By Brandon Henry and Chianti Marks
AFRO Interns
On Oct. 29, Randallstown NAACP branch #7032-B hosted the Baltimore County executive town hall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The candidates for Baltimore County executive include Kimberley Stansbury; Councilman Pat Young (D-Baltimore County-01); Councilman Julian Jones D-Baltimore County-04); Rob Daniels; Councilman Izzy Patoka (D-Baltimore County-02) and Nick Stewart. Pat Dyer was unable to attend.
The meeting was moderated by NAACP President Dr. Tekemia Dorsey with help of Dr. Lashaune Stitt, a time keeper and technology support. Each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves, answer questions throughout the session and provide closing statements.
During opening statements, Kimberley Stansbury mentioned that she ran in 2022 and lost, and that she vowed to her now deceased husband that she would try “one more time.”
“I know loss, and what got me through that loss was my community,” said Stansbury. “I love Baltimore County. These are my people, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that our communities stay strong.”
Councilman Izzy Patoka spoke about his upbringing, from an entry-level city planner, to becoming the Baltimore County Council Chair. He put an emphasis on “solving problems and helping people, not scoring political points.”
Patoka also mentioned how he was the only person in the running to publicly advocate for reducing classroom sizes, as school overcrowding is an issue.
Councilman Pat Young provided a short story of when he got into a fight as a child, and how his dad told him, “Pat, if you’re going to get into a fight, you damn well better be defending somebody else,” and how that would ultimately shape his reality of fighting for other people.
Young also spoke on his background in advocacy, from serving four years in the Marine Corps, to graduating from Towson University and becoming their first director of veteran services. In that role, he advocated for veterans on a state level.
Young said that these experiences helped him realize, “If I was successful that, perhaps I would be successful advocating from my neighbors in my community.”
Opportunity for young residents was also a topic of discussion.
When asked how to ensure that young people are able to participate in YouthWorks for more than just their first job, Councilman Julian Jones spoke about providing opportunities for people to live “The American Dream.”
“When I talk about growing our economy… providing opportunities for people to live the American dream here, that also includes young people having an opportunity to get their first job, and sometimes grow within that company,” said Jones.
Rob Daniels spoke on how to develop “green space,” which is areas of land with vegetation, in Owings Mills.
“We need more money and in order to get more money, we have to make our county safe,” said Daniels. “There’s an idea that if we build it, they will come…I’m positive that if we make it safe, they will come and they’ll help us build it.”
Nick Stewart spoke on the relationship between the police and the community, saying “when a community doesn’t trust its police and a police department feels constantly under fire, no one wins.”
Stewart continued, saying that if elected he wants to make the data on police stops “public, independent and searchable,” reconstitute the police accountability board, and work with police leadership to find a way to reset the culture of policing.
Stevens lastly said that traffic stops “should be more about safety than suspicion.”
James Mobley, a former state employee from Baltimore, came to the event to help with voter registration, but admitted that Councilman Julian Jones stood out to him over the other candidates, saying he was “more polished” than the others.
Makeda Scott, a Baltimore County resident from the Owings Mills neighborhood and a candidate for the new District 3 County Council seat, attended the event to learn more about the other candidates and their platforms.
“In particular, I want to know what their plans are—not so much to hear about what they don’t like,” Scott said. “What I like are people who have ideas, and I wanted to know what ideas and plans they have to move us forward.”
Scott said she appreciated that most of the candidates were “imaginative,” offering ambitious ideas to improve Baltimore County rather than maintaining the status quo. With the election taking place next year, she said she plans to attend more forums to hear the candidates expand on their ideas.