Q&A with Councilman Vincent J. Gardina

Baltimore County Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Democrat and Perry Hall resident, served five terms of office between 1990 and 2010. Voters in District 5, which stretches from Towson to Perry Hall, will choose his predecessor in the upcoming general election, Nov. 2.

Q. What do you feel was your greatest accomplishment as a Baltimore County Councilman?

A. There were a number of things that I took a lot of pride in. I'm really a die hard environmentalist. I got involved in politics back in 1990 because of my concern for the environment and I made that a focal point during my tenure on the council. There were a number of issues related to sustainability, green building legislation and preservation of rural areas that I really took the lead on.

Q. How does Perry Hall look different as result of your influence?

A. Perry Hall, originally, was planned to look much different. It was going to be a lot more high density apartments, condominiums and high rises. I changed that in an effort to promote better quality housing and better communities. Most of my efforts were on target but if I had to do it over again, I would have actually called for more density. Smart growth calls for that. You don't want to promote sprawl. At the same time, it was 1993 and 1994 and that was what the community wanted. I think that really changed the face of Perry Hall. It was a permanent change. For the most part, it can't be undone.

Q. What will you miss the most about serving in the county council?

A. I'll definitely miss the policy aspect, being able to get involved and make changes. It's really what I got involved in politics to do. I won't, however, miss the politics. The politics are the most difficult part. I won't miss them at all. But getting involved in the policy and becoming a meaning part of how the county government operates is something that I've really enjoyed.

I feel like I've really made a difference. I understand people's concerns. I feel like that's one of the major things that an elected official should do, view every issue from the perspective of the people you've tried to represent. I've been pretty successful with that.

Q. What sort of advice do you have for the next county councilman?

A. I received some advice when I first came into office. It was, always keep your word. You're only as good as the promises that you make. I would tell whoever follows me to always be true to your word and never make a promise you can't keep and never break a promise that you do make.

Q. How do you feel about the possibility of enacting term limits for
county councilmen?

A. I am against term limits for any office. I think that the voters can decide whether somebody is doing a good job or not. I would be more in favor of campaign finance reform, limiting the amount of money that candidates are eligible to receive and spend in elections. If someone is doing a good job and people want them reelected, people should have the opportunity to do that.

Still, I understand the concern that people have that incumbents have a greater ability to raise money than challengers. That's not always a fair thing, which is why I am more in favor of campaign finance reform.

Q. What are you looking forward to after retiring from the county council?

A. I'd like to move onto one of two things, either teaching high school, which I've done for the past three years, or move into the environmental field. I am an environmental engineer so I may want to get back into that. I wasn't really able to do either of those things fully while working on the council.

The council is really a full-time job, contrary to what most people say. In my first two terms, I easily put in 50 hours a week and even in the last term here, I've easily put in 35 to 40 hours per week. Trying to balance that with another job is really very difficult.

My wife is really looking forward to me having a break. My wife wasn't too keen on me running again and she would like me to be removed from that political arena, primarily because of the nastiness of today's politics. I am constantly under attack by people with political agendas. They make up things, attack you and twist the facts, distort things and lie. It's not that easy to deal with, but you get used to
it, I guess.

Q. Are you in favor of pension reform among Baltimore County employees and elected officials?

A. If you look at the base pay that we get, we get $54,000 per year and we contribute 14 percent of our pay to the Baltimore County Council's pension. Other Baltimore County employees contribute only about 5 percent. We only have seven council members in an area of about 800,000 people. If you look at Baltimore City, they have 16 council members in a city of about 650,000 people. Montgomery County, I think, has nine and Prince George's County has nine. They're paid much more in those counties, they are considered full-time and they are paid between $75,000 and $80,000 each.

Frankly, we have a low pay base. We put in a lot of time and have a lot of responsibility, I'm in favor of reducing the pension and I've voted for reducing the pension and would even be in favor of putting a cap on the pension if we received higher pay. I think a council member should easily make $70,000.

Q. What sort of message would you like to leave with the people of District 5?

A. I'm just grateful to everyone who supported me, helped me and contributed ideas. I am very humbled by that. To be elected five times is something that humbles me and makes me very grateful to the people who had confidence in me for so many years. I just hope that I've been able to improve the county and improve District 5.

This Q&A article was edited for length and content.