By: citybiz
September 22, 2025
Atterbeary To Enter Race For Howard County Executive
The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee said she will forgo a run for reelection — and a potential shot at speaker of the House — to make a bid for Howard County executive in 2026.
Del. Vanessa E. Atterbeary (D-Howard), in an interview Friday, said she came to the decision this summer after a tough budget session and a milestone birthday — she turned 50 in June. Atterbeary is expected to make a formal announcement at an Oct. 15 event.
“I really love being in Annapolis. I really enjoy making policy.” Atterbeary said. “But at the end of this past session, I just started to think about what I wanted my future to look like.”
Atterbeary joins Howard County Council person Deb Jung and Del. Jessica Feldmark (D-Howard) in a race to succeed County Executive Calvin Ball. The two-term Democrat is term limited and cannot run again. Both Atterbeary and Feldmark serve on the House Way and Means Committee. Feldmark has chaired the revenue subcommittee since 2023.
Atterbeary was named to lead the House Ways and Means Committee in 2022 by House Speaker Adrienne Jones. She was considered a potential candidate to become the next speaker should Jones, who turns 71 in November, decide not to seek an eighth full term in the House.
Jones filed for re-election in June.
“I’m sure the expectation from a lot of people and from myself, frankly, was to stay and try to be the next speaker, whenever Speaker Jones decided to retire,” Atterbeary said. “A group of folks over well over a year ago approached me about running for county executive. I just put it out of my mind, because, as you know, we were dealing the past couple sessions with some very serious budget issues, and I was just primarily focused on that.”
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