2022 Candidate Profile: Sean McCurdy Runs For Howard County Council District 1

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Early voting will run from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3 in Maryland. Early voting centers in the county will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day. Patch asked each of the candidates answers to the same questions and here you will meet Sean McCurdy, candidate for Howard County Council, District 1.

Name

Sean McCurdy

Campaign website

https://mccurdy4hoco.com/

City or town of residence

Ellicott City

Office sought

Howard County Council, District 1

Party affiliation

Republican

Education

My name is Sean McCurdy and I am a lifelong Ellicott City resident and proud husband and father. I am an IT project engineer by profession, but my real passion stems from being a fierce community advocate and youth basketball coach. I am humbly asking for your support to be your next county councilman because I hope to apply a smarter, more coherent vision to development and redevelopment in Ellicott City and Elkridge. I also will work harder to ensure that our county council is more responsive to the public safety and budgetary needs of our growing community. I am committed to always maintaining open lines of communication with you--the citizens--focusing on issues that matter to us, and when progress stalls, bring people together to advance the conversation to make strong public policy where everyone is represented.

Occupation

IT project engineer

Family

I'm a proud husband and father. Both my wife and I have grown up in Howard County's Council District 1 and we are happy to raise our family in the district.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Nope. My family is pretty allergic to politics, particularly the toxic politics that often rears its ugly head during election seasons.

Age

39

Previous public office, appointive or elective

No.

Why are you seeking this office?

I grew up in Ellicott City, attending Worthington Elementary, Ellicott Mills Middle, and Centennial High. Later in life my wife and I bought our first home in Elkridge, where we resided for about 10 years before purchasing our forever home in Ellicott City.

These past 4 years, we have seen our community go in the wrong direction: we're more divided, more taxed and more worried about our shared future. Many District 1 residents have expressed their disappointment, even sadness, over the direction our county has taken since 2018.

We live in an amazing place, but now our community is splintering, taxes are increasing, critical projects, including those to save Historic Ellicott City, are lagging, and our communities increasingly feel unsafe.
It is for these reasons, and because I love my community that I’m running for a safer and stronger Howard County.

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

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

A major difference between myself and my opponent is with respect to the safety of our students and teachers. My opponent supports the removal of School Resource Officers (SROs) and I support a plan to expand SROs in our middle schools. Unfortunately, my opponent has followed others to politicize our children's education. She supported the removal of SROs in our middle schools and supported the 2019 redistricting which unnecessarily moved children away from their neighborhood schools. As councilman, I will prioritize funding for our classrooms and work to ensure that that funding ensures a safe and strong learning environment for our children and teachers.

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

Please see my previous answer on my opponent's positions on school safety and divisive school redistricting.

Another concern that I have is with respect to affordable housing. Housing in Howard County is a major issue for working families, particularly those who are getting priced out of certain markets. My opponent opposed resolutions to support redevelopment projects like Roselyn Rise, Hickory Ridge, and Robinson Overlook. It’s one thing to say that you support affordable housing measures for working families, it is something completely different when you oppose measures to provide affordable housing for those working families.

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

Infrastructure: I strongly believe that infrastructure takes a huge hit when we constantly look the other way on the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. I want to be vigilant on developments, but at the same time, be pro-growth, particularly commercial growth.

We also need to really need an infrastructure review of our current capacity. School redistricting and gerrymandered maps are not solutions, they’re band aids. We need to really look at where our growth will be in the next 5 to 10 years and tackle and develop recommendations of where can improve and enhance infrastructure. The result is clear: more trailers in our schools, High School #14, more traffic fatalities on our county roads, and frankly a patchwork of zoning plans that don’t make much sense.

General Development Plan/HoCo By Design: I have been following the various stages of HoCo by Design and have some strong concerns. First, I believe that recent decisions related to growth have remained focused on residential development, when we should be focused on the growth of our commercial sector. A healthy and growing commercial tax base eases the tax pressure on residents. Second, I think that we need to really take into account the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. I’m for advancing affordable housing, but we should be smarter in our planning. We cannot afford to have residential development greatly outpace infrastructure improvements.

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

As a community advocate, I have supported many initiatives related to our schools. More recently, I worked with parents who were very concerned with High School #13. Many of these Elkridge parents spoke out against the HCPSS superintendent’s plan. They argued that the superintendent's plan would fracture their community by moving more than 1,000 students from Long Reach and Howard high schools to High School #13 and lead to a dangerous commute down Route 1. Just a few weeks ago, the Howard County Board of Education took our concerns into account and rejected this plan. It was a small, but hard fought victory.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

To stand tall, you must kneel to help others.

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

I know that this year, we are seeing political polarization rip our community--and our country--apart. Let me just say this: we are Howard Countians first before we are members of any political party. I am ready to work with anyone who is interested in bettering our community. We don't need political games. We don't need more of the toxic politics that have characterized the previous years.

There are a lot of challenges facing our county and we need leaders, not party hacks or pols who are beholden to wealthy donors. As councilman, I will work hard to meet with as many stakeholders and hear as many opinions on the toughest issues. Recently, Governor Larry Hogan and former Governor Bob Ehrlich recognized my serious intent to get things done. Both have endorsed my campaign for District 1 county council.