Election 2026: Meet 7th District Council Candidate Dawn Pulliam

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Ahead of the 2026 general election in November, 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.

Related:

• Maryland Voter Guide: Governor, Congress And Redistricting On The Ballot
• Moore And Cox Bring Heat To Debate, But Will It Alter The Race?
• Voter Guide For Anne Arundel County: What's On The Ballot, Voting & More

Questionnaire responses for Dawn Pulliam, who is running to represent the 7th District, can be found below:

Name: Dawn Pulliam

Age: 54

Hometown: Crofton

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?

I have served District 7 on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education since December 2024. In that role, I help oversee a school system budget of more than $1.87 billion. I vote on it in public and answer to the same voters I’m asking to serve on the Council. I’ve lived in Anne Arundel County for 18 years, and my family’s children attend our public schools.

Before the Board, I was never a politician, and I think that’s part of what sets me apart. I spent 23 of my 28 professional years at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. There I worked directly with every level of government, from international partners and federal agencies to state offices and local municipalities, to solve the everyday problems people actually face. I focused on making government more efficient by applying proven business practices via technology drivers, economic and workforce development, acquisition/contract reform, and public safety. I’ve also worked in private industry and national defense, including at Lockheed Martin and in support of the Department of Defense, so I know how both government and business really work.

That experience taught me how decisions made in one office affect families somewhere else, and how to bring people together to get results. I’ve put it to work on the Board of Education, a nonpartisan elected office, by reading the budgets, asking the hard questions, and taking the tough votes. I’ve worked successfully across the aisle with colleagues of every political stripe, because our students’ needs don’t come with a party label. Just one year into my term, those colleagues elected me vice president of the Board, a vote of confidence I’m honored and grateful for. That’s exactly how I’ll serve on the County Council, focused on solving problems, not scoring points. I’m not learning the job from scratch. I’m ready to lead on day one.

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

The most important issue facing our families today is the cost of living, and my experience has prepared me to take it on for my constituents. My career has been built on making complex organizations deliver results. During 23 years at the University of Maryland’s Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise, I worked where policy meets the private sector, helping governments get more value out of every taxpayer dollar. As director of a soft-funded research center, one that ran entirely on grants and contracts we had to win, I know what it means to pinch every penny and live within our means so that every employee and student got paid. At Lockheed Martin and in support of the Department of Defense, I worked in environments where every dollar has to be justified and every program has to perform.

I’ll bring that same discipline to the County Council, because every dollar the County wastes is a dollar that comes out of residents’ pockets. Every program should have clear goals and measurable results, and taxpayers should be able to see both. If a program isn’t working, we should fix it or end it, not fund it again by default. On the school board, I’ve seen what happens when state mandates are passed down without the money to pay for them. I know where those costs end up, and I know the questions to ask before they land on residents’ tax bills. Keeping government efficient is one of the most direct ways I can help keep this county affordable.

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?

Affordability. Families in District 7 are feeling it in their property tax bills, their utility bills, their fees, and the cost of housing. A lot of these costs are decided right here at the county level, which means the Council can do something about them.

I see the human side of this on the school board. We struggle to hire and keep teachers because many can’t afford to live in the county where they teach. The same is true for our police, firefighters, and nurses. My approach is to hold the line on tax and fee increases, respect the voter-approved property tax cap, and demand that new spending show results.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current officeholder, and how will you improve on it? If you are running for reelection, please state how you would expand on your previous term.

I believe the current and former leaders who have held this seat have done a great job. Each person voters choose for this position brings a different perspective, and mine is unique. If elected, I would be the only republican member of the County Council who comes directly from the Board of Education. Serving on the Board over the past few years has shown me the real needs across District 7, from our athletic fields and libraries to our schools and public boat ramps.

District 7 deserves a Councilmember who brings real budget oversight experience and a strong partnership with our schools. Too often, communities across our district, from South County to Edgewater and the Mayo Peninsula, have been an afterthought in countywide decisions on roads, community fields, schools and public safety resources. I’ll work hard to ensure our communities get the services they pay for. I also know how important it is for infrastructure to keep pace with growth. We just finished a stressful school redistricting process, and I don’t want our families to go through that again anytime soon. Like the leaders who held this seat before me, I promise to hold the line on overdevelopment from Crofton to the Mayo Peninsula and to keep South County rural. Because I already serve on the Board of Education, I can connect the Council and the school system so that growth decisions and school planning go hand in hand.

