Meet the candidates running for Howard County Council's District 5

By: Blair Sabol

History made or history repeated? Meet the candidates running for Howard County Council's only contested race this November

WOODBINE, Md. — This November, there's just one competitive county council race in Howard County. Democrat Cat Carter and Republican Ryan O’Connor are both vying for the seat in the county's Republican stronghold— District 5.

A Democrat hasn’t represented the western part of the county since 1986, when council shifted away from at-large council members. There’s also never been a woman to hold the seat either, meaning if elected, Cat Carter would be making history in more ways than one.

But when asked why she’s running, she says it’s because she wants to help.

“Being part of this community, I wanted to give back by serving on the county council,” she said. “Having knocked on over 5,000 doors for the last year and a half, I find that people are just looking for someone who will show up."

Carter has been an advocate for change at both the state and national level for the past 10 years. She’s also a mom, a small business owner of a family-owned cybersecurity operation, and has served as PTA president.

If she’s elected, the entire Howard County dais would be made up of all Democrats. Something candidate O’Connor feels wouldn’t be best for the county’s future.

“I decided to run because I believe in balanced government,” he said. “Government is most efficient when there's balanced perspectives, and I think having one party rule would be rather toxic for our county.”

Born and raised in District 5, O’Connor says he's a dad who’s ready to lead. He's previously served as director of the Hoco Boys Club lacrosse program and HOA president.

His day job is in energy markets and budgeting, and he has previously worked at the Department of Energy under the Biden administration.

He says if elected, he says he’ll be a steward of taxpayer dollars.

“The new council doesn't have any folks with a finance background. I think bringing that skill set to the county council could be of tremendous value for the citizens,” O’Connor said.

On the Issues

Both candidates agree that the most pressing concerns in Howard County are school funding and the cost of living.

Carter says she'd also like to focus on increasing the housing supply.

“It requires intention, smart intention to ensure that we're not overwhelming our schools and overcrowding them and overburdening our infrastructure,” she said.

O’Connor reports his priority will be to reduce the homestead cap percentage, which currently sits at 5%.

“I’d like to decrease that to 3%. Just because property values are increasing, that's just paper wealth, and a lot of folks are being taxed out of their homes,” he said.

Campaign Financing

Carter is publicly financed, a system where candidates use government and small-donor matching funds, while O’Connor is not.

Financing played a significant role in the primaries for the Howard County Executive in the spring.

“I think people feel like they have a piece in my campaign that their voice matters,” Carter said when asked why she chose this path.

Meanwhile, O’Connor was asked why he didn’t choose the same.

“Because I don't believe that taxpayer dollars should be used for a personal, political campaign. I believe dollars should be spent on improving schools, improving roads for police and fire and first responders. I’ve done it the old-fashioned way,” O’Connor said.

While Carter has more small donors, O’Connor is leading fundraising by about $34,000 and says he’s received a lot of support from the local business community in the area.