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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Washington, DC. Written by Chelsea Cirruzzo, Cuneyt Dil and Paige Hopkins.

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The race for Montgomery County executive is a nail-biter reminiscent of four years ago.

Why it matters: The election to lead the county of 1.05 million people was dominated by how to rejuvenate its economy, which has lost pace with the rest of the region. 

In a rematch of 2018, County Executive Marc Elrich and businessman David Blair sparred this time over the incumbent’s leadership on housing and economic development, especially in dense areas such as Silver Spring and growing corridors in Rockville and Gaithersburg.

More than a week out from Election Day, the two are separated by the narrowest of margins, just four years after Elrich beat Blair by 77 votes. Both campaigns are waiting for an untold number of votes still to be counted, adding to the confusion.

What I’m hearing: Elrich is waiting out the painstakingly slow vote tabulation by directing some of his ire toward election officials. 

"The state has underfunded the boards of elections to start with. For whatever reason, these folks here did not plan it out well," Elrich tells me.

The vote counting has baffled Marylanders. It’s due to Gov. Larry Hogan vetoing an elections reform bill that would have allowed the tens of thousands of mail-in votes to be counted early. 

State of play: On Tuesday, Blair pulled into a 134-vote lead, putting him at 39.33% to Elrich’s 39.20%.

Unlike Elrich, he’s not waiting it out in Montgomery County. Blair and his family decamped on a vacation, as first reported by veteran journalist Tom Sherwood, adding that the campaign declined to confirm talk that he is in Montana.

“David and his family went on a vacation,” campaign spokesperson Aaron Kraut told me, adding that he’ll be back today. 

When did Blair leave? “I believe it was last Wednesday,” Kraut says when pressed. 

The gossip around Montgomery County is that Blair jetted off on a chartered flight to Montana right after Election Day. It wouldn't be the greatest look for a businessman — the founder of a successful Fortune 500 health care company — who already takes heat for being a self-funded candidate pouring millions to win public office.

Not to mention, what pol leaves town while votes are being counted?

Flight records online show a Bombardier Challenger 350 plane belonging to private jet company NetJets taking off from Washington Dulles at 1:42pm and landing at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport.

Kraut has not responded to Axios' questions about whether Blair was on the jet.

Blair has been silent about his exact whereabouts, and other Montgomery County reporters have been left in the dark.

Not much is known about Blair’s getaway, but Bethesda Beat reported in 2018 that he owns a $4.5 million condo in Madison County, Montana, at the “luxe Yellowstone Club [that] gives Blair and his family access to a private ski resort, an 18-hole golf course, and fly fishing streams.”

Blair will be returning today to Montgomery County either with a bigger lead or more uncertainty. 

💬 Bonus tidbit: Climate activists plan to "shut down" the Congressional Baseball Game tomorrow to protest inaction. 

Town Talker is a weekly column on local politics and power. Drop me a line about what your friends are chatting about: cuneyt@axios.com

Town Talker: Marc Elrich and David Blair tied in Montgomery County ... again

Plus: David Blair appears to have jetted off to Montana

Marc Elrich and David Blair, side-by-side headshots

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (left) and businessman David Blair. Photos: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images and Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Washington, D.C.

The race for Montgomery County executive is a nail-biter reminiscent of four years ago.Why it matters: The election to lead the county of 1.05 million people was dominated by how to rejuvenate its economy, which has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="lost pace with the rest of the region" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/07/13/town-talker-montgomery-county-executive-election-marc-elrich" data-vars-content-id="01fcd9e9-8b73-49ad-9072-fe1bdd4e4b00" data-vars-headline="Town Talker: Marc Elrich and David Blair tied in Montgomery County ... again" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/07/13/town-talker-montgomery-county-executive-election-marc-elrich" target="_self">lost pace with the rest of the region</a>.

Politics

News

Tech workers in the D.C. region are seeing salaries nearly as high as their Silicon Valley peers. 

Why it matters: Diversifying our economy is a top goal for regional leaders, given the perception — and, in part, the reality — that we are a government town.

By the numbers: Techies in San Francisco are still out-earning D.C. tech employees, but on average not by much, according to company data compiled by the management software firm Carta.

As of June, tech workers in the Washington metro make 97% of what those in San Francisco earn. 

We took a giant leap of 12 percentage points from 2021 to 2022, just a hair away from the top-tier cities, which also include New York and Seattle.

The big picture: Northern Virginia has become a magnet for the industry, with the Dulles Technology Corridor continuing its growth along the Silver Line and Amazon HQ2 going up in Arlington. 

And life sciences are booming in Montgomery County, making the region the second in the nation for talent in that sector, as we reported yesterday.

What they’re saying: “This region is shedding the image that it’s a government town,” said Jennifer Taylor, head of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, which has over 400 members in the tech industry.

