For those interested in serving as an elected official in Howard County...

In the 2026 Gubernatorial elections, Howard County voters will elect many local officials.  The deadline for filing as a candidate is Tuesday February 24, 2026 at 9pm.

On Sept 13th, a session was held at the Miller Branch Library. This program was part of Run Howard County: A Nonpartisan Series on Running for Office in Howard County and was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Howard County and Columbia (MD) Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in partnership with the Howard County Library System.

The key takeaway from this session was for potential candidates to clearly understand the roles and responsibilities for the office they want to run for.

Maryland Association of Counties (MACo)

  • Dominic Butchko provided an overview of how the county and state governments work together.  View his presentation below.

Maryland Association of Boards of Education

  • Molly Young discussed the 5 key things that a Board of Education Member is responsible for:
    • strategic planning, creating policy, budgeting (allocating funds but not determining the amount), hiring/firing/evaluating the superintendent, community engagement.

County Executive and County Council

  • Allan Kittleman and David Yungmann shared their experiences in running for office and described some of the day-to-day responsibilities as well as the administrative support provided to the role.

Board of Education

  • Ellen Flynn Giles and Antoinia Watts talked about the time and effort required of a BOE member, the election process and working within the county government. 

Some helpful resources include: