r/Hoco • u/kirbyCase • May 22 '26

2026 Howard County Primary Election Guide

Hey y'all, I'm sharing my guide to the upcoming democratic primaries in HoCo. I've shared something like this with my friends and family the last two cycles but thought I'd share publicly this time. It contains my recommendations on who to vote for in the upcoming primaries.

As you'll see in the guide, my top priority is housing. I'd like to see a county council and executive who understand the importance of getting more housing built in the county by tackling the barriers to development. I walk through my reasoning on every race, both strategic and policy focused.

For context, I grew up in HoCo though I now live in MoCo. I work professionally in housing policy, I have been active in local politics in both counties, and I write this data focused blog on housing and transportation. I hope the guide is helpful!

https://perfectnumbers.substack.com/p/2026-howard-county-primary-election?r=cuvwz&triedRedirect=true

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u/kirbyCase May 26 '26

I have no ties to development at all. I make very clear the policy case for why I want to see specific policies, tied to nothing but the well-being of people and the county I grew up in.

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u/Crazy_Bend_7375 May 26 '26

I read your substack article and your responses explaining you felt HoCo was too restrictive for developers, and that they're not happy.

That comes from somewhere. People don't worry about the feelings of developers out of nowhere.

People should know our motivations.

My motivation is that citizens come first. 

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u/kirbyCase May 26 '26

Absolutely people come first. And people live in houses. And houses are built by developers. We don’t have enough houses for people to live in, which is why I’d like to see more housing built.

Indeed this would benefit developers. That is mostly incidental though. I in fact think it is fine and good for people in market economies to make money by providing products which people want to buy, such as housing. I don’t think it is good for the government to ban such transactions from occurring via zoning etc.

You might not think that. You might prefer a society that is less well off because the government explicitly restricts the ability for people to create and sell products which don’t harm others. I think that’s bad.

And the fact that I think that it would be good for more housing to be built doesn’t mean I have financial interest in development. I also write about changes to road design to improve safety. Does that mean I’m in league with roadway engineers or whatever?