Election links: Debating affordable housing in Montgomery County

Elrich and Floreen advance very different approaches to enabling affordable housing in Montgomery County, S. Kathryn Allen has lost her place on DC's ballot, Ben Jealous continues to run far behind Hogan on a popular platform, Virginia Republicans offer their own redistricting plan, and more in our election links roundup.

Debate night in Montgomery County
Democratic nominee Marc Elrich, Republican Robin Ficker, and independent candidate Nancy Floreen met at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Rockville to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Montgomery County. Elrich says he wants to see a more “balanced” approach to economic growth and says he is uncomfortable with the county’s “east-west divide.” This sounds great, but he then he said: “I think you have to look at the willingness sometimes to zone for less density that allows for more affordable housing.” Floreen responded that “the answer to more affordable housing is more housing. Not fighting against housing, as Mr. Elrich has done, but increasing the supply.” (Jennifer Barrios / Post)

Floreen's finances face criticism
On Tuesday, a Democratic Socialists of America activist filed a complaint with Maryland's Board of Elections alleging that Floreen's campaign has violated state election contribution limits. He says her campaign accepted multiple contributions from entities sharing the same address — in other words, that companies are spreading donations across multiple LLCs. The Board is planning to review the complaint, and Floreen says if it finds that some donations are illegal, she'll return the money. (Ally Schweitzer / WAMU)

Vote Hogan, hope Jealous
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has a very strong approval rating and is running many points ahead of Democratic challenger Ben Jealous. That said, major components of Jealous’ platform are popular among Maryland voters. 71% of Maryland voters support Jealous’ proposed minimum wage hike, while 62% and 54% support legalization and Medicare-for-All, respectively. (Danielle Gaines / Maryland Matters)

Eyeing Jealous
Given Jealous’ popular platform, impressive resume, the high stakes of the election, and the favorable national conditions, why has the Maryland Democratic establishment been so wary of fully embracing Jealous? The chattering classes believe it is because Jealous did not emerge from the traditional “grip and grin” retail politics that are crucial to building networks of political support. (Adam Pugnucco / Bethesda Magazine)

S. Kathryn Allen is off the ballot in DC
The DC Board of Elections disqualified independent at-large DC Council candidate S. Kathryn Allen from the general election ballot this week. Allen is the second at-large candidate to fail to make the ballot due to signature fraud issues. Allen had been the favorite among some in the DC political establishment and business communities, who wanted her to take on progressive Councimember Elissa Silverman. Silverman is unpopular among some in the business community because of her leadership on paid leave. (Cuneyt Dil / DC Line)

Reeder remains against Silverman
With Allen and Hughes off the ballot, Dionne Bussey-Reeder is the only remaining viable alternative to Elissa Silverman’s at-large Council seat. Reeder is a small business owner who has significant public service experience, most recently as Mayor Anthony Williams’ neighborhood service coordinator for Ward 8. Like Allen, Reeder objects to the financing of DC’s new paid family leave program. She also opposed Initiative 77. (Tom Sherwood / City Paper)

Initiative 77's future remains doubtful
DC councilmembers held an all-day hearing on Monday on Initiative 77, and it appears that a majority remain committed to overturning it. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson released a statement calling the initiative “misleading at best, dishonest at worst.” Mayor Muriel Bowser also supports repeal. Limited research on similar initiatives suggests that, if implemented, prices will rise slightly and customers will tip a little less. Research also casts doubt on the conventional wisdom that the initiative would be a job/restaurant killer. (Alexia Fernández Campbell / Vox)

Potential progress on redistricting in Virginia
Republicans in Virginia’s House of Delegates offered an alternative redistricting plan to the one announced by Democrats late in August. Republicans claim that their plan is “politically neutral, race-blind remedial redistricting map” that would pass constitutional muster without causing major disruptions to the current map. In June, a federal court found Virginia’s House districts were drawn to unconstitutionally concentrate black voters into a few districts. (Laura Vozzella / Post)