A campaign mailer from Republican County Council candidate Reardon Sullivan misrepresents a local columnist's words to attack his Democratic opponent, Board of Education member Julie Yang.

Sullivan, the former chair of the Montgomery County Republican Party and originator of the "Stop the Spend" ballot initiative, sent the mailer to District 1 voters in mid-September. The piece targets Yang on antisemitism and attributes this quote to Montgomery Perspective columnist Adam Pagnucco: "Her mailer used a quote implying an endorsement that actually went to an opponent."

Pagnucco says that's not what he wrote.

In a Monday, Sept. 21 column on Montgomery Perspective, Pagnucco wrote that his June 4 column does not contain the language Sullivan's mailer attributed to him. Sullivan's mailer cited that June 4 column as the source.

What Pagnucco actually wrote in June was more measured. He called Yang "smart to appeal to this constituency" and noted that her primary mailer featured "a supportive quote from a Washington Jewish Week editorial." He added that "fellow District 1 candidate Debbie Spielberg accurately stated in a press release that she and not Yang was endorsed by the media outlet."

The dispute traces back to the Democratic primary. Yang's campaign mailer quoted a line from a Washington Jewish Week editorial praising her as "a visible and persistent voice confronting antisemitism in Montgomery County Public Schools." The editorial, published May 20, did include that language about Yang. But it endorsed Spielberg, not Yang, writing that on balance, the editorial board favored Spielberg.

Spielberg called out the mailer at the time. In a May 28 press release, her campaign said Yang's mailer implied she had received the Washington Jewish Week endorsement and called that "not accurate."

Yang went on to win the Democratic primary with about 48.7% of the vote, according to Bethesda Magazine. Spielberg finished second. Sullivan ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Pagnucco noted that candidates sometimes use positive quotes from people or organizations that did not endorse them. He cited a parallel: three candidates in the county executive primary ran complimentary quotes from Rep. Jamie Raskin even though Raskin did not endorse anyone in that race.

Neither the Sullivan nor Yang campaigns have publicly responded to Pagnucco's column. The two candidates face each other in the Nov. 3 general election for the District 1 seat, which covers Bethesda, Chevy Chase and surrounding areas.