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 support a pause. District 7 residents and businesses are already feeling the pressure of rising energy prices, and this is not the time for a data center “power grab.” The County should not approve new data centers until we fully understand what they will do to our power grid, water supply, roads, and neighborhoods. The moratorium now before the Council is a sensible step.

Once the pause is in place, the Council should pull together a stakeholder committee that truly represents our entire community, not just a chosen few, to take a full and honest look at this issue. That committee should work in the open and transparent way - giving every resident a genuine chance to be heard. Its findings should then guide clear rules for the County, so we don’t simply let the deadline pass and return to business as usual.

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

Today - I'd Vote No for adding new data centers in our county! Plainly Put - No New Data Centers. This question implies they are coming and the County Council voted 7-0 vote on the moratorium.

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

A more desired data center is located well away from homes and schools and pays its full share of energy and infrastructure costs. It uses responsible water and cooling practices and is honest with the public about its impact. A less desirable data center relies on our grid and our ratepayers, sits next to neighborhoods, and offers vague promises in place of real commitments.

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?

Public Safety is first and foremost in terms of the quality of life for our families and businesses in Anne Arundel County. Our public safety and law enforcement officers should be able to have access to all the tools and resources in their toolbox to make our county and communities safer!

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?

This is a non-issue, due to the State's in-effect ban on 287(g) agreements with Maryland.

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

The biggest issue facing AACPS is the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, and it’s directly tied to the top issue facing our state. Maryland’s budget crisis will dominate the 2027 legislative session. The state faces a structural deficit of about $3 billion for fiscal year 2028, with even wider gaps projected through 2031. Fiscal 2028 is also the first year that Blueprint costs are expected to exceed the money set aside to pay for them.

The real issue is who pays. The Blueprint sets ambitious goals for our schools, but the state keeps pushing the cost of its mandates down to the counties. For Anne Arundel County, that would be a fiscal disaster that threatens our way of life, because the only way to cover those costs locally is through huge tax increases. That is not the answer. If the state creates a mandate, the state must fund it. It’s also time for the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board to dig in with every county to see what’s working and what isn’t, so the state can make smart decisions based on real results and a realistic fiscal forecast.

I’m the candidate best prepared for this fight. As a Board of Education member, I’ve seen firsthand how these mandates play out in our schools. And over my 23 years at the University of Maryland, I worked side by side with state and local government officials to solve real problems. On the Council, I’ll bring both of those experiences to the table with my colleagues to push these costs back (as much as we can) where they belong, with the state, and make sure every county dollar reaches students and teachers. Through it all, our students must remain our first priority.

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.

School safety needs several layers working together: school resource officers, weapons detection technology, secure building entrances, and an anonymous reporting system students trust. It also takes mental health support, so we can step in before a crisis. Metal detectors can be one of those layers, but technology works best alongside staff who know their students and notice when something is wrong.

AACPS is already putting this approach into practice. We are piloting metal detectors, and we have placed School Resource Officers in every one of our high schools and now in some of our middle schools. Those officers work hand in hand with the County Police Department to keep students safe. I’m proud of what our school system has accomplished, but also realize that there is more that needs to be done - on the Council, I’ll continue to champion school safety as I have on the School Board.

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?

I actually believe that we need to take a step back from development. Our county has grown by nearly 1% a year for the past decade, and our infrastructure hasn’t kept up. On the school board, I’ve seen the results of rushed development firsthand, most recently in the school redistricting process our families just went through. New housing should come with real plans for schools, roads, Route 3 traffic, water, and public safety before it’s approved, not afterward. This is our chance to get growth right.

In Crofton, there is simply no room left for new housing. In much of the rest of the district, homes rely on septic systems that cannot support high-density housing like duplexes, triplexes, and multiplexes. Forcing that kind of development into communities without the infrastructure to handle it would put our water, our environment, and our neighborhoods at risk. Other parts of the county may be better suited for new development, but wherever growth goes, residents deserve real input before the County moves forward.

Affordability is also driven by the rising cost of materials and by the permitting process itself. One of the most direct ways the County can make housing more affordable is to cut the permitting delays and fees that drive up the cost of every home built here. Builders used to get permits in a matter of months. Today the process can take two to four years, and those delays add to the price of a home until many young families simply can’t afford it. That's where the county needs to start - the permitting process.

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

It starts with backing our police and first responders. That means competitive pay, strong recruitment and retention incentives, and leaders who stand behind them. Our officers are a key part of our quality of life, because families can only thrive when they feel safe in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods. A strong relationship between the police and the community is built on support and respect, and I will do all I can to support the officers who protect us.