Meet:
Lelia True
At Large
Montgomery County Council
I am running because Montgomery County is at a crossroads: economic opportunities are slipping away to neighboring jurisdictions, county services and schools face real budget pressures, housing has become unaffordable for essential workers, and too many families are struggling to stay. This county needs battle-tested leadership focused on real solutions — not political theater.
I have commanded soldiers in combat, developed strategies at McKinsey, managed hundreds of millions in operations at Comcast, and led a school through the crisis. I sought the Forward Party's endorsement because the path forward demands results over rhetoric, coalition-building over tribalism, and leaders who deliver for everyone. That's True Leadership for all of Montgomery County.
June 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
Lelia True is a West Point graduate, Bronze Star recipient, and candidate for Montgomery County Council At-Large in the June 2026 Democratic Primary.
An airborne, air assault qualified, combat veteran, Lelia commanded 160 soldiers in the Gulf War as part of XVIII Airborne Corps. After nine years on active duty, she transferred into the reserves. She then built a career defined by results in complex, high-stakes environments: four years as a strategic consultant at McKinsey, 17 years at Comcast managing operations with P&L responsibility exceeding $190 million, and a tenure as Head of School at Washington Waldorf School — where she steered the institution through COVID-19, delivered a $7 million capital construction project on time and under budget, and led long-range strategic planning for a thriving pre-K through 12 community.
Public service runs in her family. The daughter of a 30-year public school teacher, Lelia has coached hundreds of Montgomery County youth across soccer, basketball, swimming, and more. She is a single parent whose son was a volunteer certified EMT for the local fire department and currently attends the U.S. Naval Academy, and her father dedicated years to nonprofits including the American Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation.
Lelia holds a B.S. in General Engineering from West Point and an M.S. in Business from Purdue. She brings independent, cross-sector leadership and a commitment to pragmatic solutions — on economic opportunity, education, and fiscal responsibility — to the Montgomery County Council.
Policy Objectives
Build a Montgomery County Economy That Competes — Create a strategic economic development plan that leverages NIH, FDA, and university talent into business ecosystems that stay in MoCo, with competitive incentives to stop losing jobs to Northern Virginia.
Fiscal Discipline & Budget Transparency — Apply corporate-level discipline to county finances: cut waste before cutting services, and build a transparent, community-driven budget process with no surprises for families.
Protect Schools & Students — Defend MCPS quality as revenues tighten, establish a County AI-in-Education Standards Board, and enact student data protections to keep kids safe from vendor exploitation.
Empower Nonprofits as Partners — Shift county government from treating nonprofits as contractors to genuine partners, with multi-year funding agreements, earlier policy engagement, and shared data infrastructure.
Make Montgomery County Affordable — Streamline zoning and permitting, expand affordable housing development, and support county-backed housing assistance so teachers, firefighters, and essential workers can afford to live here.
Education Background
B.S. — United States Military Academy, West Point
MS in Business — Purdue University, Krannert Business School