Gabe Romero Drops Out

Just in from The Gazette:

Gabriel Romero will not run for a second term on the Montgomery County school board, he announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Romero cited the demands of his architectural firm, The RKtects Studio, Inc., as the reason for his decision.

‘‘Over the past three years we have been fortunate to experience a marked increase in business, and the practice now demands far more of my time and attention than I would be able to devote while serving a second term on the Board of Education,” he said in a statement.

Romero (Dist. 1) of Montgomery Village was facing a challenge from Judy Docca, a former principal at Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring, who has filed for candidacy in District 1.

‘‘I hope that with my decision not to seek reelection, more candidates will emerge from District 1,” Romero said.

Romero is the first county board member whose term expires this year not to seek reelection.

Board President Charles Haughey (At large) of Rockville has said he plans to stand for reelection.

Board members Nancy Navarro (Dist. 5) of Silver Spring and Patricia B. O’Neill (Dist. 3) of Bethesda have filed for candidacy in their respective districts. Romero won’t run for reelection to school board

It was never really clear where Romero stood on the sex-ed issue. It was said that the CRC President was treasurer for his campaign for a while, and he was the only board member to vote against the composition of the citizens advisory committee when it was constituted without naming a CRC member. On the other hand, he never gave any sign, other than that, that he was really aligned with the extremists in a serious way.

It will be fascinating over the next months to watch who stays and who enters the contest, and how it shapes up.