Braveboy Celebrates Election As Prince George's County Executive

By Lauren Lifke, Maryland Matters

June 20, 2025

The official swearing-in for new Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy was Wednesday. But the celebration was Thursday.

Braveboy took the oath of office a second time before hundreds of dignitaries, celebrities and county residents who packed a hall in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center at the University of Maryland, College Park for the event. Many had the day off for the Juneteenth holiday — a date Braveboy said she chose deliberately.

“I said, ‘You know what? I want to be sworn in on a day that has meaning separate and apart from myself,’” Braveboy said. “This day is about emancipation. It’s about liberation. It’s about remembering how folks who look like me got to this country.”

The two-hour event felt at times like a church meeting, at times like a political rally, at times like a reunion. There were benedictions by a rabbi, an imam and two ministers, a presentation of flags from dozens of countries represented in the county population, a musical presentation by a church choir and a serenade by sisters of Sigma Gamma Rho, Braveboy’s college sorority.

“I love my blue and gold, all that I know is there ain’t nothing like my SG Rho,” sang a group of about 20 women wearing the sorority’s signature colors.

Attendees were greeted by a wall-size poster of Braveboy with the logo, “The future is Brave,” and treated to an eight-minute video retrospective of her career. And there were speeches, by Prince George’s County Council Chair Edward Burroughs III and from actress Taraji P. Henson, who spent much of her time discussing rising youth suicide and the mental health foundation she founded in honor of her father, but said she is “excited for our partnership” with Braveboy.

Gov. Wes Moore speaks at Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy’s (D) swearing-in celebration Thursday. (Photo by Lauren Lifke/Maryland Matters)

Henson was followed by Gov. Wes Moore, one of many state and county officials in attendance. Braveboy was one of the first to come out and endorse Moore’s gubernatorial bid when he was a little-known hopeful in a large field of experienced Democrats seeking the governorship.

“I have had the honor of watching her work up close, and I can tell you from the work that I have already seen, you should understand why I’m so excited about the future of Prince George’s County,” Moore said. “She’s someone who has shown that she doesn’t just have a vision for the future, but she’s someone who’s shown that she knows how to deliver upon that future as well.”

Braveboy, a former state delegate who was elected Prince George’s County state’s attorney in 2019, spoke of her time in that office, which ended with a conviction Tuesday in the disappearance and death of local teacher Mariame Toure Sylla in 2023 was an important case to her.

“What a way to end my tenure as state’s attorney,” Braveboy said.

She said she was humbled to have been elected to the office but said that, “in many ways, God elected me, too,” by placing her in a supportive and nurturing family.

Braveboy recognized previous county executives in the audience for their contributions to the county, including Jack Johnson — who was sentenced to seven years in prison on extortion charges related to development deals during his time as executive — Rushern Baker and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), whose election last fall created the opening Braveboy is now filling. She also recognized interim Executive Tara Jackson, who moved into Braveboy’s position as county state’s attorney after Braveboy was electect executive.

She promised a “unified county government,” calling out several of the council members in attendance, and promised to hold regular town halls as part of a government that is “open, transparent and will ask for your ideas.”

A member of the packed audience gets video at Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy’s (D) swearing-in celebration Thursday. (Photo by Lauren Lifke/Maryland Matters)

In her half-hour address, Braveboy presented a vision for the county that was long on optimism, but short on details.

One concrete goal is to clean up the county’s roadways, because, “We have to make sure that our roadways are as beautiful as the people in this room.” Improving the county’s presentation would also help the county become “more competitive” when it comes to attracting business and development, she said.

On that front, she said the county won the competition to be the future home of the FBI headquarters — something President Donald Trump has threatened to halt — “fair and square,” but that the county “can wait them out” at the federal level.

Braveboy also spoke of the need to purchase more from county businesses, promising to ease the process for county companies that do business with the federal government but cannot get a foot in the door for county government or county schools contracts.

Braveboy was active even before her swearing-in, naming a new chief administrative office, an interim schools superintendent, a new police chief and a new public safety director. Over the next few weeks, Braveboy said, she plans to roll out more appointments at both the entry level and senior level, and directed people who want to work with the county, whether at a high level or an entry level, to follow the “career seeker” link on her website, www.aishabraveboy.com/transition.

“I see a future filled with promise, filled with prosperity and filled with love,” Braveboy said. “My job as a county executive is to ensure that everyone feels that feeling each and every day.”