More Housing, Stronger Transportation Goals For Pittman's Last Year

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Steuart Pittman hopes to spend his last year as Anne Arundel County executive finishing what he started.

The Democrat released his annual State of the County address on Tuesday, promising further action on long-promised housing, transportation and recreation projects.

In his prerecorded speech, Pittman pointed to progress on affordable housing, but he said there's still work to do.

"Gotta get the state to modernize septic capacity standards to allow more accessory dwelling units," said Pittman, whose second and final term ends after the 2026 election. "Gotta get housing into the Meyer Building at Crownsville, gotta get our deals done at Odenton MARC Station and Cromwell Station, and gotta get started at Laurel Park and Belle Grove landfill."

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On the transportation front, Pittman noted a transit ridership record set in October. He still wants to grow the county's trail network and relieve traffic with planned construction in congested corridors.

"We gotta get the Broadneck, South Shore, and Annapolis connection trails done; gotta get shovels in the ground on Route 2, 3, 214, 170, and I-97; and we gotta grow our transit offerings," he said.

Pittman said plenty of green spaces and recreation amenities are in the pipeline, but they need a push over the finish line.

"We’ve accelerated land preservation and park improvement projects, but we’ve got to close on the Saltworks property north of Annapolis Mall and Glebe Heights on the South River," the county executive said. "And we need to break ground on the Edgewater Rec Center, Brooklyn Park Community Center, Millersville Park, Odenton Park, and South Shore Park."

Related: Edgewater Recreation Center To Feature Basketball, Pickleball Courts

Pittman also highlighted the county's investment in public safety and schools.

He said the county's overall budget for police, fire, sheriff and detention has increased by 69% since he took office.

Pittman noted that the county has built or renovated three high schools, one middle school and eleven elementary schools. The county has also completed major additions on eleven more schools, and the final three in the Old Mill Master Plan are funded and in design.

Pittman criticized the federal government's budget cuts. He said, "The federal government has initiated policies that many economists believe will unravel the strong economy that we have enjoyed in recent years. And they say that the first impacts will be on our most vulnerable residents."

"Unemployment, foreclosure, eviction, hunger, deportation, and denial of health services are already on the rise," Pittman said. "When the harshest cuts in Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act take effect after the 2026 midterm elections, those things will accelerate."

Pittman alluded to the $10 million set aside in this year's budget to respond to federal cuts. The first $500,000 of that money went to food distributions for federal workers and participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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"So, despite all the angry rhetoric encouraging us to blame our public institutions for the challenges we face, we in local government persist," Pittman said. "We persist because our values demand it of us. We serve our neighbors. And that will never change."