Democrat Jessica Nichols says she hopes to be a voice for working families on the Howard County Council. Nichols, 49, of Elkridge, announced her run earlier this month for the council’s District 2 seat.
Democrat Opel Jones, has held the District 2 seat since 2018 and has not announced whether he will run for a third term. One other Democrat, Arinze Malcolm Ifekauche, has officially filed to run for the seat.
A social studies teacher at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Nichols was named the county’s Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025. Nichols began her teaching career in 2001 and began teaching in Howard County in 2013. She moved to Elkridge six years ago and says, if elected, she would continue working as a teacher.
She said her district, which includes parts of Columbia and Elkridge, is often “on the back burner” and not prioritized in budget discussions.
She has served as chair of Columbia Community Care, a nonprofit that helps provide food and other services to the community. When schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the organization fed children most at risk of not having access to food. Working there, she learned how to listen to community needs, she said.
She worked with the nonprofit to establish a youth volleyball team and mentorship program for young people. Nichols said it’s important to ensure young people receive education and feel supported and safe.
“What we’re seeing that’s bubbling up as teen violence is really the confluence of having nothing productive to do and no place productive to go,” Nichols said. “The best cure is prevention.”
Nichols believes the county should work to renovate empty buildings and use them as community spaces for youth programs. As an educator with “deep roots in community spaces,” she said she understands all the different communities in Howard County.
“I discovered no matter where you go in Howard County, the wants and needs and the desires of people are always the same,” Nichols said. “They just want a government that works for them. They want a government that sees them, and they want a government that listens to them.”
Nichols said she wants to prioritize updating the state formula that determines how much money a county receives for public schools. The formula, which is based on the wealth of a county, has resulted in an “inadequate” amount for Howard County, she maintained.
The needs of Howard’s students and families have increased, with more students living at or below the poverty line, she said. Those needs are not reflected in the current formula, and she’s seen it lead to gaps in funding between what schools need versus what can be allocated.
“If we get the state to pay their fair share, meaning that we revisit the funding formula, we are able to increase the allocation that comes to Howard County,” Nichols said. “This is just bringing that money from the state back to our local level.”
Nichols said she would not use the Citizens Election Fund, which provides matching county funding for candidates, because she anticipates being able to privately fund her campaign.
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