Baltimore County voters elect new council members and expand seats

After Tuesday’s election, the County Council is on track to expand from seven members to nine, with at least one Black woman poised to become the first ever elected to the body and at least two members of Gen Z set to take office, The Banner reported. The expansion follows a 2025 voter referendum authorizing the change, and the candidates ran in districts redrawn under new boundaries.

It’s not just the council that will change. Voters also elected a new county executive, a new state’s attorney, and a new sheriff. Two closely watched council races—one in the northern part of the county and one in the southeast corner—remained too close to call as of Tuesday night.

A New Era for a 1956 Institution

The council’s growth from seven to nine seats marks the first expansion since the body was established in 1956. Each of the nine districts now elects its own representative, a structural shift that coincides with a generational turnover: the incoming class includes a 25-year-old law student, a Young Democrats of Maryland president, and a community advocate running alongside longtime incumbents.

“I think starting new is better,” said 38-year-old Shamika Thompson, speaking outside a polling location in Reisterstown on Election Day. She hopes the newly elected officials will prioritize residents’ needs. “My big thing with the county is being more positive,” she said. “School issues. Closed businesses just sit without being used for so long that could actually be turned into something that’ll be good for us. Fixing things that need to be fixed.”

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Diane Schmutzler, 47, who lives in Halethorpe and works for the federal government, struck a more ambivalent note. “As much as I voted a party line, I still don’t necessarily think we’ve got the greatest party representatives in Baltimore County,” she said. Schmutzler said the county is so diverse that she sometimes wishes “we were three counties.” She hopes the new officials will improve the education system, expand access to affordable housing, and build “appropriate” developments, favoring “smarter development” that is transit-oriented and walkable.

District by District

District 1. Democrat Paul Dongarra, an environmentalist and community activist, held a wide lead Tuesday night over Republican Rheagan Kindle, a childcare worker and tutor who serves as treasurer of the Baltimore County GOP. The redrawn district spans the county’s southwest corner and includes Arbutus, Halethorpe, and Catonsville.

District 2. Ruben Amaya, president of the Young Democrats of Maryland, led Republican James Amos, a retired Maryland Capitol Police officer, by almost 5 to 1. Amaya would be the first Latino to serve on the council and one of its youngest members. Along the county’s western edge, the new district covers Woodlawn, Reisterstown, and portions of Randallstown—a strongly Democratic zone where registered Democrats exceed Republicans by a ratio of more than 5 to 1.

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District 3. Democrat Makeda Scott led Republican Chike Anyanwu by more than 6 to 1 in the redrawn District 3, which includes parts of Randallstown and Owings Mills. It is one of two majority-Black districts, where more than 56% of the population is Black, and registered Democrats make up almost two-thirds of the voting population. Baltimore County has never elected a Black woman to the council.

District 4. Democrat Karson Kamenetz, a 25-year-old law student and son of former County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, held a 5-to-1 lead over Republican Gary Schuman. He declared victory in an Instagram post Tuesday night: “This county gave me everything, and I’ve been given an extraordinary chance to give something back.” The new 4th District combines predominantly Black suburbs around Northwest Baltimore, including Milford Mill, Lochearn, and Pikesville.

District 5. Incumbent Nino Mangione, a firmly MAGA Republican whose grandfather was a multimillionaire real estate magnate, was essentially neck-and-neck with Democrat Shawn McIntosh, who works as an administrator at a health nonprofit; Cory Shaffer campaigned as an independent. The county’s northernmost district, District 5, is also its most politically competitive, with registered Democrats and Republicans nearly evenly divided across the territory stretching from Cockeysville to the Pennsylvania state line.

District 6. Mike Ertel, the Democratic incumbent who chairs the council, led Republican Christine Vondersmith by a 3-to-1 margin. The district borders Baltimore City and includes Towson, Parkville, and Overlea.

District 7. Council member David Marks, a Republican, maintained a commanding advantage over Democrat Caridad “Cari” Santiago, who owns a small business and volunteers at a school. The district runs from Carney to Kingsville and includes Perry Hall.

District 8. Josh Sines, a Republican conservationist who serves as president of the Essex Middle River Civic Council, held a slim lead over Democrat Sharonda Dillard-Huffman, who works as an inclusive housing manager in Montgomery County. The new east-side district borders Harford County and includes Essex, Middle River, and White Marsh. Registered Democrats exceed Republicans in the newly drawn 8th District, though 1 in 4 voters are registered as independent, and the Essex/Middle River area currently has a Republican representative.

District 9. Tim Fazenbaker, a Republican MAGA activist and former liquor store owner, edged out Democrat Arkia Wade, a community advocate, by a narrow margin. Comprising Dundalk, Rosedale, and Edgemere, District 9 ranks among the county’s more conservative districts, and the Dundalk area has voted reliably Republican for over a decade. Roughly one-third of the district’s voters are registered Republicans and about one-quarter are independents; while registered Democrats constitute a larger share of the voting population, they tend toward moderation.

New Council Tackles District Expansion

The incoming council will face the immediate task of governing through its own expansion, integrating two new members and new district maps while the county simultaneously transitions to a new executive, state’s attorney, and sheriff. Whether the younger, more diverse slate delivers the change voters like Thompson described—or the “smarter development” Schmutzler wants—will be measured against a body expanding for the first time since 1956.