When Gaithersburg Mayor, Jud Ashman founded the Gaithersburg Book Festival in 2010, he drew from a lifetime love of reading, including childhood books like Charlotte’s Web and Superfudge, stories he read growing up in Miami.
Now, the long-time mayor and small business owner has grown the festival into an annual event that draws thousands of readers and over 100 prestigious authors. It’s one of dozens of initiatives the affable longest-serving elected official in Gaithersburg—Maryland’s third largest city—has brought to his community the last two-plus decades, driven by a love of people and deep-seeded desire to improve lives.
“There’s no more immersive and intimate way to get to see the world through somebody else’s eyes than to read a book,” says Ashman. “You’re exercising your empathy muscles, and the more empathetic we are, the better we are as a society.”
Ashman, the second-longest serving mayor in Montgomery County, owns Web Mobile Image, which helps businesses design, optimize and host their websites. “I enjoy serving people well and making them happy,” he says. “And I embrace the accountability.”
He got a taste for community leadership in 2001 when he organized parents to testify at city hall about a proposal to address school overcrowding. In 2005 when he ran for city council, he lost by 44 votes. In 2007, he tried again and won. Seven years later, voters elected Ashman mayor, and have consistently since. Under his watch, the city boasts the lowest property tax rate of any large city in Maryland and a low and falling crime rate.
Gaithersburg is rated among the 25 best places to live in the country by AARP, and it’s grown by 14% over the last ten years.
Among Ashman’s proudest achievements is the approval of redevelopment plans for Lakeforest Mall, a project decades in the making. Now, he’s laser-focused on attracting more private-sector investments and jobs to Gaithersburg. Over the course of a given year, he might march in the Gaithersburg St. Paddy’s Day Parade, get dunked to support the Gaithersburg Police Foundation, and join residents at a Lunar New Year celebration.
“The secret to doing all this is less sleep and less exercise,” he jokes. “Most of what I do as mayor doesn’t feel like traditional work—it’s very gratifying. I really enjoy doing it.”
Ashman and his wife, Lee, travel widely, with trips to Budapest and Berlin the last few years. Their daughter, Jenna, works as an event planner in the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, and son, Jeff, and family live locally. Ashman loves spending time with his grandchildren, grilling, watching the Quince Orchard Cougars, and working out, and he’s gearing up to run for County Council this fall.
When asked why voters keep supporting him, Ashman admits it’s an uncomfortable question. “Campaigns force you to talk about yourself in ways in which could otherwise come across as arrogant or immodest,” he says.
“But I feel like I’m relatively humble. I’m a good listener. I’ve always believed leadership begins with listening. I have a level-headedness about me. And, I think I have an ability to bring people together, to earn trust and build bridges. That helps in getting things done, and getting things done helps get votes. It also helps that I love people and have a lot of patience. I just love being mayor of Gaithersburg.”