Howard County state lawmaker and a businessman aim for top office
The next Howard County executive will likely be chosen when the primary election results are tallied. That's because only Democrats have put their name in the race.
After showing how Howard County councilwomen Deb Jung and Liz Walsh are making their final push in the race, WJZ Howard County Community Reporter Dennis Valera shares how candidates Vanessa Atterbeary and Bob Cockey are doing.
Both of these candidates represent both sides of the spectrum. Atterbeary is the most endorsed candidate, while Cockey has garnered zero endorsements.
Both are wearing these distinctions as a badge of honor.
The primary election will be on June 23.
A longtime state lawmaker and a political newcomer
Atterbeary is no stranger to Howard County voters, having served 11 years in the Maryland House of Delegates.
She said that experience is translatable and an advantage to have for the office of the Howard County Executive.
"I stood up against the NRA and got background checks for long guns [passed]," Atterbeary said. "I took on MAGA extremists and Moms for Liberty in the education space as chair of [the Ways and Means Committee]. They wanted to ban books, and I banned them from banning books."
Cockey, meanwhile, has no political experience, but he's going to apply his experience as a small business owner to the office.
He said he's ready to advocate for all Howard County residents, having run as a Republican in a past race for state senate.
"This county was built by farmers, shopkeepers, hairdressers, everybody," Cockey said. "Politicians didn't build this country or this county. We need to get back to the center, not too far left, not too far right -- back to common sense, the center."
Like Jung and Walsh, both Atterbeary and Cockey have been prioritizing school funding and affordability as they stump for votes.
If elected, Cockey said to expect out-of-the-box thinking from him, like replacing lost federal jobs with healthcare jobs.
"I'm gonna create jobs for CNA's, GNA's, med techs, and phlebotomists," Cockey said. "They're the soldiers in the medical field. I don't need to turn more RN's or LPN's, they're doing that at [Howard Community College]."
Political support
Atterbeary is the most endorsed candidate in the race by far.
She's gotten a lot of key endorsements, including the educators' union, Howard County Education Association, as well as from Gov. Wes Moore and sitting Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
Atterbeary has also raised the most money, as she is the only candidate not using the Citizens' Election Fund, which encourages candidates to rely on small private donations in their campaigns, rather than on donations from political action committees, corporations and businesses, and political parties.
Atterbeary's opponents have been very critical of her fundraising, which she has described as a "desperate argument."
"As a matter of fact, people that know me the closest know I'm quite the independent thinker and no one can tell me what to do," Atterbeary said. "It's an argument that doesn't match up."
