For the first time since taking office, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball is turning to an independent contractor to help secure state funding for county projects and has selected omnipresent Annapolis lobbyist Bruce Bereano for the task.
State records show that Bereano began his work for the county administration on Jan. 3, 2024. Ball’s office did not disclose how much Bereano will be paid, or whether the selection was made through a competitive process.
Bereano’s hiring has raised eyebrows among some who follow Howard County affairs, particularly because the county has traditionally been well-positioned to secure state funding for priorities. The Howard County Legislative Delegation in Annapolis includes Sen. Guy Guzzone, chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, a Democrat who is close to Ball.
Bereano is expected to focus in part on flood mitigation projects in Ellicott City, including an expensive tunnel that would carry water under Main Street to the Patapsco River that is part of Ball’s “Safe and Sound” plan.
Guzzone said appropriations for the tunnel and other Ellicott City projects may not necessarily come before his committee. He called it a “miscellaneous” item that could appear in the capital budget. Nonetheless, Guzzone said he “absolutely supports the county executive” in bringing on a contracted lobbyist, though he doesn’t know why Ball hired Bereano.
In an interview, Bereano said that “Annapolis is all about relationships.”
“This is my 52nd legislative session and I have a depth and breadth of relationships,” he said. “I’m very flattered that the county executive asked me if I could help.”
Bereano, 78, is regarded as one of the most visible and occasionally polarizing figures in Annapolis. He is known for hosting lavish events for lawmakers, chartering buses to the Eastern Shore so friends, allies and legislators can feast on crabs and fixings in a private tent at the annual Tawes Crab & Clam Bake in Crisfield. He tried for more than two decades to have his law license restored after it was stripped in the 1990s following a federal fraud conviction related to campaign finance misdeeds. The consummate Annapolis survivor, he became a close ally of former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan prior to the election of Wes Moore.
State records show that Bereano earned $1.9 million from clients in the year ending Oct. 31, 2023, putting him in the top tier of his profession. The Office of the Howard County Executive now joins 53 other clients represented by Bereano in Annapolis, list that includes Blind Industries & Services of Maryland; St. Mary’s County commissioners; Ocean City; Martin’s Caterers; and the Maryland Wholesale Medical Cannabis Trade Association. Records show those clients pay him a range of fees, frequently starting at $15,000 per legislative session. Bereano also represents Caroline, Washington and Queen Anne’s counties.
Gov. Wes Moore’s capital budget, released Wednesday, includes $38.5 million for Ellicott City flood mitigation projects.
“The county needs a lot of money for these very important projects and I’m going to work cooperatively and harmoniously with the county delegation to make that happen,” Bereano said.
Howard County already has cobbled together more than $200 million in local, state and federal funds over several years for the projects, which include five storm water retention ponds, the tunnel under Main Street and a culvert to carry water to the river. The tunnel is the costliest and most contentious and disruptive, and requires approval from the CSX railroad to cross its right-of-way, which has not yet been granted.
Mark Miller, Howard County’s public information administrator, praised the county’s “collaborative delegation” in an emailed statement, saying the members are “constantly working on behalf of our county and state.”
Noting that the county does not employ a full-time lobbyist, he added that it is “important for us to have someone who can effectively work with our delegation members, the Governor’s Office, and other leaders to ensure that we can still move our priorities forward even as the state faces fiscal challenges.”
The County Executive does has a governmental affairs director, Maureen Evans Arthurs, who has significant Annapolis experience.
Maryland lawmakers returned to Annapolis last week for their annual legislative session facing hundreds of millions of dollars in structural budget deficits over the next five years, foreshadowing steep cuts in state spending and potential tax hikes.
Miller said in his statement the county needs “the state’s support” to complete the flood mitigation projects and that County Executive Ball will continue to work with the county delegation “and our other Maryland General Assembly partners as we manage these fiscal challenges without compromising our overall quality of life.”
He pointed specifically to Guzzone and Democrats Del. Courtney Watson, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Katie Fry Hester, a member of the Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee. Watson’s and Hester’s district includes Ellicott City.
Ellicott City, a historic mill town on the Tiber Branch, a tributary of the Patapsco, has suffered two deadly flash floods in less than a decade, one in 2016 and another in 2018, that caused millions of dollars in damage to shops and businesses along Main Street.
Two major retention ponds have been completed since then, one is to be built this summer and a fourth pond is being designed. The fifth pond, as well as the tunnel and culvert are in the final design and permitting stages.
Neither Deb Jung, the County Council chair, nor Liz Walsh, whose County Council district includes Ellicott City, returned repeated calls for comment.
