Anne Arundel Voters Voice Opinions On County Executive, Governor, Marijuana

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Residents voted Tuesday on some of the closest contests in the Anne Arundel County election.

Residents will settle a governor's race that leans Democratic and a tight county executive battle. Maryland will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana, and Anne Arundel County will consider loosening its term limits.

Patch visited the polls to speak with voters. Here's what they said.

Democrat

Ruth Goldberg voted for incumbent Steuart Pittman (D) over Jessica Haire (R) in the county executive race. Haire is the challenger and current District 7 County Council member.

"That's a race that I don't have really strong feelings about," Goldberg told Patch after voting at the Odenton Baptist Church. "I just voted Democratic because I'm a Democrat."

Goldberg was more passionate about the gubernatorial election.

The 63-year-old supported Wes Moore (D), a veteran who is endorsed by former President Barack Obama (D). She preferred Moore's liberal policies over the conservative approach of his opponent, Dan Cox (R).

Cox is a current state delegate representing Carroll and Frederick Counties. He is endorsed by former President Donald Trump (R).

"I can't even begin to say how ridiculous that I thought some of those things he said were," Goldberg said of Cox. "It's a matter of credibility and integrity."

Goldberg, who is a federal government employee, also voted to legalize recreational marijuana in the statewide referendum.

"The criminal justice system is disproportionately focused on drug enforcement," Goldberg said. "It's a waste of money and ruins people's lives for small infractions, so I'd rather see it legal and have people focus on more important things."

Related: Anne Arundel Election: Previewing County Executive Race, Legal Weed, Term Limits

Republican

Paul Rose is a Democrat, but he is frustrated with the direction of the party. That's why he voted for Cox in the governor's race and Haire in the county executive election.

"I'm a registered Democrat, but I am not a fan of the Democratic Party right now," Rose said after voting at Arundel High School in Gambrills. "I think we have better opportunities and more concern about our citizens through the Republican Party than we would with the Democratic Party right now."

Rose, who served in the Marine Corps, voted against legalizing recreational marijuana.

"I've seen the effects of what it's done to a lot of people in my life, so I'm not for it at all," Rose said.

The 81-year-old thinks smoking weed can form bad habits and lead to more dangerous drugs.

Rose supports the state's already-legal medical marijuana program, but he worries that recreational use could send Marylanders down the wrong path.

"Legalization through a doctor's prescription, I have no problem with that at all," Rose said. "It's controlled that way."

Related: Will Maryland Legalize Marijuana?: 5 Statewide Referendums To Know

Term Limits

Jason Putnam, a voter heading to the Odenton Regional Library, was most concerned with the county's ballot question on term limits.

Currently, County Council members can only serve two terms of four years each. A ballot question seeks to extend that limit to three terms of four years each. That would keep county officials in office for longer, and it would guarantee them a pension if they serve three full terms.

The referendum says "Provide that no person elected or appointed to the office of County Councilmember may serve more than three full consecutive four-year terms."

Putnam thinks that makes it sound like there's not already a term limit, which isn't the case. He worries that this wording could mislead residents who support term limits to vote in favor of this ballot question, even though the referendum would really let council members stay in office longer.

"They're asking 'Are you in favor of a three-term term limit,'" Putnam said. "That's all they put on there, which to me implies that there's no term limit. And yeah, of course if I want a term limit, of course I want this. But if you look it up, there's actually a current two-term limit in place."

Putnam voted against the ballot question to ease term limits.

"I think we need two-term limits," Putnam said. "I think you get these networks of people that get too many connections, too many arrangements. You need to clean that out and get some fresh blood in there."

The Republican also voted for Cox and Haire, but he is tired of the two-party system. He believes this pushes candidates to the extremes when most Americans are fairly moderate.

"Most of us, I think, are pretty middle-of-the-road people," Putnam said. "The parties have become sort of self-aware and they're driving themselves to the lunatic fringes. You can either vote for bad or oh my god that's much worse, right? Like, I can't remember the last election where they had a good candidate that I could believe in."

Related: MD Governor's Race: Wes Moore, Dan Cox Make Final Pitches To Voters