Meet the Green Party candidate hoping to beat Vanessa Atterbeary for Howard County Executive

Back in the June primary election, only Democrats ran to become the next Howard County Executive, making it seem likely the top vote-getter would win the race.

But that changed when Nater Kane filed to run as the Green Party candidate. Kane made the decision to run in July after seeing the results of the primary and his desire to give voters a choice.

"I spent about two weeks and weighed all of the sort of risk, the investment and time," Kane said. "I don't have any money to bring into this."

Former state delegate Vanessa Atterbeary won the Democratic nomination in June, beating out Howard County Councilwomen Deb Jung and Liz Walsh, as well as businessman Bob Cockey.

Given the fact that Atterbeary is already well-known, Kane has been working around the clock -- spending around 80 hours a week, according to his estimates -- to make sure voters know his face.

His approach as County Executive

Kane has had his fair share of struggles, particularly with his finances, and he feels it will make him relatable. He also feels it helped him create good policies.

"I'm doing it as a person who's on Medicaid and who receives home energy assistance. Who knows firsthand how absolutely hostile Howard County is to the working class," he said.

Kane wants to cap the County Executive's salary to five-times the minimum wage, which totals out to more than $166,000. He also wants to raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, and stabilize rent by having rent raised no more than 2.5% per year.

He wants the county to also move away from its reliance on nonprofits and private companies for services, like the county food bank.

Funding education is also a priority of Kane's, which he said shouldn't be a "political thing."

"We have a great opportunity for how extreme and also familiar a lot of Howard County's challenges are to show that we can do better," Kane said. "We can create playbooks that other counties around the country can use for making things suck less."

As Kane continues to stump for votes, he wants people to view his run as a chance for change.

"We've been playing by the same rules for a really long time and things have only gone in one direction," he said. "Doesn't it make sense to make a change, look at things a different way, and say, 'Hey, what can we do to help people get their needs met?'"