Crandell Switches Parties, Targets Olszewski

Todd Crandell, a Dundalk resident who ran for House of Delegates in 2010, said he will run for a different office in a new party in 2014.

Crandell announced his intention to run for the 7th District Baltimore County Council seat in an emailed statement late Wednesday and appeared in the Dundalk Heritage Parade on July 4 to make a more public announcement.

The seat is currently held by four-term Democratic incumbent Councilman John Olszewski Sr.

Crandell was not immediately available for an interview but in a statement said he was running against Olszewski because of the incumbent's vote in favor of the stormwater management fee, also called the rain tax by Crandell and others, the councilman's "woeful record on economic development, and the impending sale of the North Point Government Center.

Our community is not up for sale. No community asset should be part of some back room deal or part of some political payback,” Mr. Crandell said in the statement.

Olszewski has come under fire from opponents of the sale who regularly attend County Council meetings and testify against the impending sale.

Crandell ran for the House of Delegates as a Democrat in the 6th District, which includes Dundalk and portions of Essex in 2010. 

This time around, Crandell has switched parties and will challenge Olszewski as a Republican in a blue collar area that is majority Democrat in its registration but has shown a willingness to vote Republican. 

“I originally joined the Democratic Party because it was supposed to be the party that sticks up for the working man," Crandell said in his statement. “But it turns out that it’s more interested in sticking it to the working man. I’d like to give Republicans and Democrats alike a chance to make their voices heard loud and clear by winning the primary and taking on the Democratic challenger in the general. In the end, it’s not about party; it’s about the great communities in the district deserving better.”