The jostling for credit has intensified as the primary draws near, with debate revolving around who contributed more to the county’s assertive response.
. His health department was responsible for devising testing and vaccination plans, he added, and he redirected staff from other departments to execute those initiatives. He set aside many of his priorities for his first term to focus on pandemic response, he added.“I give credit to the people in the county who did the things they needed to keep people safe,” Elrich said over the phone Monday.
Several of the county’s biggest unions have been making the case that Elrich was centrally responsible for keeping workers safe. A longtime ally to labor groups, Elrich used about $78 million in the county’s federal relief dollars to fund hazard pay for workers in 2020 and 2021, significantly more than what elected officials elsewhere in the D.C. region gave out.Lawmakers, including Riemer and Hucker, have criticized Elrich’s largesse, but Elrich said he stands by his decision to compensate workers for the risks they faced working in-person.