From Voters' Doorsteps to a Coveted Seat
For Long-Politicking Leopold, Fiscal Issues Are Priority

By William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006; AA01

For the past three years, John R. Leopold has knocked on voters' doors to talk about their problems and what he could do if he were Anne Arundel's county executive. Now, after years of eyeing the job, Leopold finally will get his chance, and he vows to make the most of it.

The veteran Republican legislator won the office after a nail-biter of a race that came down to a two-day count of absentee ballots, which gave him a 3,920-vote margin over Sheriff George F. Johnson IV (D). The victory, combined with losses by several GOP candidates across the state, makes Leopold one of Maryland's most prominent Republican leaders.

The political career that brought him to Anne Arundel's highest office spans the country.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, he moved to Hawaii and at 25 became the only Republican on the state school board. Within 10 years, he was one of the youngest to be elected Hawaii state senator and then ran as the GOP candidate for governor.

His loss in the governor's race, and in a subsequent state Senate contest, persuaded him to move to Maryland, where he has served for more than two decades in the General Assembly and has won praise for constituent service.

Leopold's top priority as executive will be finding ways to trim and tighten the county's finances. "We have to restore a foundation of trust on fiscal matters," he said. "That's essential in order for us to go to the public or to the council and ask for budget enhancements."

He said he may ask the County Council to help him maximize revenue from property taxes -- not by raising the rate, but by capitalizing on increased revenue from rising property assessments.

The added revenue would help buffer looming financial pressures such as a change of federal regulations concerning health and pension benefits for retirees that could drain millions from the county budget, he said.

Leopold began his first week as the county executive-elect with a whirlwind visit to county officials Monday, including a 1 1/2 -hour sit-down with outgoing County Executive Janet S. Owens (D).

"It was a fruitful and helpful talk," he said. "I also got to find out the little but important things like where the men's room is."

Leopold has divided his transition team into four areas: public safety; land use, transportation and environment; economic development and the expansion at Fort George G. Meade; and education.

He has also appointed co-chairmen to lead the team: Dennis Callahan, a former Annapolis mayor who lost a bid for county executive in the Democratic primary, and P. Tyson Bennett, an attorney for the county Board of Education.

"A lot of the time has been spent interviewing people," Leopold said. His office scheduled a news conference for this morning to announce leaders in his administration. "We're looking at a combination of institutional talent and outsiders, as well as having diversity on our team," he said.

One key appointment will be planning and zoning officer. In campaign debates, Leopold criticized past executives for being "in the pockets of the developers" and promised he would be "accessible to, but not controlled by, the development industry."

In an interview this week, he said he planned to toughen restrictions on new development and to create an overall plan for the county that examines the cumulative effect of subdivisions instead of looking at them case by case. He also said he hoped to ease the county's shortage of affordable housing by introducing incentives for developers to build such units.

"It's a black mark on our county that so many of our employees have to live in other states or counties," Leopold said.

He also said he plans to find ways for the county to provide services more efficiently. He said he hopes to institute a 311 program used in several other jurisdictions, in which residents needing county services can bypass voice recordings and cut through red tape by dialing the number and talking directly to a county employee.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company