Former County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg filed for election in the County Council district that includes Bethesda and Chevy Chase on Tuesday, the last day candidates are allowed to file for this June’s gubernatorial primary.
Trachtenberg, a Democrat who was an at-large council member from 2006-2010, will take on incumbent Roger Berliner, who until Tuesday looked to have a clear path to his third term representing District 1.
The last minute filing for District 1 comes as something as a surprise.
Trachtenberg was rumored to be weighing some type of run this election season, though she told Bethesda Magazine last month that she had decided not to run for the open District 16 state senate seat and that she was still weighing a bid for an at-large Council seat.
Communications consultant and former Trachtenberg advisor Eric Hensal tweeted a photo of Trachtenberg making her run official at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Trachtenberg ran in the Democratic primary for the 6th District Congressional seat that eventually went to Rep. John Delaney. The 60-year-old North Bethesda resident dropped out of the race in January 2012 due to a recurrence of breast cancer.
According to state campaign finance records, Trachtenberg has $122,574 in campaign funds on hand, all left over from previous campaigns. She did not report any contributions in 2013. Berliner reported $52,000 in available campaign money in January.
Photo via @EricJHensal
