Andrew Friedson is the Montgomery County District 1 Councilmember, representing the community where he was born and raised. His tireless commitment to enhancing quality of life, growing the local economy, and modernizing local government and his pragmatic, data-driven approach have delivered real results during one of the most challenging periods in County history.

The youngest ever Councilmember upon taking office in December 2018, Andrew hit the ground running in his first year. He spearheaded successful legislation to support businesses by requiring an Economic Impact Statement on all County legislation, to boost quality of life by maintaining pedestrian access around construction sites, and to strengthen fiscal oversight by instituting regular financial reviews of all County spending. Andrew led the effort to add millions in additional funding for affordable housing, restore proposed funding cuts to the County's parks, and increase coverage for emergency mental health counseling. As a result, Andrew was named the Best County Freshman Legislator and “the economic and fiscal center of the Montgomery County Council.”

When the COVID-19 crisis hit in 2020, Andrew was the driving force behind the Public Health Emergency Grant program to support hard-hit small businesses and nonprofits, the Telework Assistance Program to help businesses transition to telework, and the Reopen Montgomery program to aid businesses in safely resuming operations. He worked with his Council colleagues and the County Executive to create, fund, and implement relief programs for childcare providers, renters who lost income during the pandemic, and arts and cultural institutions. The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce named Andrew Legislator of the Year for his immediate and sustained leadership in helping local employers weather the worst period of COVID-19.

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