3rd District's Nathan Volke Aims To Keep Fighting For Residents In Reelection Bid

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Ahead of the November election, Patch has invited candidates running to represent Anne Arundel County to complete a questionnaire touching on a variety of key issues.

Candidate responses will be published verbatim in the run-up to Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Questionnaire responses for incumbent Nathan Volke, who is running to represent District 3, can be found below:

Name: Nathan Volke

Age: 39

Hometown: Pasadena, MD

Political Affiliation: Republican

Do you have any previous political experience? If so, please explain how it will influence your time in office if elected. How do you differ from other candidates running against you?

It has been my privilege to serve the residents of District 3 since 2018 in this position. As a lifelong Anne Arundel County resident, my goal has been to help protect and shape the community that shaped me.

Over my time in office, I've relentlessly fought against raising your taxes, fought to keep high-density housing out of our community, and fought to ensure we get our fair share of services and improvements that we pay taxes for every day. And with your support, I'll keep doing it.

How would your work experience benefit the goals/objectives you’ve outlined in your campaign and/or the office you’re seeking?

Over my 8 years on the Council, I've proposed tens of millions of dollars in spending cuts to the budget. I've advocated to remove positions that are unnecessary. I've pushed back on the constant push by every government to expand. Ultimately, there is not one place to cut.

Similar to what Governor Moore is now confronting at the State level (where he inherited a $5-billion surplus that he has turned into $3b deficit), the county budget has ballooned to a point where a single program or are cannot fix the problem. This county has a spending problem. And the only way to fix it — look everywhere. That's what I've done for 8 years on the Council and — if the GOP has the Council majority or the County Executive seat — we will do it with real impact.

The costs from the state being shifted to the counties are massive and will only increase with the Blueprint for Education mandates in state law. The larger classroom sizes in Pasadena, Severna Park, Crofton, and Edgewater — thank the Blueprint that shifts resources away from affluent communities.

Some of the biggest champions of the Blueprint are in Anne Arundel County — where County Executive Pittman and Councilwoman Allison Pickard (running for County Executive) have pushed to fully implement this program. If the voters put Democrats in charge again, the tax consequences will be enormous.

What do you believe is the single-most important issue facing voters in the district you’re looking to represent? How do you intend to address those issues?

Cost of living driven by tax and fee increases and increased regulation that drives up cost for housing and services. That's the big issue.

The misunderstood part is this: people think that's national. They look at Congress or the President and think "they did this." Wrong. Your property tax bill, your local income piggyback tax, your fees for amusement, your water bill costs — those are all done at the county level.

And who has led the county and led the massive increases in these costs? County Executive Pittman and his Democratic allies on the County Council, including Allison Pickard (running for County Executive).

If the mainstream media would actually dig into this, share this, and tell voters about it — they might not be going extinct.

I'll address this by not raising your county taxes and fees. The #1 thing the County can do is stop increasing taxes and fees on residents. This county administration has increased the size of the county budget from $1.6b to $2.3b — a $700m increase in 8 years. They've done it by increasing property and income taxes — repeatedly. The Executive has ignored the voter-imposed property tax cap twice — with the support of Allison Pickard (running for County Executive) and the Democrats on the Council.

The only people voting no have been those of us in the GOP minority on the Council. And what have they done with that money? They have blown up the size of county departments and programs. Much of the money they received from federal Covid funds (about $200m) was deployed into the budget. When that money ran out from the federal government, they just kept the programs because they decided those were now 'essential'.

It is time for government to stop the massive growth of the budget every year and asking you to pay for it.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current officeholder, and how will you improve on it?

This question is difficult when you are a member of the minority party (GOP) in a county run by Democrats (County Executive, Council majority). I've spent 8 years fighting against the crazy policies that have pushed up costs in this county — taxes, fees, mandates, etc. — and asking the tough questions to everyone trying to see if they actually understand what their 'great ideas' will do to their constituents (they normally don't!). In that way, my role on the Council has been a success.

I've also worked with constituents to change laws to allow businesses to operate with reasonable (not ridiculous) restrictions and supported our public safety employees (policy, fire, detention), teachers, and county staff. I have not been willing to support an entirely electric vehicle fleet for the county by 2035 when no one in the County Executive's administration or on the Council could say how much that would cost. I have not been willing to support higher-density housing (triplexes, multiplexes, apartments) in our single family residential neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, many of these fights are losing battles. In 2018, this county decided to let the Democrats have total control— the County Executive, the County Council. And the last 8 years are their creation. If you think that you are better off today than you were 8 years ago — vote the same. If not, then it is time for a change.

How do you believe Anne Arundel County should address data centers? What type of legislation — moratorium or temporary pause — should be put in place? Explain.

I introduced the ban on data centers in Anne Arundel County in July 2026. It has been amended to a moratorium until January 2028, but it serves as a necessary pause on further development of these data centers until we better understand their impact on our community and how to minimize the negatives from them.

