5. Diverse candidates won’t necessarily run, or win

Several of the white male councilmen serving now ran against either a woman or a Black candidate in their primaries or general elections, and still won. Whether or not women or members of the county’s growing Hispanic, Indian or Black communities decide to run will depend on many factors.

Kathleen Beadell, a well-known real estate agent, planned to run for Kach’s seat representing the northern district; she declined when Del. Nino Mangione announced he would seek the position. Shafiyq Hinton, a Middle River community activist who narrowly lost to Democrat Councilman Mike Ertel to represent the Towson district, said he was disheartened that the proposed council expansion passed with what he considered flawed maps. Once voters see the final map, he predicted, they will feel “bamboozled.”

He’s currently not planning to run again, unless the map changes. “You have no interest in running a race that you know you are highly likely to use.”