By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Ask Marylanders what worries them, and the answer is money. In a statewide poll released in August, 51% said they are struggling financially or just getting by, and four in 10 want the next governor to focus on utility bills. That is the backdrop for every local ballot this fall.
But county contests tend to turn on things a statewide poll cannot see: a warehouse outside Williamsport, a retired power plant in Charles County, a school budget standoff in Bel Air. Eight county executive seats are on the ballot, in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Wicomico counties, alongside council, commissioner and other local contests across the state.
Maryland’s general election is Nov. 3, with early voting running Oct. 22 through Oct. 29.
This is not an inventory of every local contest. It focuses on jurisdictions where reporting turned up a specific policy fight likely to shape the conversation through November, from the largest suburbs to flood-battered Allegany County and a sinking Eastern Shore town. One issue shows up nearly everywhere.
“County contests tend to turn on things a statewide poll cannot see.”
The issue that keeps appearing: data centers
“One issue shows up nearly everywhere.”
- Harford County became the first in Maryland to ban data centers, Fox45 reported. The County Council voted unanimously, and Executive Bob Cassilly signed the law June 10.
- Baltimore County has a temporary moratorium that expires no later than Jan. 1, 2027. A bipartisan majority of the County Council told WYPR in July it would support extending it, and a task force draft report recommended barring data centers within 750 feet of homes.
- Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater froze new data center applications the day after the Maryland Supreme Court kept a voter-led referendum off the ballot, WYPR reported. In September, she extended the pause through July 1, 2027, and rejected Catellus’ proposed development agreement for the Frederick Digital Campus, which included $110 million in community benefits, after hearing resident concerns, WFMD reported.
- Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich issued a six-month pause on permitting. Will Jawando, the Democratic nominee to succeed him, said he would issue an order on his first day to extend the moratorium for two years, the Daily Record reported June 26.
- Charles County residents have packed hearings over zoning changes that would open the door to TeraWulf’s plan for the Morgantown power plant.
- Baltimore City enacted a one-year moratorium June 16 on new data centers using 10 megawatts or more, after Council President Zeke Cohen introduced it in March and the council passed it in May, Technical.ly reported.
- Washington County commissioners approved a 12-month moratorium on data center applications June 30 while the county drafts permanent rules. The county says it covers only unincorporated areas, not towns such as Hagerstown.
- Prince George’s County adopted a two-year moratorium on data center applications July 7, which can end sooner if the council passes comprehensive rules. Queen Anne’s County has also paused development, Technical.ly reported.
“Energy prices are the common thread.”
Energy prices are the common thread. In the statewide poll, three of every four respondents said they are concerned about data centers, and 39% of all respondents named higher electric bills as their top worry.
Baltimore area
Baltimore County. County Council member Julian Jones, the Democratic nominee, faces Republican Patrick Dyer, who owns an investment brokerage, and independent Rob Daniels. Kathy Klausmeier, who took over on an interim basis in 2025, is not running.
The Baltimore Banner’s May rundown of the campaign named five themes: housing costs and who controls zoning, transparency, crime and immigration enforcement, schools, and transportation. Many residents deride a pay-to-play culture on development. The council had approved a pension increase that it later reversed. The Republicans in the primary field wanted the county to cooperate with ICE. Council Democrats have been united against it.
Schools may be the sharpest divide. The school system takes roughly half of the county’s $5 billion budget, and while the county approves the overall appropriation, it does not control how the school board spends it internally. Jones was the one candidate in the primary field who defended the system and its current superintendent, the Banner reported. The system is also searching for a new superintendent.
Voters will also see a new face in the State’s Attorney’s race. Sarah David, a former Baltimore City prosecutor, beat five-term incumbent Scott Shellenberger in the Democratic primary, Maryland Matters reported. The County Council gains two new seats this year, created by a ballot measure. MDBayNews covered the council’s turnover last week.
Baltimore City. The city’s ballot also includes its local constitutional offices. The state’s Maryland Manual lists no Republican candidate against Democrats Ivan Bates for State’s Attorney, Sabrina Tapp-Harper for sheriff or Xavier Conaway for circuit court clerk. The one Republican on the city’s county-office ballot is Andy Zipay, running for register of wills. The energy debate is the city’s live local issue. Cohen pointed to high BGE bills when he introduced the data center moratorium, which Mayor Brandon Scott signed in June.
