Democrat Jared Littmann, a former city alderman and current hardware store owner, is poised to take the reins of Annapolis as Mayor Gavin Buckley’s second term ends.
Littmann had 73% of the vote as of the count Thursday, with only a few mail-in ballots and provisional ballots expected to be counted Wednesday. Robert O’Shea, the Republican mayoral candidate, conceded the race Tuesday.
The presumed mayor-elect served on the City Council from 2013 to 2017 and owns K&B Ace Hardware in Annapolis. Littmann was previously on the board for True Value Co., a role he had when he chose not to run for reelection in 2017.
He is set to be sworn in Dec. 1.
A week ahead of election day, Littmann laid out a plan for his first 100 days as mayor. Here are some pieces of that plan.
Short-term rental yearlong moratorium
Littmann said he would introduce a 12-month moratorium on new licenses for short-term rentals in the city during the first City Council meeting on Dec. 8.
During the moratorium, Littmann said the City Council and staff would look into how they can better enforce licensing requirements and reduce the density and quantity of short-term rentals.
In October, the council voted to cap short-term rentals to no more than 10% of housing units per blockface, or one side of a city block. Current short-term rentals will be able to renew their licenses through November 2027, even if their blockface is over the 10% limit. Starting in November 2027, the city will start a lottery system to decrease each blockface to the 10% limit; it will prioritize existing licensed rentals owned by city or county residents first, followed by city or county residents who do not have short-term rentals, and finally nonresidents who do not already have licensed rentals.
More than half of short-term rentals operating in the city do not have city-issued licenses, which they are legally required to have. As of June, the city had issued 283 licenses, but about 560 units are advertised on any given day, according to an August city Planning Department report.
Ward 1 Alderman Harry Huntley, a Democrat who sponsored the short-term rental cap, said he acknowledges the incoming administration’s intent to pause the issue to address the problem. But, he is currently noncommittal on supporting the yearlong moratorium. Huntley said he is concerned that blocking new short-term rental licenses could make more people open rentals without licenses.
Ward 2 Alderman Karma O’Neill, a Democrat, said she would fully support the short-term rental moratorium. She said a moratorium would allow the city to pause any new rentals and investigate how many short-term rentals are operating.
“I have residents that call me in tears. I had one resident that actually moved,” O’Neill said. “They sold their house and moved because they had a short-term rental on either side of them. They said, ‘We didn’t buy in a quiet residential neighborhood so that we could live next to two hotels that are having parties every weekend.’”
Identifying ‘leads’ for top issues
One of Littmann’s plans for his first 100 days in office is to identify a lead person in city government to tackle each of five top issues: City Dock, permitting, parking, public safety and short-term rentals.
During mayoral debates and forums, Littmann brought up his desire to have a point person in city staff to help people with the permitting process. Littmann has said the current process is slow and expensive, and providing examples of approved permits or someone ready to help could save residents and businesses thousands of dollars.
“My hardware store has been known for our culture. I want to bring that same customer service culture to our city government,” Littmann said during a forum in October. “So that way you get fast responses that you feel like the city cares about you, is professionally run, and that things work the way you expect them to.”
Parking reforms
Littmann said the city will meet with parking vendors to work on clearer signage and removing fines when people underpay in advance, instead of charging for time parked.
He called the current parking systems in Annapolis “anti-customer friendly,” in an interview in October. Littmann has also said that having multiple apps to park in different areas of downtown makes parking too complicated.
O’Neill, who leads the city’s transportation committee, said she is hopeful for Littmann’s proposed changes to downtown parking, but said it would probably take some time to simplify parking downtown due to the multiple parking vendors operating. She supports moving all the city garages into a parking system like Gott’s Court Garage, which charges based on time parked.
“I do believe that there is going to be a change. There can be a change, and it’s just a matter of us working out the negotiations,” O’Neill said.
Budget
One major task Littmann will have to complete in spring 2026 is crafting the fiscal 2027 budget. In his 100-day plan, Littmann says he wants to “further align city resources with residents’ key priorities to make sure the city delivers reliable services that people want.” To do this, Littmann said he wants city staff to track expected outcomes from budget items.
He also wants to audit police and fire staffing, which became a popular topic among candidates from both parties during the election. The police department has 116 sworn officers but is budgeted to have 125.
Littmann said he wants to ensure that both departments have competitive salaries and the right number of staff members for the city’s population.
Have a news tip? Contact Katharine Wilson at kwilson@baltsun.com.
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