She cites three decades of growth that has accelerated in recent years, with big names such as Microsoft and Google opening offices, in addition to government contractors expanding. 

What’s next: “Every time I turn around, everything’s about AI, machine learning, and autonomous systems,” Taylor told Axios.

New investments in academia hope to have a snowball effect, putting students and employers on campuses. Taylor said the upcoming Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria and George Mason’s Fuse at Mason Square in Arlington are two projects that will be pivotal to “churning out more talent.” 

Another bright spot: The cost of living in the region is 23% lower than in San Francisco, according to NerdWallet’s cost of living calculator.

The D.C. region's tech salaries nearly rival Silicon Valley

Washington is shedding its image as just a government town, tech industry leaders say

Tech workers in the D.C. region are seeing salaries nearly as high as their Silicon Valley peers. Why it matters: Diversifying our economy is a top goal for regional leaders, given the perception — and, in part, the reality — that we are a government town.

Business

It’s been a trying few years for millions of civil servants across the country who serve the federal government. 

The Trump administration brought its own turmoil — with a revolving door of Cabinet officials and some deep cuts to agencies and departments — before the pandemic hit. And morale hasn’t improved under President Biden.

Driving the news: Overall employee satisfaction is down 4.5 points from 2020 to a current score of 64.5 out of 100 points, according to the 2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings released yesterday.

The annual analysis was produced by the Partnership for Public Service and the Boston Consulting Group.

On the up: NASA — already on a high from its success with the Webb telescope — held its #1 spot in the employee satisfaction rankings for large agencies. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs was feted as the most improved large agency, cracking into the top five.

The Agency for Global Media, home of Voice for America — a punching bag during the Trump years — saw the most improved score among mid-size agencies. It jumped 11.7 points, taking it a hair above the overall federal government satisfaction score. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities — which funds grants to museums, colleges, and more — was the most improved small agency, with a 25.5 point leap: “An Olympic-level vault up the rankings,” as Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, put it.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has been dead last for 10 years running among 17 big agencies. 

Between the lines: A big sticking point is the future of remote work. While more federal workers here are back in-person compared to last year, officials acknowledge remote work will be more prevalent than before the pandemic. But there is uncertainty about the particulars.

“While employees may rather work at home or even prefer working in the office, what we see in the data and hear from federal employees is that they want communication,” says Loren DeJonge Schulman, a vice president at the Partnership for Public Service. “Agencies that have senior leaders and supervisors who offer this transparency and flexibility are seen at the top of our rankings.”

More remote work will not delight local leaders who want as much of a return to pre-pandemic times to revitalize an ailing downtown. But just like the private sector, Uncle Sam is competing for employees in a tight labor market.

“We are undoubtedly working toward more workplace flexibility in order to be a competitive employer,” Jason Miller, a top official in the Office of Management and Budget tells Axios. 

Of note: Employees under the age of 30 are increasingly desired, and they scored high in satisfaction across most categories — except in pay.

Zoom in: The overall drop in employee satisfaction came as the Senate confirmed only 55% of Biden’s political nominees by the end of last year, the analysis notes. That’s lower than under Trump, who had 57% of confirmations greenlighted, and a big departure from Barack Obama, who had 69%.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough praised his employees for working on the frontlines, risking COVID-19 exposure to help deliver health care, burial services, and other help to nine million veterans.

“VA employees, like all federal employees, have been the backbone of this country during the pandemic,” McDonough said.

Best places to work in the federal government

Employee satisfaction overall is down under the Biden administration.

Work from space? Photo: NASA via Getty Images

It’s been a trying few years for millions of civil servants across the country who serve the federal government. <ul><li>The Trump administration brought its own turmoil — with a revolving door of Cabinet officials and some deep cuts to agencies and departments — before the pandemic hit. And morale hasn’t improved under President Biden.</li></ul>Driving the news: Overall employee satisfaction is down 4.5 points from 2020 to a current score of 64.5 out of 100 points, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" data-vars-click-url="https://bestplacestowork.org/analysis/government-wide-findings-overall/" data-vars-content-id="4a89b060-3c93-413b-93be-bb19d344f30e" data-vars-headline="Best places to work in the federal government" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://bestplacestowork.org/analysis/government-wide-findings-overall/" target="_blank">2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government</a> rankings released yesterday.

Pedestrian and bike safety advocates protested outside the Wilson Building Wednesday night to demand stricter road regulations and enforcement after a deadly month for cyclists and pedestrians. 

Why it matters: Two cyclists and two pedestrians have been killed by drivers this month, sparking outcry from advocates who say Vision Zero, D.C.’s plan to end traffic-related deaths by 2024, isn’t meeting its goals.

