AP: Johnny Olszewski wins reelection for Baltimore Co. Executive
BALTIMORE - Democrat Johnny Olszewski will assume the Baltimore County's Executive seat. The Associated Press called Olszewski the projected winner on Wednesday morning.
As of 12:30 p.m., Olszewski led Republican challenger Pat McDonough with 58.7 percent of the votes, with 61 percent of the votes counted.
Olszewski has spent the past four years as the county's executive after he defeated McDonough the first time.
Olszewski campaigned for education and a holistic approach to public safety.
McDonough told WJZ on Election Night that he accepts the results and will not contest the election.
He also said he will "continue to be a watchdog for Baltimore County" when it comes to crime and violence.
Johnny 'O' said the county plans to finish the groundwork laid over the years. This includes a focus on the public school system.
Olszewski said more than $70 million recently went into the pockets of educators and support staff.
"It's allowed us to pay our teachers more. We've gone from middle of the pack to among the best-paid educators in the state and in addition, we've put forward additional support personnel: more teachers, more counselors, psychologists, personnel workers even as we've seen some dips in enrollment since the pandemic."
Building off that investment, the nominee said he also wants to follow through on the long-term plan to upgrade every school within each community that makes up Baltimore County.
The 'Multi-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools' is a process that the local government and public school system created to assess school construction needs.
The program is spread out over 15 years and will invest more than $3 billion, according to Olszewski.
"It's to make sure we end the need for trailers and that we modernize each and every school across all of our communities," the county executive explained.
From schools to public safety, Olszewski said that most violent crimes are trending down, which includes the number of homicides year-to-date.