I’ll be back in the saddle on the fourth floor of the Arundel Center by the time you read this, but I’m using my flight time home to get this letter done.
If you like where you live and are lucky enough to get away from it at times, you have experienced the sense of satisfaction that I feel in coming home. For me, it’s both the place and the job that draw me back, but it’s what I saw while away that inspires me to believe that things at home don’t have to be as they are. There are other ways.
Here are a few that jumped out at me.
We can be more creative about public water access. Check out these floating wooden “beaches.” They can be built anywhere that there is water, with diving boards, kayak launches, and sunbathing platforms. Of course, they are more attractive when the water is clean.
We can be more flexible in our permitting. Look at what the City of Oslo has allowed to be built temporarily at an old waterfront industrial site that will eventually become a park. Very simple saunas, a bunch of wooden tables surrounded by food trucks, a bar, and even a temporary art studio. People love it, and small businesses are making money.
We don’t have to let developers drive our housing policies. These units are being built by the private sector, but are fully integrated into what they call the Affordable Housing Scheme for the City of Oslo. I’m told that a majority of the units are sold before construction begins and that there is virtually no public opposition to the growth. It certainly helps that most people use transit, bicycles, scooters, or their own two feet to move around town.
And of course, I asked about what I consider the biggest obstacle to good public policy in our county, state, and country - money in politics. It’s a Norwegian concern, I was told, but is held at bay with a longstanding system of public financing that runs through political parties. Its stated purpose is to limit the influence of large political donors and to facilitate diverse voices. I think the state of Maryland’s program that Larry Hogan used in his first campaign, and the Anne Arundel County program that will be available to candidates for County Executive and County Council in the 2026 cycle are better suited for our politics. My hope is that the next Anne Arundel County Executive will be elected using the new program.
While away, I nurtured my love of where I am from by working my way through the first half of James Michener’s 1001-page historical novel Chesapeake. It starts with the first sightings by native tribes of European ships, and I’m now in the midst of the Revolutionary War. My biggest takeaway from the book is how damn glad I am, not so much that I live in this place, but that I live in this time. As much as we complain about intolerance and injustice today, we’ve come a very long way over the last 500 years. It’s something we must remind ourselves of, and teach our children.
This weekend, I get to do some celebrating of these good times we live in. I’ll be at the opening of our brand new Severn Run High School, the African Heritage Festival at Laurel Racetrack, and our Anne Arundel River Days festival at Quiet Waters Park. On Monday, I’ll attend the opening of Two Rivers Elementary.
Kids return to school on Monday and Tuesday, the County Council will soon reconvene after its August break, and early voting for President, Congress, and Board of Education will begin October 24.
In just a few months, the Maryland General Assembly will reconvene, the Governor will propose a budget, and we’ll be hearing revenue projections that will drive our FY26 county budget decisions.
And the cycles continue.
What matters to me, and I’m sure to you as well, is living in peace with nature and the people that surround us. I can honestly say that both on the fourth floor of the Arundel Center where my dream team works to deliver for our people, and in this south county modular home that arrived on wheels 33 years ago from the eastern shore that I share with Erin, Sam, Drew, and a bunch of animals, we are farther along on that journey of peace than most places in the world, and any time in history. That’s why it’s good to be home.
Until next week…