Sidney A. Katz

Sidney A. Katz
Member of the Montgomery County Council
from District 3
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2014[1]
Preceded by Phill Andrews
Constituency Gaithersburg, Rockville, Washington Grove, Leisure World, and parts of Aspen Hill, Derwood, Potomac, and North Potomac.
Mayor of Gaithersburg
In office
November 1998 – November 10, 2014[2]
Preceded by W. Edward Bohrer, Jr.
Succeeded by Jud Ashman
Personal details
Born c. 1950[3]
Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.[4]
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Sally Katz[5]
Children 2[5]
Residence Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater University of Maryland
Occupation Politician
Profession Businessman
Website www.sidneykatz.com
For the physician, see Sidney Katz.

Sidney A. Katz is an American politician and businessman. He currently is a member of the Montgomery County Council representing District 3.

Early life and education

Katz is a lifelong resident of Gaithersburg.[5] He attended Gaithersburg Elementary and Gaithersburg Middle School.[5] He graduated from Gaithersburg High School.[6] He attended the University of Maryland where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration.[5]

Career

Katz was a member of the City of Gaithersburg Planning Commission from 1976 until 1978.[7] He served as a Gaithersburg council member beginning in 1978.[3]

After Mayor W. Edward Bohrer died in office of a stroke in 1998, the Gaithersburg council appointed Katz the new mayor.[8]

In 2008, Katz supported a law to prohibit seeking work or hiring someone to work while on most city streets, sidewalks, and parking areas.[9] The law was declared unconstitutional by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.[9][10] Gansler said the law regulated speech in public without being narrowly designed to increase public safety and traffic flow.[9][10] Katz said he would find other ways to regulate day laborers.[9]

In 2008, Katz was elected president of the Maryland Municipal League, the association that represents Maryland's 157 cities and towns.[11]

In 2014, Montgomery Council Council Member Phil Andrews announced that he would not run for reelection and would run for County Executive instead.[12] Katz announced he would run to replace Andrews on the County Council representing District 3.[12] Katz's campaign focused on early childhood education, after-school programs, and career and technical training.[13] Katz won the Democratic Party primary election.[14] With no opponent on the general election ballot, Katz won the general election in 2014.[15] His term began on December 1, 2014.[1] He sits on the government operations and public safety committee.[16]

Personal life

He was the co-owner, along with other family members, of Wolfson's Department Store on East Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg from 1971 until he closed the store on October 26, 2013.[17] [18] The business was started by his grandparents, Jacob and Rose Wolfson, in 1918.[18]

Katz is married to Sally Katz, a pupil personnel worker for Montgomery County Public Schools, and is the father of two adult children.[5] He lives in the Pheasant Run neighborhood of Gaithersburg.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Turque; Arelis R., Bill (December 2, 2014). "Deja vu for Leggett and Baker". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  2. ↑ Davis, Jenn (September 3, 2014). "Longtime Gaithersburg mayor submits conditional resignation: Move comes in anticipation of Katz joining County Council". Gazette.Net.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kaiman, Beth (March 30, 1989). "Montgomery County Notes: No Opposition for Bohrer". The Washington Post. p. GMD11.
  4. ↑ "Sidney A. Katz". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Voter Guide: Montgomery County Councilman District 3". WAMU. 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Perlstein, Linda (October 9, 2003). "A Teacher's Gift Backs Her Advice; Md. Couple Left School $1 Million for Scholarships". The Washington Post. p. B4.
  7. ↑ "Community Invited to Katz Open House". City of Gaithersburg. October 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Metro in Brief: Councilman Appointed Mayor of Gaithersburg". September 11, 1998. p. B3A.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Rucker, Philip (February 29, 2008). "Gaithersburg Ordinance Ruled Unconstitutional". The Washington Post. p. B4.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Gansler, Douglas F.; Varga, William R. (February 27, 2008). "Opinion of the Attorney General of Maryland". Attorney General of Maryland.
  11. ↑ Marimow, Ann E. (July 3, 2008). "Pension Board Membership Bill Stalls in Council". The Washington Post. p. T3.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Turque, Bill (January 21, 2014). "Nancy Floreen tops Montgomery County Council at-large incumbents in campaign cash: The Montgomery County Council member is in the strongest financial position of the four". The Washington Post.
  13. ↑ Turque, Bill; St. George, Donna (May 11, 2014). "Montgomery candidates grapple with school concerns: Board of Education, superintendent are the ones in position to make the decisions, but voters look to county". The Washington Post.
  14. ↑ Turque, Bill (June 27, 2014). "Anti-incumbent push by Montgomery labor unions comes up short: MoCo unions push for payback from incumbents fizzles on primary day". The Washington Post.
  15. ↑ Turque, Bill (November 5, 2014). "Leggett and Baker reelected: Term-limit changes are defeated". The Washington Post. p. A32.
  16. ↑ Turque, Bill (November 14, 2014). "Elrich, strong critic of development policies, moved off of influential Montgomery panel (Posted 2014-11-14 18:47:07): Elrich, a frequent critic of county growth and land-use policies, is removed from planning committee". The Washington Post.
  17. ↑ Davis, Jenn (October 31, 2013). "Wolfson’s Department Store in Olde Towne Gaithersburg shuts its doors: Owner Sidney Katz said he lost the spark to run the business". Gazette.net.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Davis, Jenn (November 14, 2013). "Wolfson's ends a century of business". The Washington Post. p. T18.
  19. ↑ "Sidney A. Katz". The Washington Post. November 3, 2005.

External links