Would Elrich Be the Oldest Council Member Ever Elected?
Marc Elrich, May 2026 (Photo: Montgomery County, MD on Flickr)
If successful in the June 23 Democratic primary election for an at-large seat on the Montgomery County Council, Marc Elrich, the current County Executive, is virtually assured of winning in the November general election. Born on November 2, 1949, Elrich will be exactly 77 years old in November. It begs the question: Has anyone older ever been elected?
To answer that question, we evaluated historical precedents, separating them into three categories: newly elected first-time councilmembers, consecutively reelected incumbents, and returning non-incumbents. Elrich would fall into the latter category, having served three terms as an at-large councilmember from December 2006 until December 3, 2018.
First-Time Elected Councilmembers
The records for the oldest individuals elected to their first terms on the Council are held by two current councilmembers and one who served more than 75 years ago:
Lewis Meriam: Elected to the inaugural Council-Manager body on January 7, 1949, at the age of 65 years, 3 months, and 2 days. He is the oldest person elected for the first time to serve a four-year term.
Marilyn Balcombe: Elected to represent District 2 on November 8, 2022, at the age of 65 years, 2 months, and 26 days.
Sidney A. Katz: Elected to represent District 3 on November 4, 2014, at the age of 64 years, 7 months, and 11 days.
There is one unique demographic outlier. Donald Praisner won a special election to the Council in May 2008 at the age of 76 to fill the vacancy left by the sudden passing of his wife, Marilyn Praisner. While Praisner was older than Meriam, Balcombe, and Katz at the time of his initial election, he was elected to fill a partial, unexpired term of approximately two and a half years rather than a full four-year term, and he ultimately passed away in office in January 2009.
A first-time candidate elected at age 77 would shatter Lewis Meriam’s established record at age 65.
Reelected Councilmembers
Historically, the record-holder for the oldest consecutively reelected incumbent to a four-year term on the Council is William E. Hanna Jr. First elected in 1982, Hanna won consecutive reelections in 1986, 1990, and 1994. Hanna was 73 years, 9 months, and 14 days old when he was reelected to his fourth consecutive term on November 8, 1994. This is closely followed by Sidney A. Katz, who was reelected to represent District 3 on November 8, 2022, at the age of 72 years, 7 months, and 15 days.
If Elrich were running for consecutive reelection in 2026 at the age of 77, he would comfortably surpass Hanna’s record of 73 years and 9 months. If Elrich is successful in 2026 and chooses to run for consecutive reelection in November 2030, he would be the record holder in this category at 81 years of age.
Returning Non-Incumbent Councilmembers
Elrich entered the 2026 election as a returning non-incumbent. Remarkably, the only other person elected to a four-year term under these circumstances is the late Neal Potter. Potter served five consecutive terms on the County Council from 1970 to 1990. He then successfully transitioned to the executive branch, serving as Montgomery County’s fourth County Executive from 1990 to 1994. Following his single term as executive, Potter ran for a sixth, non-consecutive term on the County Council in November 1994. Potter was 79 years and 7 months old when he won the November 1994 election. Therefore, if Marc Elrich is elected to the County Council in November 2026, he would be the second-oldest returning non-incumbent. Neal Potter was more than two and a half years older when elected under very similar political circumstances.
Does Age Matter?
The seniority of American politicians has always been part of the debate. It came to the forefront in 2024 when President Joe Biden’s presidential reelection campaign collapsed after a series of embarrassing, age-related gaffes. Still, others point to President Trump, who just celebrated his 80th birthday with a wild UFC extravaganza at the White House and then immediately hopped on a plane for high-stakes meetings in Europe, as proof that age is relative.
Within Montgomery County political circles, private discussion of Elrich’s age occurs, but it is muted in the background. Only one county leader has spoken on the record. In an April interview with WAMU’s The Politics Hour, Council President Natali Fani-González said this about Elrich, “Do I agree that somebody who spent years on the county council, went on to become county executive and wants to come back to be a council member? I do not. Because if you’re truly a progressive, you should be able to elevate and support the next generation. And he’s not doing that. You need to understand when it’s your time to move on.”
