Law and Government
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 27.4% 113,041 | 70.6% 291,846 |
| 2008 | 27.1% 118,608 | 71.5% 314,444 |
| 2004 | 32.8% 136,334 | 65.9% 273,936 |
| 2000 | 33.5% 124,580 | 62.5% 232,453 |
| 1996 | 35.2% 117,730 | 59.4% 198,807 |
| 1992 | 33.0% 62,955 | 55.1% 168,691 |
| 1988 | 48.1% 154,191 | 51.5% 165,187 |
| 1984 | 50.1% 146,924 | 49.7%' 146,036 |
| 1980 | 47.2% 125,515 | 39.8%' 105,822 |
Montgomery County was granted a charter form of government in 1948.
The present County Executive/County Council form of government of Montgomery County dates to November 1968 when the voters changed the form of government from a County Commission/County Manager system, as provided in the original 1948 home rule Charter.
The county began with a county commissioner system that kept most of the power in Annapolis. In 1948 voters approved a "Council-Manager" form of government, making Montgomery County the first home-rule county in Maryland. The first six-member council was elected in 1949. Then in 1968, the voters approved a "County Executive-Council" form of government. That change formed an executive branch under the County Executive, and a legislative branch under a seven-member County Council. Instead of a County Manager, there was now a Chief Administrative Officer appointed by the County Executive. That went into effect in 1970, when the first seven-member County Council was elected. Originally all of the council members were elected at large (that is, by all of the voters). Five members were required to reside in their council district. In November 1986, the voters amended the Charter to increase the number of Council seats in the 1990 election from seven to nine. Now five members are elected by the voters of their council district and four are elected at-large. Each voter may vote for five council members; four at-large and one from the district in which they reside.
The Montgomery County Police Department provides county-wide law enforcement services.
Read more about this topic: Montgomery County, Maryland
Famous quotes containing the words law and/or government:
“In a democracy—even if it is a so-called democracy like our white-élitist one—the greatest veneration one can show the rule of law is to keep a watch on it, and to reserve the right to judge unjust laws and the subversion of the function of the law by the power of the state. That vigilance is the most important proof of respect for the law.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)
“I do love this people [the French] with all my heart, and think that with a better religion and a better form of government and their present governors their condition and country would be most enviable.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)