Neal Potter (March 22, 1915 – May 27, 2008) was an American Democratic politician from Maryland. He served as fourth executive of Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1990 to 1994. Early life and education Alfred Neal Potter grew up in Montgomery County, the son of Alden A. and Charlotte Waugh Potter, and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. Potter's early interest in engineering changed to economics and political science when he entered Johns Hopkins University in 1933. He received his B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) and M.A. in political science and economics from the University of Minnesota. He went on to perform graduate work in public finance at the University of Chicago. Career An economist with the U.S. Office of Price Administration from 1941 to 1946, he went on to teach economics at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1946 to 1947, and at Washington State College in Pullman, Washington, from 1947 to 1951. Potter held the post of Western Field Director for the World Federalists organization from 1952 to 1954, and in 1955 joined Resources of the Future, Inc. serving as a research associate until 1974. His publications include: Trends in U.S. Natural Resource Commodities 1870-1957, World Prospects for Natural Resources, Natural Resource Potential of the Antarctic, written after an expedition to the Antarctic, and contributions to Goals, Priorities, and Dollars, and The Population Dilemma. Prior to his election to the Montgomery County Council, Potter was involved in a variety of civic activities. In 1960, he was the principal organizer of the Citizens Committee for Fair Taxation. He served as president of the Montgomery County Citizens Planning Association (1965 to 1967) and as its editor (1968 to 1969). He also served as co-chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Coalition for Clean Air, as a board member of the Capital Area United Nations Association, and as vice president of the World Federalist Organization. Montgomery County, Maryland First elected to the County Council in 1970, he won reelection in all subsequent election years until 1990, serving three times as Council president. Running for the office of County Executive in 1990, Potter defeated incumbent Sidney Kramer in the Democratic primaries and served one term in that position from 1990 to 1994. In 1994 he returned to the legislative branch of County government, having been elected Council member-at-large. During his tenure as Council member, Potter played a leading role in Council actions