Harford County Board of Education president files to run for County Council, other seat swaps highlight county races

Apr. 22—After multiple filing deadline extensions, the ballots for the upcoming primaries are more crowded than The Aegis' former candidate roundup, which only included Harford County Council candidates. We've also included the candidates running for county executive, state's attorney, register of wills, sheriff and clerk of circuit court.

There are 11 additional County Council candidates who joined races during the filing extension, including Harford County Board of Education President Rachel Gauthier. Gauthier, who's served on the school board since 2015, filed her council candidacy paperwork last Thursday, a day before the April 15 filing deadline.

Other seat swaps: Council member Chad Shrodes is vacating his seat and running for clerk of court; County Executive Barry Glassman cannot seek another term and is running for state office, while state Sen. Bob Cassilly will not seek reelection to that seat and instead is running for county executive.

Harford County Executive

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman reaches his term limit this year and is now running for state comptroller.

Billy Boniface (Republican)

Boniface, Glassman's chief adviser, has also served as County Council president and as the county's director of administration.

Bob Cassilly (Republican)

The state senator has been a member of the Harford County Council and the mayor of Bel Air. He's also an Army veteran.

Blane H. Miller, III (Democrat)

The former Harford Republican Central Committee member previously ran for County Council in 2014.

Harford County Council

There are 27 candidates running for Harford County Council. Only four of the seven current members are running for another term: council President Patrick Vincenti and council members Tony Giangiordano, Robert Wagner and Curtis Beulah.

President of the County Council

Francis "Rick" Grambo (Republican)

According to his campaign website, Grambo is a proponent of limited government and opposes mask mandates and lockdowns.

Winifred "Wini" Roche (Democrat)

Roche ran for County Council in 2018. Roche has previously served as the county's tourism and marketing manager and the City of Havre de Grace's tourism manager. She's now the president of the consulting firm Roche and Associates.

Patrick Vincenti (Republican)

The lifelong Harford County resident and incumbent council president is seeking a third term on the council and second as president. He had been asked by many to run for county executive, but said he "still [has] work to do at the council." He also started the business Vincenti Decoys.

District A

Maryann Connaghan Forgan (Democrat)

Forgan first ran for office against County Executive Barry Glassman, who was seeking a second term, in 2018. The Joppatowne native is the founder of the Joppatowne Arts Festival.

Dion F. Guthrie (Democrat)

Guthrie, who has lived in the Joppatowne area for over a half-century, served on the County Council from 2006 to 2014. According to his website, he's running again "to bring stability and progress back to District A, which has been lost in the last 7.5 years."

Nolanda Robert (Democrat)

A Harford resident of four years, Robert works as a family support services coordinator for the Cecil County Circuit Court. Her main priority will be to advocate "for children and families," according to her website.

David H. Woods (Republican)

Woods could not be reached for comment, and information about him was unavailable.

District B

Josh Koziol (Republican)

The lifelong county resident says on his campaign website that he is running for his wife and two daughters, but also for the community as a whole. Koziol said on his website: "I value this county and feel that the job of ensuring our rights are protected starts locally."

Aaron Penman (Republican)

Penman is a deputy with the Harford County's Sheriff's Office and serves as president of the deputies' union, which has endorsed him. Penman served in the U.S. Marine Corps and also is endorsed by incumbent District B council member Joseph Woods and Harford Sheriff Jeff Gahler.

Jean Ann Wilson (Republican)

The Edgewood High School graduate is a certified surgical first assistant and has worked with COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic. She said she has experience working in pediatric surgery with Dr. Ben Carson and as an assistant to former state Del. Patrick McDonough for 16 years.

District C

Tony "G" Giangiordano (Republican)

The incumbent is running for a second term in the district. He is a small-business owner who founded and has owned AAG Insurance Enterprises for more than 25 years.

Evan K. Schaule (Democrat)

Schaule is the community school coordinator for Swan Creek School.

District D

John Carl (Republican)

The Pylesville resident has run JBC Plumbing Services for more than 30 years and has lived in the county since the 1970s.

Emily Greene (Republican)

According to her campaign Facebook page, Greene is a counselor educator.

