Baltimore County Council releases names of county executive applicants

Rona Kobell

The Baltimore Banner

December 3, 2024

A former county councilman, a former state senator, and the brother of one of Baltimore County’s most powerful elected officials are among the dozen candidates seeking to serve out the remaining two years of outgoing County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s term.

The County Council released the names Monday afternoon. While the names of many applicants had already been made public, the final list includes a new candidate, former County Councilman Tom Quirk, who represented the Catonsville area from 2010 to 2022. It also lists state Del. Jon Cardin, though Cardin issued a press release over the weekend saying he had withdrawn.

Among the names already known: state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, who has represented Baltimore County in the General Assembly for 30 years; Tara Ebersole, an administrator and professor at the Community College of Baltimore County; Yara Cheikh, a longtime community activist and businesswoman who is chairwoman of the county’s library board; Jim Brochin, a former state senator who came just 17 votes shy of beating Olszewski in 2018; Barry Williams, who ran the Baltimore County Parks Department under Olszewski and is the brother of House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones; and Aris Melissaratos, a state economic development head during the Ehrlich Administration.

Also running are Paul Drutz-Hannahs, who has been working with the federal government to modernize and digitize court systems; and George Perdikakis, an environmental engineer who formerly ran departments at the county, state and city level. The other two candidates are William H. Huhn and Gregory A. Dennis. No information was provided about them.

Council Chairman Izzy Patoka said he was gratified by the response to the council’s announcement seeking county executive applicants, and that the council appreciated the applicants’ “interest and willingness to pursue the office of County Executive.”

“We are currently reviewing all submissions carefully, and look forward to electing the best candidate for the residents of Baltimore County,” Patoka said in a statement.

Olszewski, a Democrat who was elected last month to an open congressional seat representing the 2nd District, will be sworn in on Jan. 3.

The County Council has scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 to hear from the public about what they consider the ideal credentials for the next county executive. It is not, council members say, an opportunity to lobby for one candidate over another. The League of Women Voters is also planning a candidates forum; it will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 19, at the Owings Mills library’s meeting room.

The county executive is the most powerful position in Baltimore County. The new county executive will preside over Maryland’s third-largest county — one that is grappling with population loss, an affordable housing crisis, an aging population and schools that constantly need maintenance.

Olszewski’s successor will serve until Dec. 6, 2026, and oversee a county budget of $5 billion. The salary for the position is $192,000 annually. The council wants a candidate who will not run for the permanent job.

If the council does not choose a candidate by Jan. 3, the charter specifies that the chief administrative officer, D’Andrea Walker, will serve until one is chosen.

Several council members have expressed a desire to see a woman or a person of color in the top job.

The council is all male, and Jones is the only member who is not white. Since the county government was established in its current form in 1956, every county executive has been a white man. Meanwhile, the county is 33% Black, with growing populations of Latino, Arab American and Asian residents.

The applicant pool includes three women: Klausmeier, Ebersole, and Cheikh. Williams is Black. Brochin, Quirk, Melissaratos, Perdikakis, Drutz-Hannahs and Cardin are all white men. The races of Dennis and Huhn could not be determined.

The county code specifies that whoever is selected must be of the same party as the departing county executive. The council now has four Democrats and three Republicans. The winning candidate will need four votes.