Invested record funding into the Howard County Public School System. While, increasing transparency and accuracy in the Howard County Public School System budget process. Education received 64% of the total County funding, 58% of which was allocated for the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS).

Funded the design of a new mathematics building and athletics complex at Howard Community College. We also re-opened the new Howard and Academic Commons buildings just in time for the Fall Semester. It's important that our college students have the necessary resources to thrive.

Expanded access and options to “wrap-around” services for all Howard County children and their families. This includes:

Made our schools and communities safer and healthier for our students by expanding the "It's Ok to Ask" Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign into Howard County Public Schools with the Sources of Strength (SOS) Program to empower peer leaders and help save lives.

Over the last year, my administration...

Launched Ellicott City Safe & Sound - a bold multi-phase plan built around the need for public safety, supporting business and property owners, preparing the county for a changing climate, and creating a more inclusive, community driven process for decisions regarding Ellicott City’s future.

Utilized innovation, technology, and trailblazing leadership to improve safety of all Howard County residents in every community. Some of our accomplishments include appointing the first female Chiefs of the Howard County Police Department and the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services in the history of our County, launched the innovative Drone Program with HCPD, and expanded emergency services by opening and breaking ground on several fire stations.

Invested in infrastructure, expanded services, and proposed policy solutions to address new and evolving public safety needs. Most recently, I proposed legislation to the County Council that would raise the minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products and electronic smoking devices from 18 to 21. This important legislation helps us ensure our youth stay safe.

Over the last year, we ushered Howard County into the 21st century environmental practices and policies by:

Joining the Bee City USA Coalition. Tragically, pollinators are in decline due to habitat loss, climate change, and the impacts of widespread pesticide use. We cannot wait for the rest of the world to recognize this crisis, we must innovate and be the model of leadership we want others to follow. Our commitment to protect pollinators will align directly with our long-term work to combat climate change and build a safe, livable future for Howard County.

Signing the “We Are Still In” declaration, a commitment to the climate action of the Paris Climate Accord. The Maryland Commission on Climate Change (MCCC) reports that our state is already seeing the effects of a rapidly changing climate, posing a threat to the health, security, and prosperity of our communities. From these threats, there is also opportunity – opportunity to support a green economy in Howard County where our residents receive training and gain critical skills that enable them to be successful in the green jobs of the future.

Re-opening of Agricultural Land Preservation Program. Agriculture continues plays a vital role in Howard County, both in terms of our environment and our economy. Our farms provide locally grown food, minimize our environmental footprint, and grow jobs. We are re-opening the Agricultural Land Preservation Program to safeguard our natural spaces and helps farms thrive.

Introducing, and passing, legislation to update the Howard County Forest Conservation Act, which has not been updated since the 1990s. The state of Maryland passed the Forest Conservation Act to safeguard our forest resources during land development. I firmly believe it is our responsibility to finally make sure Howard County is not only compliant with this legislation, but that we also go further. We must ensure that the future of development in Howard County is smarter, more transparent, and more environmentally conscious. 

“Practice Howard,” an innovative program designed to reduce the shortage of primary care physicians in Howard County. Practice Howard is an innovative program that will help us address a critical need for doctors. Our community is a wonderful place to call home, and through the Practice Howard program, more doctors will be coming home to Howard County.

Starting the Housing Opportunity Master Plan process and establishing the Housing Opportunity Master Plan Task Force. When I took office, Howard County had not created a comprehensive Master Plan on housing affordability needs in over a decade. Our Master Plan will help us answer the fundamental questions to begin our community conversation: What is the current state of our housing needs and what is the best path forward to serve all our residents? Together, we will find the answers and make Howard County a great home for families today and tomorrow.

Addressing noise complaints about new NextGen flight paths at BWI that impact the quality of life and health of Howard County residents by filing legislation against FAA. We received consistent feedback from our residents that the situation was insufferable. Although we have made substantive progress, we have more work to do to maintain our quality of life in Howard County. This info-graphic provides a timeline with more information on the progress we have made thus far.

Supporting Howard County becoming more healthy, livable and inclusive for our all residents, which includes hosting the County’s first LGBTQ+ Pride Festival and creating the first LGBTQ+ Workgroup. We were so proud to hold Howard County’s first PRIDE Festival this year, and we want to continue to protect and embrace the beautiful spectrum of diversity that Howard County has to offer. To every single member of our LGBTQ+ community, know that we see you, we support you, and we stand in solidarity with you.

Passed “Complete Streets” legislation to make all travel safer, sustainable, and more accessible to all residents. Complete Streets’ are streets where people of all ages and abilities feel safe walking, biking, driving, and utilizing public transportation. This policy ensures that Howard County streets will be designed, built, maintained and operated with everyone in mind, for the good of the community.

Expanded RTA bus services that are critical to public transportation in Howard County especially for our aging, student, and lower income populations by improving on time performance by 35% and adding 5,600 hours of additional service including increasing weekend route frequency. Howard County is uniquely situated to advance key projects and expand transit opportunity throughout our entire region. The future of transportation in our county will be more dynamic, accessible, and forward-thinking.

Made record breaking transportation and infrastructure investments including $2.2 million toward the BikeHoward Express Network of bike lanes and trials. Our investment in BikeHoward Express will make it safer and easier for residents to travel by bike in Howard County. This innovative investment is better for economic development, our environment, our health, and equity, as it is necessary to improve the bike way for those without access to a car.

Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Economic Development Authority to finally activate the Howard County Innovation Center in Columbia. The Center is serving as a nexus of resources for innovation and small, minority, woman, and veteran-owned business creation and support. By consolidating our business incubator, business resource center, and added services, we are putting all the pieces together in a single facility, to form an innovation hub.

Spearheaded the County’s inaugural Small Business Summit to support small, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses. The Howard County government spends an average of $220 million annually on various goods and services. We can help our businesses and entrepreneurs more by engaging them and looking for ways to fulfill our needs by companies right in our own back yard.

Hosted Howard County’ first “Apprenticeship Day” to help jobseekers learn how to take advantage of apprenticeship opportunities. From our financial literacy events to our local business workshops, Howard County Government is committed to bringing economic resources directly to the community. We will continue to provide our residents with the tools they need to become successful in careers that are meaningful to them.

Launching the County’s new analytics initiative, Howard County Data Analytics and Statistics Hub (HoCo DASH), aimed at fostering innovation for the public good. Through a focus on data development, collection, analysis, and evaluation, our system will look deeper than we have before and glean important insight into county performance and community issues.

Created Howard County’s first “Innovation Fund” that consists of $225,000 in grant funding for projects that utilize innovation to improve the quality of life for Howard County residents. With our Innovation Grants we are looking to support the next great idea that will improve our quality of life and serve the public good.

Launching “HoCo Counts,” an important initiative aimed at raising awareness for the United States 2020 Census in order to count every resident. The Census count will be critical to understanding the updated picture of our community, the needs of all our residents, and the future of our work to serve the public. We are working hard to ensure that every person is counted, and that Howard County is fully represented across our region and nationally for the strength and diversity of our community.