Leaders and community members joined a ceremony Monday as signage was unveiled to name the Executive Office Building in Rockville after former Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett.
Hundreds joined the event to name the building after the county’s first African American county executive.
Leggett, 80, noted that county residents voted for him over seven elections spanning 28 years — “I say all of that because the credit does not go to me, it goes to the partnership and the people of this great county.”
“At this stormy time in our history, it’s especially fitting that we hold up individuals who embody the values and the virtues that we hold dear — and Ike Leggett stands for those values,” U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said. “He lives them and he breathes them everyday.”
“County Executive Leggett believes in the new American dream,” U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said. “And the new American dream says that you are not truly successful until you have made others successful.”
“I just want to toast a great executive leader because he was a great legislator, but above all, he occupied and continues to occupy, the highest office in the land — he’s a great citizen,” Rep. Jamie Raskin said.
Current County Executive Marc Elrich said Leggett is still remembered for saying, “If there aren’t enough seats at the table, we’ll make a bigger table.”
Unveiling new signage @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/6cpiv2Gaiw
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) February 24, 2025
Elrich noted parts of Leggett’s legacy including landmark tenant legislation “that for the first time really brought tenant voices to the table,” and the battle for minimum wage.
Leggett was elected county executive in 2006 and served three terms until 2018. According to the county, he advocated for a statewide gas tax increase to fund transit projects, and established a day laborer center.
Prior to his position as county executive, he was the first African American elected to the county council in 1986. He served four terms and was instrumental in passing legislation like the living wage law and the public smoking ban, according to the county.
“Naming this building in your honor reinforces the legacy: your commitment to public service, equity in our community, and your strong belief that as public officials we work for everyone in Montgomery County,” County Council President Kate Stewart said.
“He is the heart of what Montgomery County government can be, and what all government can and should be at its absolute finest,” said Councilmember Andrew Friedson, who made the recommendation to name the building after Leggett.
“You’re a man of Louisiana, strong and true. Compassionate and kind, in all that you do,” said Leggett’s wife, Catherine Leggett.
