They criticized the Baltimore County Council. Now, they might be joining it.

One took to the podium and called the council members “sissies.” Another has regularly blasted them for giving developers favors. A third writes a running commentary on Facebook of their antics, calling them “the Real Househusbands of Towson.”

Come January, some of the Baltimore County Council’s fiercest critics are likely to join their ranks. They include the council’s first Black women; its youngest-ever members; its most progressive candidates and its most proudly MAGA ones.

Several of them said in interviews last week that they see their primary victories as a mandate for change. They want more transparency, greater accountability, and a government that’s more responsive to its 856,000 residents.

“There are a lot of races that have not yet been decided, but regardless of who wins them, one thing is clear; people were sick of the status quo,” said Karson Kamenetz, a 24-year-old law student who won his primary and is set to be the youngest person ever to serve on the council. “This is a moment that is objectively calling for change.”

Kamenetz, son of former Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, is unsure how much he will have in common with his fellow newcomers, who are ushering in the most diverse council since the government was formed in 1956. He said he knows he’ll work seamlessly with Makeda Scott, who is likely to become the first Black woman to serve on the council.

He’s less well acquainted with Tim Fazenbaker, the former liquor store owner who called the current council members “sissies” in December for considering a bill that would restrict the powers of ICE. Or Paul Dongarra, the Catonsville community activist who has criticized current members for doing favors for developers in exchange for campaign contributions. Or Sharonda Dillard-Huffman, an east side housing advocate who derides the council as “Real Househusbands” on her Facebook page and Substack and has, during her frequent public testimony, instructed council members on how to properly follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

Yet Kamenetz remains optimistic that the council, which he has watched regularly between law school classes for two years, will change for the better. Only two current members — Towson Democrat Mike Ertel, who is the council chair, and Kingsville Republican David Marks, could return for another term.

“We are coming in knowing that we don’t know everything, and that requires us to ask questions,” Kamenetz said. “Bipartisanship is really a requirement because frankly, if we are politicizing potholes along party lines, I think we’re in a lot of trouble.”

They went right, they went left

In nearly all of the races, voters could have picked a moderate. They didn’t. Fazenbaker won decisively over JD Urbach, a business leader endorsed by current councilman Todd Crandell, as well as the Republican establishment. Urbach was named Dundalk’s Citizen of the Year in 2024. Fazenbaker, by contrast, was censured by the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee for defaming and harassing other Republican members and besmirching the committee’s “good name.”

In Catonsville, establishment Democrats lined up behind Mandy Remmell, a top aide to U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski. Dongarra won handily with a message about reining in developers’ power. Dillard-Huffman bested her more moderate rivals. And in Northern Baltimore County, MAGA Republican Nino Mangione clobbered his opponent, Gunpowder Riverkeeper Theaux Le Gardeur. Le Gardeur said Mangione, who hails from a developer family, would pave over beloved farms. The message didn’t land.

Those upsets mirror national trends that have stratified political parties. In New York, left-leaning progressives unseated more established moderates in primary races for Congress. In Maine, progressive newcomer Graham Platner beat the state’s moderate governor, for the U.S. Senate nomination. Texas saw former judge John Cornyn lose his senate seat to scandal-plagued right-wing firebrand Ken Paxton. In Baltimore County, thousands of moderate voters, turned off by polarization, have registered as independents. With mostly the party faithful remaining, it’s easier to elect from the far flanks.

Fazenbaker said the election was about bringing brawlers to a council so collegial they often pass bills unanimously.

“People kind of want loud right now,” he said. “They want people who are going to stand up and fight. There’s a mandate: ‘Go do what you need to do to make things happen for our community.’”

Campaigning vs. governing

Possibly no one is more proud of the council’s bipartisanship than Marks, who earns high marks from both parties for his constituent service. Marks said he was alarmed that his colleague, Julian Jones, ran ads in his bid for County Executive that attacked his main Democratic rival, Izzy Patoka, for working with Republicans. With a 4-3 Democratic-Republican split, and five votes needed to pass many laws, Republican votes have been crucial votes to strengthen the inspector general’s office, curb school overcrowding and protect land.

Marks is also a frequent target of Dillard-Huffman’s Facebook posts, where he’s appeared as “the King of Kingsville.”

“That sort of rhetoric does not elevate public discourse,” Marks said.

Dillard-Huffman, who often refers to herself in the third person, said the way she has campaigned is not necessarily how she will govern.

“It doesn’t matter what I do until I get to the dais,” she said. “Sharonda gets along with everybody, but I’m also going to be honest with people.”

Dillard-Huffman faces Republican Josh Sines, a conservationist and truck driver, in the general election; Fazenbaker will face Democrat Arkia Wade or Mark McCluskey.

Fazenbaker and Dillard-Huffman have already formed an alliance.

Both are frequent critics of Crandell. Dillard-Huffman called for Crandell to step down after he threatened police officers with a gun while drunk in his Eastpoint Mall office. She also publicly chastised him for missing council and community meetings. She has excoriated former north county councilman Wade Kach, also frequently absent, for trying to increase his pension upon his departure.

With both gone, she said, she doesn’t anticipate problems.

”Sharonda is cool with just about everybody left," she said. “I’ve been a thorn in their side, but I think we all want to be adults.”