Russell files for county commissioner
Democrat hopes to represent District 2
Brandon Russell has filed to run for St. Mary’s County commissioner in District 2 as a Democrat.
So far, in addition to Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R), who filed on Feb. 15, Russell and Republican Marcus Drake have also filed for the seat currently held by Hewitt.
It is the first time Russell is running for public office. The 34-year-old Leonardtown resident is operations manager for Great Lakes Radiant, an HVAC supplier in Oakville.
Russell said he was appointed second vice chair of the St. Mary’s Democratic Central Committee over two years ago.
He decided to run for three main reasons.
He would like to make local government more accessible, provide a different perspective on the board and focus development in a more targeted way in Charlotte Hall, Hollywood and Piney Point, for example.
Russell would try to hold all public hearings in the evening hours during weekdays to provide more public input. Having such hearings on Tuesday mornings isn’t practical for most folks, he said.
There’s room in local government for different perspectives to create a fairer environment, he said.
He also would like to make the process for applying for the county’s various boards and commissions more transparent. He noted that several people said they applied for such and were given no response or a canned response when asked specifics of how appointments are made.
Russell noted that the county
only has one development district (Lexington Park), but other areas should have plans as well in order to involve residents of those areas more instead of just relying on the county’s overall comprehensive plan.
Calvert County, for example, has seven town center master plans, and Russell would like to see something similar implemented by the department of land use and growth management in St. Mary’s County.
In regard to the budget, Russell said the commissioners “have done an OK job,” but he would like them to either use the $25 million in the unallocated fund balance or reduce tax rates.
“I really want to get into the budget and see how revenues are being put to good use for residents,” he said.
Russell got involved in public hearings regarding redistricting last year and said the process could’ve been handled “in a much fairer way.” Although he added that the final map that was approved for commissioners’ districts “was probably the best compromise,” specifically relating to District 4, which includes Great Mills and Lexington Park.
Without naming names, Russell said those he admires politically are local people who get involved in various projects “behind the scenes.”
Russell has been married to his husband, Paul Quade, since the fall of 2020.