Baltimore County Councilman Todd Crandell, a Republican from Dundalk, will not seek another term after representing the southeastern part of the county for more than a decade.
Crandell, now 56, was first elected to the council in 2014 in a notable race, as a Republican had never represented that area since the council was formed in 1956.
His personal struggles made headlines last summer after police body camera footage from a 2024 incident in his Eastpoint Mall office surfaced. The footage depicted Crandell, who police said was experiencing a mental health crisis, appearing combative and drinking alcohol. As officers continued to speak with him, he opened a drawer in his desk, revealing a firearm.
Crandell, who has said little publicly about the incident, spoke in depth with The Baltimore Sun for the first time about his tenure on the council, his personal trials and his plans for the future.
(Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Why are you not seeking reelection?
I think that the job of a council member, depending on how you do it, can be pretty intense. It’s been a pretty intense 11 years, one year to go on my third term.
I think you’re well aware of my professional things that have happened while I’ve been in office, but also my personal life has not been the greatest, so it’s been a tough year, that kind of played a part of the decision too. I think that I need to take time for some real peace in my life, and being a council member doesn’t always afford that sense of peace.
It can be stressful and chaotic, and so I just felt that it was, personally, it was the right time.
What factors went into your decision?
I came to the conclusion that, yeah, it’s just, it’s time. There are things that I feel that I need to move on to. I mentioned that sort of a more peaceful life, at least for a little while, little bit of a sabbatical from things, and I also, I need to focus on sobriety and recovery.
You came under scrutiny this summer after the body camera footage was released. Did that factor into your decision?
I don’t think I’d be honest and say that it didn’t. If I were an opponent of mine and I was running against someone, I would imagine that that will all come back to light in some way, but it’s also something that I don’t hide from.
I think that what led to that particular moment was I was not honest with myself in the downward spiral that I kind of knew I was in, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I think that the level of support that I got from staff, family, friends, constituents, almost weighed me to do this again, because the level of support — and my colleagues on the council as well — it was a big source of strength for me as I went through that.
Is there anything you haven’t said (about the incident)?
Certainly not my best moment, and there were a lot of lessons learned and some hard truths that I had to face. I think one of the things that I both regret, but now I’m grateful for, is that in that downward spiral that I mentioned, is that I caused a lot of pain to people closest to me, and I’m sorry for that, and I’m sorry if it made the people that have supported me for so many years, if it made them doubt me. But as I said, so many people tried to pick me up through that whole period — and continue to.
What are you most proud of from your time on the council?
I think that we were a community that felt that we were not listened to by leadership in Towson … I think there was a lot of evidence to that. We [needed] to do whatever we can to recreate the job class that was here — we had basically hit rock bottom as far as jobs go, which caused a whole bunch of other problems — increase the quality of our housing stock and try to reinvigorate our commercial corridors.
We just so happened to start when Tradepoint Atlantic was starting, so I think that I was the right person at the right time to be a champion for our community, into the wider regional business community, and say, ‘Hey, this is the place and time that you want to invest.’ Tradepoint Atlantic has been such a spark plug for a lot of other things.
The lesson in that is no council member can do any of these things alone. Being in the right time and place is one thing, but making decisions … in order to accomplish those three goals of jobs, housing and commercial opportunities, all these things have to come together. I think that we’ve done a good job of recognizing the opportunities right in front of us. Really proud that we’ve gone from zero jobs at the old Bethlehem Steel site to probably 17,000 jobs now, with more coming with the port project coming online.
We changed the tone in how we approach Baltimore County up in Towson, and I think because that tone was changed, that we started to get that attention that we hadn’t gotten in decades. So three new elementary schools in 10 years is unprecedented — we got Colgate, Berkshire and Dundalk Elementary done, all on an expedited basis.
What do you want to accomplish with the remainder of your time?
I’d like to seek out and work with the administration on a solution to the North Point Government Center. We have the worst-rated roads in Baltimore County, and their use has only increased with the collapse of the Key Bridge. That being said, even with the Key Bridge, we’re home to Tradepoint Atlantic and the Port of Baltimore, [which] has expanded in the past 10 to 20 years. Tradepoint comes online, and we really need to get to a solution on truck traffic. The community was not built for this amount of trucks. We will have to work with our state partners and MDOT to provide a solution.
Essex does not really have a community center … The Essex library, if built to the plans that I’ve seen so far, Essex will have a community center with meeting rooms and a lecture hall, and, of course, a library. I think that’s going to be a real boost to the community there.
What’s next for you?
I haven’t made any concrete plans, so the word sabbatical may or may not be appropriate. I’ve made some sort of tentative plans on a personal level, but nothing professionally — still weighing all that out. And really, I mean, my focus is on this next year. I mean, I still have a job to do.
Do you have any thoughts or endorsement for a successor?
I wanted to make sure that someone stepped up to run for the seat that I would feel positive about leaving it to, and so I held off on any announcements of retiring from the council until I was confident that that person stepped up. When JD [Urbach] told me that he was going to announce and file and do everything, I told him to go for it, and I would support him. I do.
He’s a good guy, he’s a family man. He’s involved in so many different things, from Boy Scouts to his church to being on the board of CCBC — just a solid, smart guy, an honorable person, and I think that he will represent us well … We’re kind of on the same page as far as needs go and things that are still undone.
Is there anything else you want your constituents to know?
I’d like everyone to know how appreciative I am of my staff, my family, constituents, friends that have been with me on this adventure the whole way. I think that whatever anyone may say about our accomplishments, whether they agree that they’re significant accomplishments or not, it’s that the legacy that we leave is that if you work together with people and if you treat people with respect, you will get more done.
I just wanted to make sure that my constituents know that I appreciate their support over the past decade, and I thank them for their passion and advocacy, and for their patience and understanding as well. It’s been an honor to serve, really has.
Have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at najones@baltsun.com or 443-679-7818.
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