WASHINGTON — He was the first African-American elected to the office of county executive in Montgomery County. Now, Isiah “Ike” Leggett says three terms at the top are enough.

Leggett, 71, told a crowd at a political fundraiser this weekend that while he wouldn’t use the word “retiring” to describe his future plans, he won’t run for a fourth term.

That leaves the field open for others who’ve had their eye on the job: council members Roger Berliner; George Leventhal; Marc Elrich; Nancy Floreen; and Craig Rice, The Washington Post reports.

Leggett made his declaration at a fundraiser aimed at defeating Question B: a referendum that, if passed, would limit the county executive and council members to three terms.

Leggett’s first run for office, a bid for the county council in 1986, came at a time when Montgomery County’s demographics were very different. For the first few months of that campaign, he left his photo off campaign literature. He would later tell The Baltimore Sun that he was pleasantly surprised to see that his race wasn’t an issue. He served four terms on the council.