Five candidates for the position of Montgomery County executive will participate in an April 26, election forum focused on social justice and serving the needs of people in poverty.

Hosted by the Justice & Advocacy Council of Montgomery County in collaboration with The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, the forum will be moderated by Msgr. John J. Enzler, Catholic Charities president and CEO. Democrats David Blair, Marc Elrich, Peter James and Hans Riemer, and Republican Shelly Skolnick will participate.

The forum will be held Tuesday, April 26, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Shrine of St. Jude Catholic Church’s Thaddeus Room, 12701 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville. 

Msgr. Enzler will moderate the forum and ask questions focusing on the principles of Catholic social teaching that emphasize giving priority to the needs of people in poverty and welcoming the immigrant. Among the topics to be covered will be affordable housing, alternatives to policing and incarceration, barriers to undocumented immigrants receiving needed assistance, environmental concerns and climate change, and food insecurity.

The primary is July 19, with the general election on Nov. 8.