Fernando Berra III Runs For Anne Arundel County Executive

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — It's primary election season in Maryland. Early voting runs from Thursday, July 7 through Thursday, July 14. Primary election day is Tuesday, July 19. Voters can also return their ballot by mail or place it in a dropbox.

Residents can learn when, where and how to can vote by clicking here. Voters can see which districts they live in by using this tool. Visit this link to see who is running in each district.

Patch asked County Council and county executive candidates to complete a questionnaire outlining their priorities. Anne Arundel County executive candidate Fernando Berra III participated in our survey. Berra's unedited responses are posted below.

Name

Fernando Berra III

Campaign website

https://www.FriendsoftheUSConstitution.com

City or town of residence

Lake Shore, MD

Office sought

Anne Arundel County Executive

Party affiliation

Republican

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering, Electrical Engineering (BEEE) Master's in Engineering, Systems Engineering (MSESE)

Occupation

Advisory Photonics Systems Engineer for a major US Government contractor - 27 years of experience

Family

Wife and four school-age children

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Age

55 years young

Previous public office, appointive or elective

No

Why are you seeking this office?

Because I am tired of the abuse of power, overreach of authority, and violations to our Constitutional Rights in the name of profit by our local government

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

In a recent poll, the AACO citizens stated that they are most concern about crime, drugs and the economy. I am going to use my engineering skillset and engineering processes to reconfigure our local government to make it more efficient, and cost effective; thereby, freeing budgetary money to hire more police officers and address the issue of crime and drugs in our community; for the economy, I will form many community working groups to address other issues in specific areas of our county, and I will explore the ability to have zero-interest loans to small businesses and students to complete their education. An investment in our community will pay off high dividends in the future, and in our local economy.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The County Executive is an administrative position. I have 27 years managing very complex engineering projects for the US Government that include personnel, operations, and budget; my experience extends to streamlining processes to make them more efficient and cost effective. None of the other candidates have those skillsets and level of experience. I believe that the role of the county executive extends to address and correct the grievances that the constituents have regarding their government, as stated in the First Amendment of the US Constitution; I am the only candidate that is addressing the violations to our Constitutional Rights by our government, and I am the only one that will re-instate and uphold those unalienable Rights back to our citizens by removing all bureaucratic processes and neither enacting or enforcing any law, statue or code that violates citizen's Constitutional Rights

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

Mr. Pittman began his term with false promises; he stated that he would not raise taxes and he did on his first month in office; he promised teachers that he would increase their salary, but he did not. His administration continues to violate Anne Arundel County's citizens' Constitutional Rights in the name of profit and politics. Mr. Pittman has increased the budget by 15% ($300 million dollars) while wasting our money in failed programs; case in point, he claims that the "Land Navigator" system is a success, but in reality is a major catastrophe, as it does not do what it was intended to accomplish; he is now allocating more of our money to fix the problem without truly understanding what the root cause is. Mr. Pittman is not in touch with the needs of the citizens who are concern about crime; he allocated $47+ millions for safety (which most of it goes to upgrade communication systems) while allocating almost $100 millions to conservation issues. Mr. Pittman is neither a leader nor a good administrator; Democrats, Republicans, and Independent voters have had enough of his failed policies.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I intend to address all the issues that my fellow citizens have brought up in my conversations with them: reduction in crime, drug interdiction, police accountability, unfair fees for small business, unemployment, zero-interest loans for students, conservation laws vs. property Rights, schools safety, teacher and police shortage, CRT teaching in our schools (it will never happen!), unconstitutional lockdowns and unconstitutional mask mandates - to name a few.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

For the last 27 years, I have managed very complexed engineering projects for the US Government and our military with verifiable successes - resolving programmatic and technical problems - and delivering quality products, on time, and within budget.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Never give up; there is always a solution to every problem.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I recently acquired some philosophy from a Chinese fortune cookie: "Every great social cause, or political movement, started with one person being discontent". If you really think about it, it is true. The American revolution started with one person voicing his discontent to his neighbors in Boston. Rosa Parks voice her discontent about giving up her seat... I believe that it is time that "We the People" voice our discontent about the direction our country is heading. It is not a Democrat, Republican or Independent issue; it is an American issue: a government of the People, for the People, by the People.