Olszewski Announces Fair Election Fund Commission Appointees

TOWSON, MD — Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski today announced the appointments of Marietta English and David Mister as the administration’s selections to serve on the Baltimore County Fair Election Fund Commission.

Once finalized, the Commission will support Baltimore County’s new public financing system for candidates for County Council and County Executive — which will begin with the 2026 election cycle.

“We are continuing to take vital, overdue steps to empower a more diverse group of candidates for office, create a more level playing field, and strengthen our local elections for years to come,” Olszewski said. “We are thrilled to make these appointments in our latest effort to help realize our vision to deliver Baltimore County’s first-ever Fair Election Fund for the 2026 election cycle.”

The Fair Election Fund Commission will consist of nine county residents: seven individuals — one from each council district — nominated directly by members of the County Council — in addition to the two individuals nominated today by the County Executive.

The Commission will be responsible for estimating the amount of funding needed during the upcoming election cycle, and shall make annual recommendations to the County Executive on the level of appropriations needed in each forthcoming budget. Appointees will serve four year terms.

Establishing a Fair Election Fund has been a key priority for County Executive Olszewski, who called for a public financing option for local elections for years before taking office.

As his first legislative priority, Olszewski proposed a package of reforms, including a charter amendment to create a system for public financing for candidates. The charter amendment passed with bipartisan support and was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2020.

Olszewski later created the bipartisan Fair Election Fund Work Group to propose recommendations for Baltimore County’s Fair Election Fund system.

Based on the work group’s recommendations, Olszewski introduced legislation to create Baltimore County’s Fair Election Fund, which was approved by the County Council with bipartisan support.

More information about Fair Election Fund Commission is available here.