Anne Arundel County. Allison Pickard, a County Council member, is the Democratic nominee for the open executive seat. Dave Crawford, chief of the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company and a food service manager, is the Republican. Housing costs run through the race. Pickard’s priorities include affordable housing and schools. Crawford wants more police and fire personnel and an end to what he calls wasteful spending, the Banner reported. In May, three Democratic hopefuls, including Pickard, told a housing forum that a supplemental tax on secondary luxury homes was worth considering.
Howard County. Vanessa Atterbeary, a former state delegate who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee, won the Democratic nomination with about 55% of the vote. The Green Party’s Nater Kane is her listed opponent. School capacity dominates the local conversation. Atterbeary said during the primary that deferred maintenance in schools has pitted communities against one another. A Business Monthly column reported that she told a July civic association meeting she would quickly review the rules that tie development to school capacity and move ahead with a comprehensive rezoning that was last done in 2013. A downtown Columbia library project has also drawn scrutiny. Deb Jung, a primary rival, said its cost could climb well past the original $144 million.
Harford County. Two of the eight executive seats are held by Republicans, and Harford is one. Cassilly beat County Council President Patrick Vincenti in the primary, in a fight over spending and land use. Democrat Barbara Osborn Kreamer is his November opponent. Cassilly says his administration erased an inherited $90 million structural deficit without raising taxes. The school system says his proposed budget was $15 million short of what the Board of Education requested. The county says it is prepared to fully fund an agreed 6.5% increase, about $23 million, under a three-year deal.
Washington suburbs
“The tax fight is the story.”
Montgomery County. The tax fight is the story. Elrich proposed an $8 billion budget for fiscal 2027 with a 6.3-cent property tax increase and a 0.1% income tax increase, Maryland Matters reported in April. Jawando announced he would vote against the property tax increase, and says he wants higher income taxes on wealthier residents, which would need state approval.
The Republican nominee, Esther Wells, is a CPA and president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League. She urged the council in April to reject both tax increases.
Prince George’s County. County Executive Aisha Braveboy, a Democrat, faces independent Moisette Tonya Sweat. Braveboy says her budget erased a $170 million structural deficit in eight months without a tax increase, according to Streetcar Suburbs News. The county has also lost the Washington Commanders and Six Flags, and Maryland Matters reported that Braveboy has pitched a proposed Sphere venue at National Harbor as a much larger revenue source, though the project faces many hurdles. Roughly 73,000 county residents work for the federal government, which makes federal cuts a local budget risk.
Central and Western Maryland
Frederick County. Fitzwater, the Democratic incumbent, faces Republican Jeff Holtzinger, a former Frederick mayor. WYPR reported that both Republican primary candidates ran on platforms critical of the projects. Fitzwater’s orders came after residents grew frustrated. “Steamrolled by out of state corporate interests” is how she described their mood, referring to a mix of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, or MPRP, rising utility rates and the Quantum Frederick project. The County Council had already approved a 2,615-acre data center zoning map, a decision the Frederick News-Post called contentious. Fitzwater’s mid-September decision to extend the pause and reject the Catellus agreement came weeks before voters choose between Fitzwater and Holtzinger.
Washington County. The federal government bought a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road near Williamsport for $102.4 million on Jan. 16 and plans to convert it to an ICE detention center for up to 1,500 people. Moore has called it a loss of economic opportunity for Western Maryland, and Brown has sued to stop it. County commissioners have reaffirmed their support for the facility, according to LocalNews1, and county officials have said they cannot block it. Commissioners also approved a 911 fee increase earlier this year.
Southern Maryland and the Shore
Charles County. The Charles County Planning Commission voted unanimously June 1 to recommend rejecting zoning changes that would allow large data centers, after more than 50 residents spoke against them. It was the second time in three months the commission weighed in. The changes matter because TeraWulf wants to turn the Morgantown power plant into a data center site. Federal regulators approved the company’s purchase of the plant. Maryland’s environment department has pledged help with a gas pipeline.