“Our transportation system is broken and it's failing people and it's killing people,” Jeremiah Lowery, advocacy director with protest organizer Washington Area Bicycle Association, tells Axios.

What’s happening: Advocates want to see a number of changes, including expanded protected bike lanes, and requirements that trucks and tractor trailers that operate in the District have underrun protection to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from sliding underneath them in a collision. 

State of play: One policy already in motion is a bill that would ban drivers from turning right on red and allow cyclists to proceed through stop signs and red lights. The D.C. Council’s transportation committee has recommended the passage of a bill. 

Yes, but: In the committee’s report on the legislation, D.C. Department of Transportation Director Everett Lott told the committee he supports traffic safety, but would only like to ban right turns on red on a case-by-case basis.  

Advocates rally for D.C. traffic safety after deadly month

Advocates want to see a number of changes, including expanded protected bike lanes.

Pedestrian and bike safety advocates protested outside the Wilson Building Wednesday night to demand stricter road regulations and enforcement after a deadly month for cyclists and pedestrians. Why it matters: Two cyclists and two pedestrians have been killed by drivers this month, sparking outcry from advocates who say Vision Zero, D.C.’s plan to end traffic-related deaths by 2024, isn’t meeting its goals.

Andrew Clyde, a Republican junior member of Congress from Georgia, is now D.C.’s biggest nemesis on the Hill.

Why it matters: Republicans winning control of Congress could bring back the dark ages for local D.C. power — right as Muriel Bowser will be sworn in for a third mayoral term. 

Clyde has floated banning abortion, bringing red state-style gun laws, and abolishing the mayor’s office in the deep blue city.

Catch-up quick: Clyde, 58, is a Navy veteran who occasionally dons combat boots on the Hill. The businessman entered politics after the IRS seized $940,000 from his gun shop in 2013, setting him on the path to advocating for reforms of civil asset forfeiture. 

He won his seat in 2020 and hangs with the hardline House Freedom Caucus. After the Jan. 6 riot, he notably declared that the footage looked like “a normal tourist visit.”

What he's saying: The nation’s capital, Clyde told Axios on Monday at the Capitol, is a “disgrace for our country.”

“There’s crime that’s almost out of control in the city,” he says. “Look at the landscaping on Capitol Hill. It’s gorgeous.” The rest of the city? “Terrible.” 

His remedy? A congressional takeover. Clyde has said he's drafting legislation to repeal the Home Rule Act, the 1973 law that enshrined local autonomy for D.C.

Is he ready to become the city’s public enemy no. 1? “I don’t think we go to war at all,” he told Axios. The veteran expects Washingtonians to welcome the power grab with open arms. “These are issues we can all agree on,” he says. “Let’s make our city safe again.”

Threat level: In addition to an abortion ban, Clyde said he wants to institute a law allowing D.C. residents to carry handguns without a permit.

“There’s a lot of things on the table,” Clyde told Axios, adding, “I can tell you that, an office of mayor, OK, isn’t in the Constitution.” Abolish the mayor’s office? 

“We need to get back to an originalist interpretation of the Constitution,” he says. “Home rule isn’t that.” 

But, but, but: Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee that oversees D.C., said Clyde’s plans on home rule have not risen to leadership level.

“There have been no discussions committee-wide on this,” Comer told Axios. “This is an Andrew Clyde project that he feels very passionate about.”

The other side: Council member and constitutional law professor Mary Cheh, already heated in the middle of a hike in Virginia, said on the phone: “Obviously, he doesn’t know anything about the Constitution” which allows Congress to “exercise exclusive” power over the city’s affairs but doesn’t preclude it from delegating power to a local government. 

Still, that means Congress could repeal the Home Rule Act, as Clyde has proposed. 

Mayor Bowser’s office said in a statement that Clyde “represents neither the people nor the values of Washington, D.C.”

💬 If he wants to run D.C., I say Clyde should run for mayor instead! Town Talker is a weekly column on local politics and power. Send me hot tips: cuneyt@axios.com

Town Talker: Meet D.C.’s new worst foe in Congress

Clyde has floated banning abortion, bringing red state-style gun laws like permitless carry, and abolishing the mayor’s office in the deep blue city.

Andrew Clyde laces combat boots on steps of U.S. Capitol

Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Andrew Clyde, a Republican junior member of Congress from Georgia, is now D.C.’s biggest nemesis on the Hill.Why it matters: Republicans winning control of Congress could bring back the dark ages for local D.C. power — right as Muriel Bowser will be sworn in for a third mayoral term.

Cuneyt Dil

Featured stories

Advocates rally for D.C. traffic safety after deadly month

Town Talker: Marc Elrich and David Blair tied in Montgomery County ... again

Town Talker: Meet D.C.’s new worst foe in Congress

The D.C. region's tech salaries nearly rival Silicon Valley

Best places to work in the federal government