Steuart Pittman
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikitia's general notability guideline. |
Steuart Pittman | |
|---|---|
| 10th Anne Arundel County Executive | |
| Assumed office December 3, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Schuh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 11, 1961 Davidsonville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Erin Pittman (m. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Chicago (BA) |
Steuart L. Pittman Jr. (born September 11, 1961, in Davidsonville) is an American politician and the current County Executive of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Pittman was elected County Executive in 2018 after defeating incumbent Steve Schuh in the General Election[1] and was re-elected to the position in 2022 after defeating Jessica Haire.[2] He is the tenth Anne Arundel County Executive.
Early life and education
Pittman was born in Davidsonville, Maryland to Steuart L. Pittman Sr. and Barbara Pittman on September 11, 1961. He is the second of his mother's three children, while his father had four other children in a previous marriage. [3] He was raised between homes at his family farm in Davidsonville and Washington, D.C. where he attended St. Albans School, a private school for boys. Pittman then attended the University of Chicago, from which he graduated with a Bachelor's in political science and Latin American studies in 1985.[4]
Career
Community organizing work
Pittman began working for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in 1984 as a community organizer while he was still enrolled in school. After graduation, he would transfer his work to Des Moines for four years where he continued his prior work as a community organizer. After six years with ACORN, Pittman returned to Washington, D.C. in 1990 where he became the Field Director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a job which he held for two years. After two years he spent at the NLIHC, Pittman returned to ACORN in 1992, acting as Director for National Campaigns for another two years. During his time at both ACORN and NLIHC, Pittman fought for environmental preservation, helped bring outside investment to the neighborhoods he worked on behalf of, and helped to be introduced to the levers of local governance.[5]
Farm work
Pittman officially left ACORN in 1994, where he would return to his family farm in Davidsonville and dedicated his time to raising his daughter, Jesse. For the next 17 years, he would spend his time away from the public eye, instead opting to focus on tending to the family farm and assisting in training horses at Dodon Farm, which he owns. In 2011, inspired by the horse training he had been a part of, Pittman returned to advocacy work by founding the Retired Racehorse Project, a nonprofit organization that specializes in nurturing and training horses for their lives and careers after they have passed their competitive peak.
Entry into politics
Pittman's first foray into direct political action came during his time as President of the Maryland Horse Council, a position he held from 2009 to 2013. The Maryland Horse Council is tasked with lobbying local and state governments to pursue legislation with the goals of the local horse industry in mind. Steuart would shift away from equine-centric work in 2017, where he formally launched his run for Anne Arundel County Executive on December 16th at his farm in Davidsonville.[6] Before running for Anne Arundel County Executive, Steuart never held publicly elected office. Pittman's campaign strategy focused on community outreach and engagement to forge relationships through face-to-face connections. This would prove to be successful, as Pittman was able to defeat incumbent Steve Schuh by a margin of 10,667 votes, or 4.7% during the 2018 United States Elections.
As Anne Arundel County Executive
Pittman was sworn in on December 3rd, 2018 at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis. During the speech given at his inauguration, Pittman stated,Pittman would also voice his intent to fight for environmental justice, supporting educators and first responders, prioritizing ethical infrastructure developments, and placing the needs of constituents first ahead of corporate interests through effective community outreach and securing equitable treatment of constituents.[7] After a unanimous nomination in the 2022 primary election, Pittman successfully defended his position after a challenge from Anne Arundel County's 7th District Councilwoman, Jessica Haire by a margin of 16,417 votes, or 7.6% during the 2022 United States Elections.
