New County Council Sworn In

The Anne Arundel County Council was sworn in Dec. 6, with two of the three councilmen representing Glen Burnie being new to the job.

Returning to the council are Daryl Jones (D-1st District) of Severn and Councilman Jamie Benoit (D-4th District) of Crownsville.

"Although this council's different, the problems that faced us yesterday are the same ones that face us today," Benoit said.

Patch spoke with each of the councilmen who have incumbents in Glen Burnie to learn a little about them and their plans for the county.

Jones

A self-described "Glen Burnie guy" and graduate of Andover High School, Jones said he had a few projects in the works that will effect residents of the 1st District, but wasn't ready to discuss any in detail until things were more final.

"Hopefully there will be things that the county council" approves, he said.

Jones said he spoke to each of the new members personally before being sworn in and looks forward to working with them in his second term.

"I hope we're able to forge a relationship that's positive for the county," he said.

One challenge the council will face is dealing with budget and putting a local development committee in place.

Of being re-elected, Jones said he plans to work hard to meet the expectations of his constituents.

"It's a humbling experience. I have a great deal of responsibility" to 1st-District residents, he said.

Jones owns his own law practice in Edgewater.

John J. Grasso (R-2nd District) of Glen Burnie

Grasso has lived in Glen Burnie his entire life, he said, attending Glendale Elementary, Marley Junior High and Glen Burnie High schools.

He ran for county executive in 1986 and lost the primary by 19 votes but said he decided it was time to make another venture into politics.

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired," he said.

Grasso said he discovered recently that people steal from the landfills and take appliances and other recyclables to cash in on them—while taking money from the county.

"We need to make money to pay for the landfill," he said.

A related issue he wants to tackle is the fact that many people don't recycle, causing the county to lose out on other revenue and causing the landfill to fill up more quickly.

He said he intends to donate 80 percent of the salary he makes as a county councilman, giving whole checks to different 2nd-District churches, the Anne Arundel County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the police and fire departments.

Grasso works in property management, lead inspection and overseas investing.

Derek Fink (R-3rd District) of Pasadena

Elected by his peers Dec. 6 as vice-chair of the county council, Fink was born and raised in Pasadena and graduated from Chesapeake High School.

Fink said studying political science in college at North Carolina State University,  working for Gov. Bob Ehrlich and on Capitol Hill after college and being involved in his community sparked a desire in him to do more.

"The County Council is the front line of government. It's being down in the trenches [with the residents]," he said.

Fink said his main priority as councilman is getting the county's financial house in order and tackling the deficit. He said another focus will be working on reforming the Department of Inspections and Permits.

"Permits and inspections are big issues for residents of Glen Burnie and Pasadena," he said.

Fink said he is ready to hit the ground running now that he is in office.

"It's going to be good to get in there and help people out … to handle their problems," he said.

Fink is a restaurateur with plans to open The Green Turtle Sports Bar & Grille in Pasadena next summer.