George Zamora
George Zamora has been active in student government throughout his college career, and now he aims to continue pursuing his passion for public affairs in his run for state delegate in Montgomery County’s District 17.
Zamora, a 29-year-old junior studio art major, was born in Missouri and discovered his interest in government while growing up in Mexico City.
“Even in grade school, I was always president of the class or organizing little clubs. But I’ve always been active in politics,” Zamora said. “I enjoy working with the community, and I really like helping with initiatives because I’m a person that really likes to take action.”
Before coming to this university, Zamora earned an associate’s degree at Montgomery College and his bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s campus at Shady Grove. He was president of the student government at both institutions.
Prior to registering to run for state delegate, the Montgomery County resident got a taste for public office by serving in a variety of city, county and education roles. During his time on the Gaithersburg and Montgomery County community advisory committees, Zamora realized he wanted to become more involved with local politics.
“It was very challenging because you get to see the needs of the county and the city, stuff that you don’t even imagine,” he said. “Being a part of the community advisory committee really opened my eyes to the needs of the community, and that really brought me to get to the next step, which is what I’m doing now.”
While working for the advisory committee, Zamora was a full-time student and employee. For eight years, he has worked as a procurement specialist for the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research adjacent to the Universities at Shady Grove.
“He’s always trying to make things better, and given his involvement in various action groups in Montgomery County, I didn’t think it would be long before he would probably seek public office,” said Edward Eisenstein, a bioengineering professor with the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research. “He’s one of the everyday heroes that make things work.”
Zamora said his platform has been greatly influenced by past experiences. He seeks to create affordable education and build a healthy job market for students post-graduation, two things he said he has experienced as he continues to work his way through college. He also said the minimum wage should be increased.
“I have been a minimum wage earner, and it’s just ridiculous. You cannot even pay for your books with minimum wage,” Zamora said. “I think that it’s time for not just the state, but the nation to look at raising the minimum wage.”
In addition to looking to improve traffic on Rockville Pike, which he said would improve business along that corridor, Zamora wants to put more emphasis on science education.
“Maryland has the potential to become this beacon of scientists and great minds to start developing more scientific advancements,” he said.
Zamora will run against three other Democrats in the June 24 primary election: Andrew Platt and Laurie-Anne Sayles, both of Gaithersburg, and Susan Hoffman, former Rockville mayor.
As a native Spanish-speaker who returned to the U.S. at age 19, Zamora said he wants to be a role model for citizens in a county that’s nearly 18 percent Hispanic. But he’s not trying to represent just the Hispanic population.
“I’m running to represent everyone,” he said. “I’m just representing the change that is happening, not just in Montgomery County but in the nation. We are just getting to the point where people are realizing that Hispanics are also well-educated.”
James Thorpe, an art professor who taught Zamora, said he was impressed with Zamora’s intellect, openness and objectivity.
“He would represent his community well. He’s very articulate, he’s very sincere and I found him to be very capable of working with lots of different people,” Thorpe said. “I would vote for him if I lived in Montgomery County, but I don’t. He’s a very fine young man.”
Junior Reva Smith said Zamora helped bring the students in their studio art classes together. She said she could see him doing the same thing with constituents.
“He’s that kind of person; he’s very community oriented. He brought a really good cohesive element to each class that we’ve had,” said Smith, an education and studio art major. “He’s there to help.”
At 29, Zamora said he might be a young candidate, but there are other candidates across the state close to his age. Junior finance and journalism major Jimmy Williams, 20, and North Laurel resident Danny Eaton, 29, are both running for state delegate in District 13.
“There’s a new generation coming, and I think it’s time to start making the changes that we need,” Zamora said. “I’ve been a resident of District 17 for a while now, and I just want to represent my community and keep working for them.”