Community Engagement
On January 24th, 2019, Pittman launched the Office of Community Engagement and Constituent Services, which bolstered the pre-existing Office of Constituent Services to also cover initiatives that ensure constituent involvement in the political developments of the county. This is achieved through the appointment of three constituent service officers and a coordinator to serve the seven County Council districts and ensure that smaller localized communities have a way to be engaged in the decision-making processes of the County Executive.[8]
Climate Change
On July 28th, 2020, Pittman issued a directive to the county's Central Services to begin replacing the county's fleet of vehicles with electric vehicles. The directive also lays out the plans for additional infrastructure and maintenance that will need to be provided for the new cars and also stipulates that an annual report will be provided to monitor the progress made during the transition.[9] On June 7th, 2021, the Anne Arundel County Council passed a bill creating an independent Resilience Authority agency, which is tasked with ensuring that future construction projects will meet new codes specifically designed to mitigate the effects of climate change. Pittman oversaw the creation of the agency as the head of the Anne Arundel Executive branch, and the Authority has moved forward on working to protect the City Dock in Annapolis.[10] On March 29th, 2022, Pittman introduced Executive Order 57 and signed Bill 19-22 which committed the County to use all-renewable energy for its governmental operations by 2030, and to begin construction of a solar energy farm in Glen Burnie, respectively. The solar energy site will be jointly operated by the county and Ameresco and is expected to provide taxpayers with $6.75 million in savings, while also providing clean energy which will assist in fulfilling the goals set in Executive Order 57.[11]
Infrastructure Development
On May 13th, 2021, Pittman signed and passed Plan2040, which is the county's General Development Plan. The plan divides the county into nine regions and places residents alongside urban planners in a position to be able to dictate their desires for the future of infrastructure developments in the region. Embedded in the legislation are calls for the redevelopment of existing areas with a focus on environmental conservation, rather than opting to continue further sprawls of urbanization across the county.[12] The first round of applications to become a member of a Region Plan Stakeholder Advisory Committee were opened to the general public a little more than a month later on June 22nd. The first regions opened for applications were the areas surrounding Laurel, Severna Park, and Annapolis. [13]
Election Results
- 2022 General Election for County Executive[14]
Name Party Votes Percent Outcome Steuart Pittman Democratic 115,421 53.7% Won Jessica Haire Republican 99,004 46.1% Lost Other Write-Ins 369 0.2% Lost
- 2022 Primary Election for County Executive[15]
Name Party Votes Percent Outcome Steuart Pittman Democratic 43,130 100.00% Won
- 2018 General Election for County Executive[16]
Name Party Votes Percent Outcome Steuart Pittman Democratic 118,572 52.3% Won Steve Schuh Republican 107,905 47.6% Lost Other Write-Ins 259 0.1% Lost
- 2018 Primary Election for County Executive[17]
Name Party Votes Percent Outcome Steuart Pittman Democratic 32,243 100.0% Won
References
- ↑ Prudente, Tim (November 6, 2018). "Democrats sweep into executive seats in key suburbs: Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ Kurtz, Josh (November 16, 2022). "Pittman, Elfreth claim victory as several races await final counts of mail-in ballots". Maryland Matters. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- ↑ Lumpkin, Lauren (October 14, 2018). "Steuart Pittman: Farmer to politician, Democrat hopes to change direction of Anne Arundel County". The Capital. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ "Steuart L. Pittman, Jr., County Executive, Anne Arundel County, Maryland". Maryland Manual On-Line. March 11, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ "Steuart Pittman, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ Cane, Peter (December 17, 2017). "Steuart Pittman for County Executive: Campaign Launch Photos". The Arundel Patriot. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - Pittman Sworn into Office as Anne Arundel County's Tenth County Executive, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 3 December 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - Office of Community Engagement and Constituent Services, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 24 January 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - County Executive Pittman Announces New Initiative to Convert County Fleet to All-Electric Vehicles, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 28 July 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - County Executive, County Councilmembers, Mayor of Annapolis Issue Statement on Passage of Resilience Authority Legislation, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 8 June 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - County Executive Pittman Announces Key Renewable and Solar Energy Initiatives, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 29 March 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - County Executive Pittman Signs Plan2040, Anne Arundel County's General Development Plan, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 13 May 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ↑ "Headlines - County Executive Announces Applications for Region Plan Stakeholder Advisory Committees, Anne Arundel County, MD". Anne Arundel County. 22 June 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ↑ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for Anne Arundel County". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for Anne Arundel County". Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Anne Arundel County". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
- ↑ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Anne Arundel County". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
External links
This article "Steuart Pittman" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.