LEONARDTOWN, Md. – Brandon Russell[D], a 35-year-old lifelong resident of St. Mary’s County and husband, is running to become Commissioner of District 2 with hopes to expand ways for the public to have input in the local government’s decisions.
“I have followed and been involved in local politics over the past several years,” said Russell. “I decided to run for public office when I noticed that decisions our Commissioners were making did not represent the will of the people. I am committed to expanding ways for the public to have input in the local government’s decisions.”
Russell plans to make the government more accessible by holding more public forums during evening hours. He wants to make the local government a nexus of resources.
“The government and elected officials don’t have the answers for everything, but we should be able to point people to resources they need from partners in our community,” he said.
Along with expanding the public’s voice, Russell is running on the H.E.L.P. plan, which stands for healthcare, education, land use, and public safety. He believes these four cornerstones, when planned for and focused on, are the key to creating an exceptional quality of life for residents.
“My H.E.L.P. plan was crafted based on feedback I have heard over the past several years, and more recently while on the campaign trail. I truly love this county, and I am proud to live here,” Russell said. “I believe with proper attention and planning, we can set ourselves up for a bright future. I am committed to expanding healthcare access, supporting our educators to provide a top-notch education for our youth, ensuring proper land use and development that is targeted and planned, and finally to supporting a strong public safety program to serve and protect our residents.”
Two specific items in the county right now are infrastructure and public safety. He plans to fix this with loan repayment programs where a provider would practice in the area for a certain period for a student loan repayment amount.
For public safety, he wants to ensure sheriff’s office employees are paid well and have strong recruitment and retention policies. He is in favor of exploring a housing stipend as a sign-on bonus for new recruits, and working with the sheriff’s office to ensure the public safety officers currently employed have access to the resources to do their job well.
“We have a severe lack of healthcare access, especially for mental health providers. Our residents are often traveling to DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis for appointments with specialists,” he said. “We can change that by putting plans in place to attract healthcare providers to our area to open practices.”
He wants to update the adequate public facilities ordinance to ensure the growth is not outpacing our ability to provide services to ensure our sheriff’s office, EMS providers, and fire departments can provide coverage to the county.
A few of his accomplishments throughout his life include: he worked full-time to pay his way through college, and he became one of the youngest store managers in the region for the retail pharmacy chain where he worked.
“My opponent, Commissioner Mike Hewitt, has no plan for St. Mary’s County. He likes to say that experience matters and cites his time on various boards or commissions,” Russell said. “But the fact is that experience only matters if you use it well, and Commissioner Hewitt has not.”
However, Russell said he understands that this position is time-consuming, but he is prepared to meet the challenge.
“I won’t say it is the hardest, but it is the most time-consuming because it requires bringing many people to the table to hear their various ideas and then forming that into a plan of action,” Russell explained. “Ultimately, I think this is the most rewarding part of the role too–because when you build consensus to deliver results that is where the magic happens.”
Russell’s motto for his campaign is: “Be thankful and never stop learning. Be thankful for the good and the bad because there is a lesson in everything. I never want to stop learning more about my community, the people who live here, or just about a specific subject. I feel that if we are thankful and willing to learn, we will set ourselves up for the best possible outcome.”
You can read more about Russell’s plan by visiting www.brandon4stmarys.com.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
democrats hate america!!!!! they want to destroy our freedom!!! don’t vote for any democrat!!
Democrats love Americans, and are a political party trying to heal the soul of America. Your grammar is abysmal, by the way.
All politicians are crooks, wether democrat or republicans, they all promise the world to buy votes and once in office they don’t do jack abut get rich off tax dollars
Michael Dillow is correct and history is squarely on his side. As for his grammar- he didn’t capitalize- hardly abysmal. What is abysmal is attempting to defend the demonicratic party especially after the last few years. Healing the soul of the country? LOL!!!!
I see a significant part of the Republican party denying that the last election was legitimate, even though all evidence indicates that it was. I saw right-wing extremists rush the capital on 6 January, trying to forcibly stop the certification of the election results. I see that more than 250 people have been charged so far with breaching the Capitol and most of them, to varying degrees, were motivated to storm the building by the falsehoods they had been reading online and in social media for months. What history have you been seeing in the last few months? Please take a minute and think, really think, about that.
Poor, poor James. My comment was in reply to and support of Michael’s statement above. I still stand by that support. History, of the last few years not months, has borne out Michael’s statement- the demonicratic party in less than two years has furthered crime, and inflation while weaponizing the DOJ/FBI against the party’s political enemies. The empty suit leader of the party takes to television and media to defame, and label those who oppose him as insurrectionists, deniers,and extremists. Billions of (printed) taxpayer dollars have been given in support of a corrupt oligarchy with financial ties to political elitists including the president’s* immediate family. Those are but a few of the obvious effects of what you seem convinced was a “legitimate” election. But, suffice it to say, the policies and actions of that party, and its leader, are irrefutable and indefensible. As for the “right wing extremists” you seem intent on inculpating, you should try to realize they’re your neighbors, relatives, co workers, and friends. In other words, Americans. You do them a disservice by implying that social media caused them to hold differing views as if your countrymen couldn’t formulate opinions of their own volition. (varying degrees ?)Because someone doesn’t hold your beliefs doesn’t make them an extremist. Please take a minute and think, really think, about that.
This comment aged poorly.