The county administration recognized my leadership on this issue and I anticipate passing the moratorium this month (Oct. 2026).

What steps would you take to offset data center impacts to residents’ standard of living, such as rising energy prices?

Part of the goal with the moratorium on data centers that I introduced was to understand this exact issue of stopping rising energy prices. Pausing on development of new data centers will allow us time to review how other jurisdictions are handling this issue.

Unfortunately, a number of other states (VA, OH, PA, IL) have moved aggressively in building massive data centers. As those states are within the PJM region, the costs are being passed on to Maryland consumers, including those of us in Anne Arundel County.

While we in Maryland did not create this issue, we cannot continue to add to the demand and drive up energy costs in the process without a plan on how to ensure these data centers can address their own energy demands.

How would you distinguish between a good vs. bad data center?

See above answer.

Gov. Wes Moore signed bills banning agreements between local police and federal immigration officials in February.

What is your opinion of the legislation? What steps would you take to support or readjust that initiative?

Gov. Moore continues to pass virtue signaling legislation as he builds up to run for President. This was just one of many steps he has taken on Marylanders as he tries to climb the political ladder.

What is your stance on the establishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in the county and/or your district? What actionable plans would you undertake to address illegal immigration?

Given the state's in-effect ban on 287(g) agreements in Maryland, there will be no ICE detention centers in Maryland.

Education: What is the biggest issue facing Anne Arundel County Public Schools? How would you address it?

Right now, the Blueprint for Maryland's Future is the biggest issue facing Anne Arundel County Public Schools. That legislation — passed by the Democratic legislature in Annapolis — has been a major driver in turning a $5 billion surplus into a $3 billion deficit that is projected to continue through at least 2030. The price tag for this legislation has - so far - been hidden from taxpayers through accounting tricks and gimmicks, as well as limited program cuts at the state level and cost-shifting to the counties.

Next year (2027), the gimmicks will run out. And there will be a very large bill due unless the state legislature changes the law. The biggest issue for Anne Arundel County and AACPS is the cost-shifting to the county from the state.

As the state has pushed more costs onto the county, the county has been forced to fund those mandates. It's already been funded twice by County Executive Pittman and Councilwoman Allison Pickard's votes to break the property tax cap. And if Anne Arundel County remains led by Democratic elected officials, it is very likely to happen again.

It's much easier to keep raising your taxes and costs of living if you do not actually make elected officials answer for their actions when you vote.

A student brings a gun/weapon to campus without setting off any red flags.

What security measures would you advocate for to prevent such an incident? Do you believe schools need stricter security measures? Metal detectors? Explain.

To the extent Anne Arundel County Public Schools has requested that the county provide more funding for security upgrades and improvements, that has been provided and I've supported that.

Anne Arundel County is experiencing a housing shortage. What steps would you take to address the crisis? What will you do to encourage affordable/public housing?

We have to slow down development. It's that simple. Our county has been growing at nearly 1% per year for the last decade. That may seem small, but that's added to our population significantly. That's step 1.

After that, we need to assess where we want growth, identify it to people honestly, solicit their feedback, and then try and reach consensus. I voted against Plan 2040 — the 'growth plan' for Anne Arundel County because it hid this information from citizens. It did not clearly identify where the county was planning growth. And then when the county tried to rezone significant parts of my district to allow for high-density housing - I fought back and stopped them (Lake Shore Golf Center, Ritchie Hwy. corridor).

The Democratic majority on the County Council — led by Allison Pickard (running for County Executive) — passed the "Housing Attainability Act" in 2024. The GOP members voted against it. Why? Because it erased most of the protections we've had in our County Code to limit certain types of residences in certain areas.

For example, with this new law, developers can build apartments, condominiums, stacked townhouses, multiplexes in commercial areas. You think you live next to a shopping center until someone comes to 'redevelop' it into an apartment complex. That's exactly the type of bait and switch that destroys trust in government officials — and that's the signature legislative achievement by the person who wants to lead our county next.

How will you address crime in the county/your district?

Addressing crime starts with supporting our law enforcement and first responders. I've been a strong proponent of increased pay, lateral hiring incentives, changes to pension provisions, and tax credits. Those help to show the people serving our communities that we appreciate them.

The next thing - have their backs. When the Attorney General of Maryland waded into Anne Arundel County and tried to press criminal charges on two of our Officers after the Anne Arundel County Police found no wrongdoing, I immediately and publicly stated my support for the Officers.

I worked with the Police in creating the new Police Accountability Board in the wake of the state's repeal of the Law Enforcement Officer's Bill of Rights, ensuring police rights were preserved.

In short, the best way to have a safe community is to have good police. The best way to have good police is to support them and ensure they know their value to our community. I'll keep doing all I can to make that happen for our county.