Wicomico County. Republican County Executive Julie Giordano faces Democrat Ernest Davis, a former county council member. Property taxes are the issue Giordano leads with. Her proposed budget for fiscal 2027 cuts the real property tax rate from 80.99 cents to 77.99 cents per $100 of assessed value to comply with the county’s revenue cap, according to the Maryland Association of Counties. It also raises local school funding from about $55.8 million to $58.2 million and begins funding weapons detection systems at some schools.
Western Maryland: the flood no one paid for
Flash flooding hit Allegany and Garrett counties on May 13, 2025, sending Georges Creek over its banks. Gov. Wes Moore put the damage at more than $33.7 million, including more than 200 homes, businesses, roads, bridges, railroads and utilities, WMAR reported. FEMA denied the state’s request for a major disaster declaration, and in October 2025 it denied the appeal. That also left Maryland ineligible for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which helps pay for protection against future storms.
The pushback came from Republican county leaders as much as from Annapolis. Allegany County Commission President Dave Caporale, who is on the November ballot with the board’s other two incumbents, said the denial “leaves us feeling forgotten by the federal government.” Allegany had spent roughly $7.9 million on flood-related emergency work as of this year, with a handful of bills still pending, according to the county’s public works director. The county spent all of its lottery proceeds on flood work, County Administrator Jason Bennett has said. Moore’s appeal argued Allegany would have to spend more than 20% of its total budget on recovery, risking service cuts and layoffs. The state’s first use of its new State Disaster Recovery Fund provided $459,375 to affected individuals.
The Lower Shore: rising water, offshore wind and a defense hub
Somerset County. Crisfield, a town of about 2,500 people, is a few feet above sea level. Researchers counted tidal flooding from 1.5-foot surges on 88 days in 2021, The Baltimore Banner reported. A $36 million FEMA resilience grant announced in 2024 for a flood barrier was later stalled or canceled. The city has since moved to a phased approach, and a roughly $30 million flood-control project at the state-owned Somers Cove Marina is part of it, Delmarva Public Media reported Sept. 30. A weekend nor’easter flooded downtown Crisfield again before any of it was finished.
“Jobs are the other side of the Somerset story.”
Jobs are the other side of the Somerset story. Kratos opened a 55,000-square-foot hypersonic systems manufacturing and payload-integration facility in Princess Anne in January, citing its closeness to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The company says it supports a $1.4 billion hypersonic test-bed contract, with the Navy, Air Force, DARPA and Missile Defense Agency among its customers. Wallops is across the line in Virginia, but the majority of its NASA employees live on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, WMDT reported. The report said the Princess Anne park is filling up quickly and that Somerset’s economic development leaders plan an additional park nearby.
Worcester County. Worcester received $150,000 for a study of manufacturing, aerospace, defense and technology growth in the south end of the county, centered on a 175-acre industrial park in Pocomoke City, WMDT reported. The offshore wind fight runs alongside it. US Wind’s project would sit about 10 miles off Ocean City. Worcester’s commissioners voted to try to block the company from buying two West Ocean City harbor properties, and the county’s top administrator called eminent domain a worthy use in this case. Ocean City has challenged the state air permit in court and before a federal appeals board. Voters will choose all seven Worcester commissioners at once, as they do every four years.
Dorchester County. The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy’s land conservation director has said he expects a third to half of the county could be regularly flooded or underwater in a hundred years, WMDT reported.
Southern Maryland: cameras and a naval base
Automated license plate readers are a live question in Southern Maryland. At a July 28 meeting, St. Mary’s County Commissioner Eric Colvin, a Republican, voiced concern about the camera vendor Flock as the sheriff’s office sought federal money for a reader on Route 5 near the Charlotte Hall county line. A sheriff’s captain told commissioners that Maryland has some of the strongest legal safeguards in the country. Calvert’s sheriff has also partnered with Flock. Statewide, Maryland agencies logged more than 1.1 billion plate reads last year from 1,077 cameras, nearly double the count of five years earlier, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis. State Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Baltimore County Democrat, said his office is weighing more privacy legislation.
