Campaign Phone
3019047279
I bring decades of experience as a leader, guiding and supervising teams, producing sustainable results and desired outcomes for the customer and meeting mission goals. My number one skill is listening, asking questions, and engaging people to work together for the best possible solution set to address our issues and fix our problems. My organizational leadership experiences: career federal civil servant, parent & teacher associations, my parish church, and community & activist organizations.
Leading better governing and decision-making and working collaboratively; this requires understanding interdependencies within our local economy of business, education, jobs, housing, farms, infrastructure and government. Increase workforce housing inventory and financial accessibility for people to own or rent. Increase technology and 21st century service-type small businesses supporting non-defense industries while protecting and preserving our agricultural and environmental well-being.
Put work and workers at the center: guaranteed living wages and real support for essential jobs not requiring a college degree. Expand and improve workforce development programs to train people in blue and white collar jobs through increased funding, more involvement from local businesses. Provide subsidies to help our farmers and small businesses to meet livable wages. Invest in affordable childcare that meets community and worker needs.
Prevent the trend of private equity corporations from buying up housing then pricing out most local people.
Incentivize home-builders and community-based affordable housing groups to build more workforce housing to own or rent, through tax credits and loan guarantees. Create, support and expand community-based initiatives that enable people living in mobile homes to purchase and make improvements to their homes.
Provide incentives to strengthen: our farm, fishing, & forest-based businesses thru investment in regenerative practices. Expand access to affordable land, particularly for producers who are newer, younger, people of color or displaced farmers. Rebuild small town centers to attract new businesses and young people. Provide low cost capital and training tailored for young entrepreneurs. Require “Community Benefit Agreements” with outside corporations, including chain stores, and big boxes.
People and businesses come or stay here for similar reasons-because it is doable to start; eventually, doing better becomes possible and realized; then, growing to be comfortably livable and enjoying the fruits of our work. Only for some. Others are stuck. Centering our fiscal priorities on everyone-to have what they need to be successful, to thrive not just survive and how they can make a decent living to have, raise and support a family. Employment, Housing, and Education & Training.
Centering on people and community needs includes our Public Safety & Security and our overall well-being. Locally accessible and available Healthcare-preventative, physical, and mental.
We’re a quarter into 21st century with a 20th century mindset-we’re stuck. We must create our future together, from the bottom up, one that we can afford to live and thrive in. We prioritize better wages and invest in people. We create the local spending necessary for a healthy, growing and sustainable economy.
I spent 19 years helping my dad farm. I spent 2 years in the army. I spent 38 years working foe Verizon install high speed data on NAS and Webster Field. I also spent 20 years working retail at Safeway I have spent over 25 years attending or watching commissioner meetings and have served on different boards and committees.
I want to hold taxes down while providing the best Educational System. I want the best Public Safety, Sheriff,s Office, State,s Attorney Office and Frist Responders. I also want all Cannabis Facilities to go into an Industrial Park not in a Residential Neighborhood.
County Government should provide training opportunities at the high school level and college level. We could have our Economic Development Department work with Employers to help train and educate our future work force.County Government
County Government should not be landlords. We could work with local developers to meet the needs of our County. We need senior and affordable housing for our community.
Preserve as much land as possible. Control development. Maintain our roads and water and sewer systems.
More activities for our youth that are not into sports. Police our travel better. Control spending better.
Do better for our seniors, veterans and homeless.
Campaign Phone
2402982234
I am a lifelong resident of SMC. When I was 15 years old I obtained my first watermen's license and I completely understand and respect our rural heritage. I believe in smart growth culminating in respecting our rural character while embracing high tech jobs in SMC. I created 3 companies in SMC employing hundreds of people. A US Coast Guard Veteran, I have spent a lifetime supporting the DoD and completely understand the machinations and business of our largest County employer, PAX River.
Managing our budget by seeking out innovative ways to cut costs (such as public/private partnerships). Biggest challenge will be unfunded mandates being thrust upon our Community by State and Federal government depleting our resources. Maintaining a balanced budget without increasing local taxes will continue to be a challenge, but the citizens of SMC already pay too much in taxes. The State in particular has a spending problem which depreciates our local resources but we must hold the line.
Infrastructure support in developmental districts such as the Airport Innovation District at St. Mary's Airport and surrounding properties. This will encourage smart growth through public private partnerships with high tech industries. Light manufacturing in the same area will lead to an increase in jobs. The Great Mills RD corridor also offers opportunities for business / employment expansion for folks without degrees or security clearances.
Affordable housing equates to townhomes and apartments which cannot be built at a price-point to make them affordable without existent water and sewer capacity available. This means most available opportunity for growth would be in the Leonardtown and Lexington Park districts. Neither Southern nor Northern SMC is equipped for such growth.
Smart growth in economic developmental districts and preservation of farmland and critical areas in our County. I believe a review of our designated growth areas is in order, as some (Golden Beach as an example) are currently listed in these designated areas but are not developable without water and sewer infrastructure growth. Citizens have been loud and clear that they do not support that, and I respect their position observing the existent high congestion in the area.
(1) Review the capital improvements list that is currently queued up.
(2) Review the cost estimating processes and procedures of DPW
(3) Maintain a balanced budget without increasing taxes for County citizens
Managed growth; pursue high technology insertion and jobs into our Community while retaining the rural character of our County.
Campaign Twitter
NA
Campaign Phone
301-123-4567
Campaign Instagram
@gregkolarikforcommissioner
I am a registered voter, a resident of the County for at least five (5) years prior to election to office and at least twenty-five (25) years of age.
I have worked with every Local, State, and Federal agency that does business with the 116,000 residents of St. Mary County for over 30 years. My 31 years with the State of Maryland working for the Department of Environment makes me uniquely qualified to serve our great County. My interpersonal and relationship skills are second to none.
I seek to solve the problems of St. Mary's County residents.
Assist them with getting a responsible government, one in which they are in charge. This is a citizens movement not a personal one.
St. Mary's County sells itself. By that I mean "market forces" will guide and determine jobs, businesses, and economic growth. The Commissioners of St. Mary's County do not have the power to involve themselves in monetary stability. However, as a fiscal conservative I can hope to advocate for limited government intervention, reduce this government's spending habits, and always vote for a balanced budget.
In St. Mary's County this answer lies with the Housing Authority of St. Mary's County. I will work diligently with them to seek practical and proven solutions to housing and development in St. Mary's County. I also want to unleash the private sector builders who want to counter the "national builder" with homegrown ideas.
St. Mary's County is currently entering an infrastructure crisis. Be it roads, culverts, bridges, public water systems, and public sewage systems. I would be much more proactive with METCOM and St. Mary's Department of Public Works. My 26 years of hands on engagement with these and other St. Mary's County agencies make me the ideal candidate to push forward for our citizens to get real results, not papering over the "cracks".
A balanced budget that is accountable to all of the 116,000 citizens. Not one that feeds pet projects or supposed "needs" pushed by a minority group that presently occupy our existing government agencies.
Deep dive into the budgetary asks of the various county agencies to maximize both the output of these agencies and deliver to our citizens the quality and responsiveness they deserve.
Seek a tax solution to aid in retaining residents, senior citizens, and veterans.
My goal is to bring a smile back to the citizens of St. Mary's County. To have them walk into a County office with no fear or anxiety when they seek help or assistance. To lift up the County employee to better serve those citizens and to make their workplace more satisfying. I aim to bring back more community engagement, interaction, and camaraderie that is sorely missing in our World. This campaign is about all 116,00 of our residents, not Greg Kolarik.
