Integrity & Consistency
The Baltimore County Council holds the public’s trust only when its members prioritize transparent, collective governance over unwritten rules and backroom favors. True integrity means ensuring every legislative decision is debated on its merits in the light of day and in clear language.
- Moving Beyond “Councilmanic Courtesy”
We need to evolve past the unwritten rule of “councilmanic courtesy.” While it may sound like a polite tradition, in practice, it grants a single representative effective veto power over land-use decisions. This bypasses the foundational checks and balances of our government and limits the healthy, bipartisan debate our County deserves.
If one person can unilaterally dissolve the result of a vote, what’s the point of even voting? I believe our representatives should advocate for their districts through open dialogue and merit, not through a default vote. I believe in a system where every council member—and every resident—has a meaningful seat at the table. If you believe this “veto power” should be formalized in our Charter, we have different visions for the future of our County. - Ethical Compensation
“Question A” on the 2024 ballot bundled the wording “…requiring that, for the purposes of determining compensation, membership on the County Council shall be considered a full-time position…” into the popular Councilmanic seat expansion from 7 to 9, but did not address the actual terms of employment. If our Councilmanic representatives are going to be compensated as a full-time position, the County Charter should reflect that in practice.
Our representatives should not be voting on the salary of their positions, future terms or not. In the name of transparency, pension COLAs and potential compensation increases should be tied in to those of other full time County employees.