Three candidates have declared their intentions to run for the District B Harford County Council seat, and all three place planning and education at the top of their list of priorities.
“Kids that we educate today will be making the serious decisions that affect all of our lives tomorrow,” said 12-year incumbent Veronica “Roni” Chenowith, R-Fallston. “That?s why I was proud to vote for the largest increase in funding of education in Harford County history.” She also is happy that many students in her district will attend the new Patterson Mill Middle/High School.
Chenowith?s other main focus has been on planning for the upcoming military base realignment. “I serve on the BRAC Commission, created by our county executive, and serve on three of its four sub-committees, addressing how realignment will affect land use, education, technology, work force readiness and transportation and infrastructure.”
Chenowith has two announced challengers, both of whom believe the incumbent is too reactionary.
“More action should be taken on the issue of school capacity and school funding. We have fallen behind. The council is just reacting to a situation that is already out of control,” said Valerie Twanmoh, D-Fallston, a lawyer who deals extensively with zoning issues.
Twanmoh said she would focus on long-term planning if elected. “You have to make sure you have the facilities to accommodate all the children you have now and anticipate having in the future. Adding new trailers and continued redistricting is not an adequate solution. With BRAC on the way, this is a critical time to ensure we are planning smart to maintain the county?s quality of life.”
Kevin Kane, R-Abingdon, a spokesman in the Office of the State Comptroller and a 1994 Edgewood High School graduate, agrees that better planning is needed. “Strategic planning is needed in place of reaction and politics as usual,” he said. “Harford has been growing for more than 10 years, and planning has not been there. We see the results in our roads and schools, and it?s time for change.”
Kane wants to raise teacher salaries, and adds that Patterson Mill “should have opened when I was still in school. We can?t wait 20 more years for more new high schools.”
Candidates? other priorities
» Chenowith: Library infrastructure, preserving agricultural land, supporting youth organizations
» Twanmoh: Listening to all opinions, tackling traffic congestion, water quality
» Kane: Making sure seniors are not left behind, injecting life into the Route 40 corridor
