Baltimore County residents may know the name of their next county executive as early as Jan. 6, when the county council is planning to take a vote.
County Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, a Democrat, said he has a “shortlist” of candidates he favors out of the five who presented to the council Monday evening but wouldn’t specify who’s on his list. Democratic Councilman Julian Jones said he doesn’t have any favorites at the moment.
Patoka said he’s confident the council will decide on the next county executive on Jan. 6. However, he said, it hasn’t been determined how soon the next executive will be sworn in after the vote.
The current executive, Johnny Olszewski, submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 3, when he will be sworn into Congress. Baltimore County Administrative Officer D’Andrea Walker will cover the position in the interim.
The five candidates who presented to the council Monday night are Former State Sen. Jim Brochin; Yara Cheikh, president of the Baltimore County Public Library Board of Trustees; State Sen. Katherine Klausmeier; George Perdikakis, former head of Baltimore County’s Department of Environment and Resource Management; and Barry Williams, former director of two Baltimore County departments — recreation and parks, and workforce development.
The council members spoke about how they would manage the budget, public safety, education and other issues.
“I’m very grateful and appreciate of all the people who stepped up and put their name forward and participated in the process,” Jones said, speaking of the candidates.
The council decided to hold the vote on Jan. 6, partly because that is the date of its next legislative session and partly because the council can’t vote for a new executive until there’s a vacancy — though there is some latitude now that Olszewski has submitted his resignation.
The incoming county executive will have two “urgent” responsibilities to handle shortly after taking office, Patoka said. One is advocating for legislative priorities at the state level as lawmakers begin the 2025 session in January. Another is working out this year’s county budget with the budget office, which is submitted to the council in April.
“I’ve always said, the way you articulate public policy is not by the words you say but what’s in the budget, because you can say anything, but you can’t do it unless it’s in the budget,” Patoka said.
The next county executive also needs to be able to manage crisis situations and tragedies, such as the recent Towson-area mass shooting. In addition to the leadership of the police chief, the executive also has to ensure communities are safe and communicate the dynamics of the situation to the public, Patoka said.
“I will say, County Executive Olszewski has risen to the occasion, and I hope that is the case with next county executive,” he said.
