Recently, the Baltimore Sun published an article entitled “From Washington to the Wynn, Las Vegas,” about County Executive John Olszewski, Jr. The purpose of the article was two-fold: first, to demonstrate that the county executive has a wide itinerary and met with many influential people over the first three quarters of 2023, and secondly, to inform the readers that Olszewski is thinking about higher office, specifically the 2nd Congressional District seat. The County Executive is term- limited, he cannot run for his current position when his term ends in 2026. But current Congressman, Dutch Ruppersberger, has not announced if he will seek a 12th term in 2024. So Olszewski must appear circumspect about his plans for the immediate future.
The article portrayed Olszewski as meeting with a wide array of influential people to help burnish his resume. He had lunch at the L’Hirondelle Club with Orioles General Manager Mike Elias. While in Las Vegas for the International Council of Shopping Centers conference, he attended a dinner hosted by John Angelos, CEO of the Orioles, at the Wynn Resort. Many local residents also took note that this article mentioned an Olszewski meeting with Lutherville Station developer Mark Renbaum while at the Las Vegas conference. Other persons that Olszewski spent time with to talk about county affairs and political strategy included State Treasurer Dereck Davis and political strategist Alexandra Hughes. Plus, there was time spent in Washington, on four occasions. Certainly, the highlight of those journeys was the chance to meet President Joe Biden during the National Association of Counties legislative conference. The article portrayed the county executive as more than just a local luminary.
As far as the executive’s future in elective office, politics can be a fickle mistress. Already, Olszewski knows that far too well. After two terms in the House of Delegates, Olszewski ran for State Senate in 2014, but he lost to Johnny Ray Salling, a Republican, in the general election. Two years later, Olszewski barely squeezed thru the Democratic Primary for County Executive, nosing out Jim Brochin by a mere 17 votes.
If you look at the records of two former county executives, you see that Dutch Ruppersberger won his re-election to the post with 70.5 % of the vote, and Jim Smith won re- election with 66.3% of the vote. By contrast, Olszewski won his re-election with only 63.7% of the vote against a very polarizing opponent, Pat McDonough.
So, the future for our County Executive may depend upon what missteps he makes between now and his next bid for election. The recent furor over Councilman Julian Jones attempt to limit the Office of the Inspector General is an example of the type of misstep that can damage a career. Yet despite all the coverage of that misstep, few journalists recounted that Olszewski floated a similar idea of an oversight board two and one-half years before Jones. Certainly, his reluctance to meet with residents concerned about the future development of Lutherville Station could be viewed as another such misstep. Let’s see what happens in the future. Stay tuned, it could be interesting.
What to Expect from Annapolis ?
The Maryland General Assembly will convene on January 10 for the start of the 2024 session. What are we to expect from this session? I will be keeping a close eye on the fiscal front. Ever since late summer when Gov. Wes Moore told the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) conference that the state is expecting deficit problems for the next fiscal year, and the years to come, I have been wondering just how the legislature would handle the problem. Will there be tax increases? Or service cuts? Or maybe use the O’Malley method of raising every fee under the sun to help reduce the deficit. Then again, it could well be a combination of all of the above.
There are several areas that demand a watchful eye. First is education. Most observers realized that when the Kirwin educational reform bill passed that sooner or later both the state and the counties would have to start allocating a serious amount of new money towards education. That time begins with the next fiscal year, and already some jurisdictions, like Baltimore City, are complaining that they do not have enough monies to pay for their share as outlined in the law. Secondly, we heard from the Maryland Department of Transportation that there is over $3 billion in budget shortfalls for that agency. Those shortfalls could impact how much money the counties receive for their own projects, and it could have an impact on what type of Red Line mass transit project is proposed to connect the west side with the east side of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Finally, just before the new year, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) released its findings of what must be done over the next decade for the state to reach carbon neutrality. The Secretary of MDE placed a price tag of $1 billion per year on those efforts to replace fossil fuels.
As one republican senator recently observed, “Maryland does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.”
Eric Rockel
Vice President, GTCC