St. Mary’s commissioners also met June 9 with the commanding officer of NAS Patuxent River on keeping development from crowding the base, with the county’s comprehensive plan update on the agenda.
Carroll County
Baltimore Sun coverage of Carroll County points to three local pressures. Carroll’s lawmakers have been trying to pass bills to protect landowners from the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project power line. Volunteer fire companies are struggling to pay for fire trucks that now cost more than $1 million each, with county help uncertain. And the county projected about $44 million in unexpected revenue for the 2026 fiscal year. The commissioners also went on record in July against a special legislative session on congressional redistricting.
Juvenile crime
“Juvenile crime has become a statewide argument with local stakes.”
Juvenile crime has become a statewide argument with local stakes. Moore signed the Youth Charging Reform Act on May 26. Supporters say it will keep more young people in juvenile court, and critics warn it could stretch Department of Juvenile Services resources thin, according to a Hoodline summary of WYPR reporting. In Baltimore County, residents pressed officials at a July town hall in Essex over teen crime and carjackings. Expect it in sheriff and state’s attorney races across the state.
The rest of the map
Cecil, Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Kent, Caroline and Calvert counties also fill local governing boards this fall. Cecil’s executive, Adam Streight, is not on the ballot, but three council seats are, including an open District 2. This look did not find a single defining dispute documented in those counties beyond the statewide themes above.
What to Watch
- Data center votes. Baltimore County’s council is expected to take up an extension of its moratorium, and Charles County’s zoning decision is unresolved.
- The ICE facility. Litigation over the Williamsport warehouse continues, with the state asking a court to halt work.
- Montgomery’s tax structure. Jawando has said he will seek state authority to change how the county taxes.
- Flood aid. Allegany and Garrett are rebuilding without FEMA public assistance, and Congress is weighing disaster aid changes.
- License plate readers. Sydnor’s office is gauging whether new legislation is needed.
- School funding. Harford’s dispute over the budget has not gone away, and Baltimore County is choosing a new superintendent.
Related MDBayNews coverage: Baltimore County Council faces historic turnover; Maryland General Assembly elections.
Sources: This article draws on Washington County Government’s Sept. 30, 2026 statement on its data center moratorium; Technical.ly’s report on Baltimore City’s moratorium; WFMD’s reports on Frederick County’s extended pause; Delmarva Public Media (Kevin Diaz, Sept. 30, 2026); Kratos Defense’s January 2026 announcement; the Maryland State Board of Elections for voting dates; and Maryland Matters (June 24, April 16 and Aug. 11, 2026, plus its February 2026 report on the Williamsport lawsuit and its report on Prince George’s Sphere proposal); The Baltimore Banner’s May 6, 2026 report by Rona Kobell and its May 2026 report on Anne Arundel’s housing forum; WYPR (July 2 and July 17, 2026); Fox45 (WBFF) (June 2026); the Daily Record’s June 26, 2026 report on Will Jawando; Business Monthly (March and August 2026); Streetcar Suburbs News (April 2026); the Maryland Association of Counties’ Conduit Street (May 21, 2026); Harford County Government (Jan. 15, 2026) and Harford County Public Schools (April 16, 2026); LocalNews1 (February and March 2026); the Bay Journal and Food & Water Watch (June 2026); the Bayside Gazette; Baltimore City Council coverage from March 2026; WMAR, CBS Baltimore and the Maryland Association of Counties (Oct. 23, 2025) on the Western Maryland floods, plus CNHI reporting on Allegany County’s costs; The Baltimore Banner and NBC4 on Crisfield; Trade & Industry Development (Jan. 19, 2026) on Kratos; WMDT on Worcester’s study and Wallops; Maryland Matters (Aug. 2025) and the Canary Media report on offshore wind; Somerset’s Enterprise (St. Mary’s Flock discussion), Fox5 (Calvert) and Fox45/Baltimore Sun (Aug. 2026) on license plate readers; St. Mary’s County commissioner minutes (June 9, 2026); Baltimore Sun coverage by Lily Carey on Carroll; Hoodline (May 28 and July 15, 2026); and the Maryland State Archives’ Maryland Manual election returns.
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