We are under three months away from the general election now and the race for Howard County Council is particularly interesting as every single seat will be filled by a candidate who has never held the office before. In light of this, our Legislative Affairs Committee has asked each of the candidates if they would sit for an interview to delve deeper into their positions on the policies of greatest importance to the business community. 

This week, the committee sat for the first of three rounds of those interviews. Raj Kathuria, running in District 1, Opel Jones, running in District 2 and Deb Jung, running in District 4 spoke to the committee about everything from the county budget, to public transit and the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). In addition to the interviews, candidates were also given the opportunity to complete questionnaires with similar questions. You can find their responses under the Advocacy tab at www.howardchamber.com/election-2018-candidate-questionnaire-responses/.

All 9 Howard County Council candidates will be joining us at our Elected Officials Meet & Greet next Thursday at La Palapa Grill & Cantina in Ellicott City along with County Executive Allan Kittleman, County Councilman Calvin Ball (running for County Executive) and Senator Ben Cardin. Register now at  https://bit.ly/2JwiXF8.

We have teamed up again with The Business Monthly to produce the 2019 Business Resource Guide & Member Directory and ad spaces are now available! In addition to advertising opportunities, you will be getting a letter and a call from The Business Monthly team in the next few weeks to verify your companies listing information is current.

If you are interested in guaranteeing an advertising spot in this year's Directory, contact The Business Monthly team at 410-740-7300.

 - Tech Treats, LLC

 - Wells Fargo Commercial Banking

• Columbia Fleet Service, Inc. - 15 Years
• Paychex, Inc. - 13 Years
• The Yungmann Group of Keller Williams Integrity - 12 Years
• Camp Bow Wow - 10 Years

There are just a few days left to take advantage of the 2018 Shop Maryland Tax-free Week which goes until Saturday, August 18th. So get out there and shop local at your local Chamber member businesses!

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman has just announced plans for an apprenticeship program, starting in 2019, to fill electrical, plumbing and HVAC-R jobs in Howard County.