships, increasing salaries for experienced educators teaching the most challenged learners and expanding broadband access.
Agriculture and food access: Sayles says she wants to advance sustainable local food production in the Agricultural Reserve, streamline access to affordable land and building permits for farmers, and grow the "farm to food bank" program.
Endorsements
The following organizations have endorsed Sayles, according to the sources noted:
- Greater Greater Washington
- Progressive Neighbors (via BallotReady)
- Progressive Maryland (via BallotReady)
- Maryland State Education Association (via BallotReady)
- Jews United for Justice Campaign Fund (via BallotReady)
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland, also known as AFSCME (via BallotReady)
- Our Revolution Maryland (via BallotReady)
Candidate positions are based on responses submitted through BallotReady and the candidate's campaign website. The Bethesda Beacon presents this information to help voters make informed decisions.
