Glassman announces run for Maryland comptroller

Harford County executive Barry Glassman announced a run for Maryland comptroller Thursday at the Level Volunteer Fire Company firehouse — the place, he said, his career in public service began some three decades earlier.

He spoke from the same worn green lectern he’s used to announce his previous bids for office.

Glassman, a Republican, said the state comptroller’s position played to his strengths as a longtime county leader who emphasized fiscal responsibility. It also fit with his financial bona fides, he said, noting that Harford County is among 2% of counties in the nation to hold a AAA bond rating from the three major rating agencies.

“The next comptroller will need to be tested with governmental experience and someone who has advocated to protect the state’s taxpayers and small businesses,” Glassman said. “After all, the comptroller is the voice of all our taxpaying families and is also their watchdog.”

Longtime Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat, has announced a run for governor, opening the comptroller post he first won in 2006.

Franchot has had little trouble maintaining the seat over the years, but his bid for the governor’s mansion has cleared the way for newcomers. Del. Brooke Lierman, of Baltimore, and Bowie Mayor Tim Adams already have declared their candidacies for the job on the Democratic ticket.

Thus far, Glassman is the only Republican to announce a run for comptroller, and nobody has formally filed the paperwork with the Maryland State Board of Elections. He acknowledged that most races in Maryland are uphill for Republicans but said that — as an office above the fray of partisan politics — voters would want a moderate, measured comptroller.

“It really fits the model of what I try to do as far as balancing budgets, being pro-growth and being able to be a fiscal conservative,” he said. “You can find ways to make government work better, save money.”

If Franchot had opted to run for comptroller again, Glassman conceded that he probably would not have sought the office.

The comptroller serves as the state’s chief tax collector, and the office has a hand in regulating businesses.

The comptroller also sits on the three-member Maryland Board of Public Works, which has final say on state contracts and spending.

One of his priorities, if elected, is to streamline the comptroller’s office, said Glassman, citing the need for digital delivery of government services.

Glassman is term-limited as Harford County executive and cannot run for the position again in 2022. His chief adviser and former Harford County Council President Billy Boniface filed to run for county executive in 2022 last week.

Through his tenure as county executive, Glassman has hewed toward more moderate positions, emphasizing fiscal stability and conservative spending in his administration’s annual budgets. During the announcement Thursday, he compared his administration to the latest smartphone: “smaller, faster and with better service.”

“I have shown that with the right balance we can fund education and public safety, and grow economic development through innovation and good government,” Glassman said.

According to campaign finance records, Glassman’s campaign had $441,476 on-hand in mid-January.

The primary election for comptroller is more than a year away on June 28, 2022. The general election is Nov. 8, 2022.