James Reilly (Republican)

Reilly, the current Harford County Circuit Court clerk, a position he's held since 2002, is looking to take over Chad Shrodes' vacancy. Shrodes is running for clerk of the Circuit Court.

Jean Salvatore (Democrat)

Salvatore was designated by the Democratic Central Committee Wednesday. She ran for County Council in 2018.

David Seman (Republican)

The Jarrettsville resident is the chair of the Jarrettsville/Norrisville Community Advisory Board. He made an unsuccessful run for the House of Delegates District 7 seat in 2018.

District E

Jessica Boyle-Tsottles (Republican)

The small business owner is a part of several local groups, such as the Greater Bel Air Community Foundation. She also has extensive experience in real estate.

Rachel Gauthier (Democrat)

The current president of the Harford County Board of Education has served on the board since 2015. She is a Baltimore County Public Schools counselor.

Bill Montgomery (Democrat)

The retired U.S. Army colonel works as a project manager at Aberdeen Proving Ground and is an adjunct professor at Harford Community College, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Douglas Phillips (Republican)

Phillips is the owner and manager of Phillips Law Group.

Robert S. Wagner (Republican)

The current council vice president and former council president is seeking another term in District E. The lifelong Harford County resident represented the district from 1990 to 2006, and again from 2018 to the present.

District F

Jacob D. Bennett (Democrat)

The Harford County kindergarten teacher is running to be an advocate for children, according to his campaign website. Education is his top issue, and he also supports cutting the pay of County Council members.

Curtis L. Beulah (Republican)

Beulah, the incumbent representative of the district containing the controversial warehouse development in Perryman, is seeking a third term. He is a U.S. Army veteran and co-founder, along with his wife Jean, of Diamond Financial Group.

Lavy Mammen (Democrat)

Mammen has run his Abingdon consulting business, RAA, Inc., for about 20 years. The three pillars of his campaign are community equity, transparency and environmental protection.

Fernando "Fred" Silva (Republican)

Silva recently retired from Aberdeen Proving Ground after 29 years. He also ran for County Council in 2006 and county executive in 2010. The Perryman resident said he's worried about the amount of development in the county.

Matt Whitlock (Libertarian)

Whitlock was nominated by his party to only appear in the general election.

State's Attorney

The incumbent state's attorney is seeking another term after winning the 2018 election with 63.1% of the vote.

Alison Healey (Republican)

While Healey has experience working as a prosecutor and a defense attorney, she spent 12 years as a prosecutor for the county's state's attorney office, rising to the post of senior assistant state's attorney.

Albert Peisinger (Republican)

The incumbent state's attorney has held the position since 2019. The career prosecutor previously served as the assistant state's attorney for Baltimore City from 2001 to 2016.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

The current clerk, James Reilly, is running for County Council in District D — the current district of council member Chad Shrodes, who's now running for clerk of the circuit court.

John Cree (Republican)

The Navy veteran, who resides in Joppa, has 26 years of experience working in the Harford Circuit Court and 25 years of experience selling real estate.

Michelle Karczeski (Republican)

Karczeski has 14 years of experience with the Maryland judiciary. She also founded SETA Consulting, LLC in Bel Air, which she's now president and owner of.

Barbara Osborn Kreamer (Democrat)

The former Maryland delegate was designated to run by the Democratic Central Committee Wednesday.

Chad Shrodes (Republican)

Originally from Norrisville, Shrodes has been on the County Council since 2006. He also works for Long & Foster Real Estate and has previously worked for the Maryland Department of Planning.

Register of Wills

Derek Hopkins defeated JoWanda Strickland-Lucas in this election in 2018 with 65.3% of the vote.

The Aegis: Top stories

Derek Hopkins (Republican)

The North Harford High School graduate has spent the past 12 years as the incumbent register of wills. He has also served on the county's Economic Development Agricultural Advisory Board since 2009.

JoWanda Strickland-Lucas (Democrat)

She previously ran for register of wills in 2018 against Hopkins.

Sheriff

Incumbent Sheriff Jeff Gahler is seeking a third term.

Jeff Gahler (Republican)

Gahler was first elected in 2014. He has a Master of Science degree in Management from Johns Hopkins University, as well as 37 years of law enforcement experience. Under Gahler, the county recorded its lowest ever amount of crime in 2020, according to FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data.