Baltimore County voters will decide in November whether the County Council will expand from seven to nine members in time for the 2026 election.
The County Council approved the legislation Monday night. It is the first time since the county charter was established in 1956 that the voters will get to weigh in on the council’s size.
Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, who sponsored the legislation, called it “an historic moment.”
The vote was 5-1 with Councilman Julian Jones absent. Councilman Pat Young, a Democrat, was the lone “no” vote, but not because he was opposed to expanding the body.
Young said he had been swayed by advocates who wanted the council to expand to 11 members, arguing it would increase the likelihood it would be more diverse.
Young, at times choking back emotion, made a passionate plea to give voters a chance to increase the size of the council by four, rather than two. He noted that with few exceptions, the County Council has been historically white and male. Young questioned how the county in the past would have dealt with issues like affordable housing if the County Council had been more diverse.
“I am not responsible for the actions or inactions of the folks that sat in my seat before me but I am accountable for the environment that has been created by their inaction,” Young said.
But Republican Councilman Todd Crandell countered that the four seat proposal is about politics.
“This is about the Democratic party doing what they do in Maryland which is trying to grab more power on the Baltimore County Council,” Crandell said.
However Crandell, who had consistently opposed increasing the size of the County Council, said he could compromise and support expanding it to nine.
“We do what we do in bipartisan fashion,” Crandell said.
The legislation approved by the County Council Monday night includes a map with redrawn lines for nine council districts. Council members Young and Republican Wade Kach opposed including the map because the public has not had a chance to weigh in on it.
“It hasn’t set right with me,” Young said.
The Council did agree to give itself the option of changing the map by October, 2025.
In a statement after the vote, County Executive Johnny Olszewski applauded the council’s decision to approve the ballot question, but said he strongly encouraged “Councilmembers to provide a more responsive, equitable and inclusive map-drawing process.”
While the council approved putting the two-seat expansion on the ballot, that may not be the last word.
Linda Dorsey-Walker, the chair of the organization VOTE4MORE that is pushing for a four seat expansion, said they have enough signatures to bypass the council and put that question on the ballot as well.
“We’re ready to take them (the petitions) to the board of elections,” Dorsey-Walker told the council.
10,000 valid signatures are needed to put a question on the ballot.
The council’s action Monday comes following years of complaints that the council’s current size makes it harder for women and people of color to get elected. Currently the council is all male with only one Black member. Baltimore County is about 30% African American, and people of color make up about half of Baltimore County’s population.
A workgroup recommended to the council that it expand to nine and that the job of council member become a full time position.
Baltimore County’s population has nearly tripled since the charter established a seven member council. In 1960, there were around 70,000 people in each council district. Now the average is about 122,000.
Adding seats would come at a price. County officials estimate it would annually cost $1.4 million for two new County Council offices, which includes salaries, supplies, equipment and benefits.
