Ilaya Rome Hopkins Launches Exploratory Committee in District 1 (Updated)

East Bethesda resident Ilaya Rome Hopkins, a civic activist and former Planning Board candidate, has announced an exploratory committee for the District 1 County Council seat. The incumbent is freshman Roger Berliner, who defeated Republican Howard Denis in 2006. Hopkins is the first announced challenger for a district County Council position. Following is her press release.

Update: The Gazette's first article on the race is online.

FRIENDS OF ILAYA ROME HOPKINS

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Chair, Dana Wright
Phone, 202-253-9220
Email, danawright8@gmail.com

Ilaya Rome Hopkins Files Statement of Organization to Explore Montgomery County Council District 1 Run

BETHESDA, MD – January 7, 2010 – Ilaya Rome Hopkins, a community leader from Bethesda, today filed a Statement of Organization for the 2010 gubernatorial election cycle. The organization, Friends of Ilaya Rome Hopkins, has been formed to support Ms. Hopkins in exploring a candidacy for the District 1 Montgomery County Council seat.

“District 1 is a focal point for a number of issues in Montgomery County that will have a direct impact on our schools, transportation options and local economy,” Hopkins said. “Over the next several weeks I will be meeting with members of the community and examining these issues in depth as I consider my potential candidacy.”

Hopkins serves on the County Executive’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Implementation Committee, the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board where she co-chairs the Quality of Life committee, and is a board member of Bethesda Green, a public-private partnership to promote a healthy economy and sustainable living practices. She chairs the Coalition of Military Medical Center Neighbors, which represents 13,000 people who live, work, attend school and do business in the vicinity of the Medical Center Metro, home to the new Walter Reed National Medical Military Center in Bethesda. She is the immediate past president of the East Bethesda Citizens Association, a neighborhood group of 1,200 houses adjacent to the Bethesda Central Business District between East West Highway and Jones Bridge Road. She is in the current core class of Leadership Montgomery, active in the Rosemary Hills Primary and North Chevy Chase Elementary Schools PTAs and is a member of Montgomery Women.

Prior to becoming involved as a community leader, Ilaya was an organizational development consultant and international cultural exchange program officer. She has a Masters degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Bethesda with her husband and two sons.

You can follow Ilaya on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ilayahopkins and on the Friends of Ilaya Rome Hopkins Facebook fan page.

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