Seven hopefuls face off in Towson forum as primary nears, economy and power in play

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — With the primary 55 days away, seven candidates vying to become the next county executive gathered in Towson for a forum at Goucher focused on economic development and how county government should operate.

“We have an important choice to make in 55 days,” said Councilman Izzy Patoka.

Candidates used the event to draw contrasts to their leadership styles.

Pat Young offered a blunt guiding principle for governing: “Rule number one is don’t be a jerk.”

Monsoor Shams, who’s a former Marine and currently a community engagement officer in the county, emphasized his personal approach, saying, “My greatest strength for me is I’m a people person.”

As the county council prepares to expand from seven to nine members, current councilman Julian Jones said, if elected county executive, he’d use his experience to guide the new members.

“I’m going to explain to them the way it works. And the way it works is we have to bring in the revenue to provide the services,” said Jones.

Republican Patrick Stewart criticized the direction of county government. “I’m not going to bring everyone together to tell them how things work. I don’t think they’ve been working. They’ve led to the secret appointment of Kathy Klausmier it led to attacks on our inspector general,” Stewart said.

The forum came as the county’s population is dwindling, jobs are shrinking, and the three candidates who are currently council members became targets.

“Back-room deals, poor decisions. This is normal, but we deserve a lot better,” said Rob Daniels, who’s running as an independent candidate.

Daniels tied economic development to safety, asking, “If we’re not making our county safe, who’s going to open a business here?”

Republican Kimberley Stansbury called for visible community policing. “We need to make sure police walk the streets know the businesses,” she said.

“Keep in mind, Baltimore County has 9-thousand employees and whoever takes this job has to be a leader in order to lead, not manage those 9-thousand employees,” said Patoka.

“What we need to do is grow our economy because we deserve better, and I promise to get you better,” pledged Jones.

“Government is supposed to serve the people they represent, and we have the responsibility of keeping them involved in every aspect and every decision we make,” said Young.