Baltimore County has a new county executive.

The County Council Tuesday picked State Sen. Kathy Klausmeier to finish the term of Johnny Olszewski, who stepped down last week to take a Congressional seat.

The county charter gives the County Council the authority to fill the vacancy.

Klausmeier has been in the Maryland General Assembly for 30 years, first as a Delegate then for the last 22 years in the Senate.

In her public interview before the council last month, Klausmeier touted her experience, saying this is not the time for Baltimore County to coast.

Klausmeier said, “Larger than my resume is my commitment to showing up every day on behalf of our constituents.”

Klausmeier will need to hit the ground running.

The 2025 Maryland General Assembly session begins Wednesday. County Executives spend a lot of time in Annapolis lobbying for money to fund their priorities.

She is also facing a difficult budget year for the county, due to a drying up of COVID relief money, a possible reduction in state aid and higher costs because of inflation.

She will finish the final two years of Olszewski’s second four year term.

Klausmeier, who was considered the favorite to win the Council’s approval, has promised not to run for a full four year term in 2026.

Council members said they would only pick someone who agreed not to run for the seat in two years. Three council members, Pat Young, Izzy Patoka and Julian Jones are considering running in 2026.

Klausmeier bested four other candidates: former State Senator Jim Brochin, community activist Yara Cheikh, former Director of Recreation and Parks Barry Williams and engineer George Perdikakis Senior.

This story will be updated.