Anne Arundel County Sheriff George Johnson and state Del. John Leopold, R-Anne Arundel, continue to lead the pack of two Democrats and five Republicans vying to be the next county executive.
Leopold, the first Republican elected to the House of Delegates in District 31, reported a campaign cash balance of $450,575, according to the annual campaign finance report filed Jan. 18, with the state Board of Elections.
Johnson, who will face County Recreation and Parks Director Dennis Callahan in the Democratic primary, reported $318,119 in campaign funds. Callahan?s campaign did not report any contributions during the last filing period.
Booming economic growth, taxes and financial management have already emerged as some of the major issues of the campaign. Callahan recently rolled out a proposal to freeze property taxes for seniors older than 65, and called for more creative funding solutions to the county?s pressing infrastructure needs.
“Government can?t be all things to all people,” he said.
Leopold took a similar stance, and said his administration would eliminate “a level of bureaucracy between the county executive and the department heads” and consider reforming the development impact fee structure to fund local infrastructure improvements.
“One of my chief concerns is restoring a foundation of trust on fiscal matters,” he said. “Many people in Anne Arundel County do not trust the county government to spend their money wisely. I think it would take me about a year to restore that trust.”
In comparison, County Executive Janet Owens had $228,075 in the bank prior to her last primary in 2002. Owens will complete her second and final term as county executive in December, and is considering a run for Congress.
Other Republican candidates in the 2006 primary race significantly lagged in fundraising at the beginning of the year. Del. David Boschert?s campaign committee coffers were empty, and challengers Tom Angelis and Greg Nourse both reported less than $1,000 in funds.
Phil Bissett, a former state delegate and the 2002 Republican nominee for county executive, has raised $69,061 toward his second run for executive.
