Bel Air Town Commissioner Terrence O. Hanley has told The Dagger he will run for Harford County Executive if incumbent David R. Craig does not seek re-election in 2010.
David Craig has not made his plans known, but speculation that Craig might become the next Superintendent of Harford County Public Schools prompted Hanley’s announcement at this time. A top aide to Craig has denied Craig’s interest in the superintendent position, but Hanley said he believed Craig would be a good fit and that if there is support from the public and from the school board, it could encourage Craig, who is a former teacher and assistant principal, to fill the position left vacant by the sudden passing of Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas. The Board of Education has appointed an interim superintendent and is conducting a nation-wide search to be concluded by July 1, 2009.
A move by County Executive Craig before his term expires in 2010 would create a vacancy to be filled through appointment by the Harford County Council. Hanley said if such a vacancy occurred he would seek the appointment, but would run in 2010 whether or not he was the Council’s choice to succeed Craig. Hanley also said he would run if David Craig served out his term, but did not run for re-election.
Hanley, who has been a Bel Air Town Commissioner since 2003, pointed to his experiences as a Harford County resident, small business owner and elected official in explaining his interest in higher office.
“I’ve gone from milking cows to owning a car dealership and seen the county change drastically. My philosophy of government is to put the citizens and the taxpayers first and to ensure good, solid, open government and to focus on the future and the growth of our county,” he said.
Hanley said he supported a salary freeze for department heads in the Town of Bel Air and opposed a planned $5 million renovation of Town Hall. He added, “I am one of the most fiscally conservative elected officials in the county.”
In planning his potential run for county executive, Hanley said he has met with a former elected official, who has deep ties in the northern end of the county, about signing on as Hanley’s chief of staff.
Hanley said as county executive he would hold weekly press conferences and would lead ”the most transparent administration you would ever see.”
I don’t know how transparent Terry’s government would be, but I know that a Hanley administration would certainly be translucent. Like BLOWING SMOKE….
Hanley has my vote.
Craig would not walk away from the County Executive job. Hanley is making himself look like a typical self-serving politician by even speaking of this. He is supposedly running for County Council against Jim Macmahan. Which is it?
Haas hasn’t even been gone for a month and Hanley is starting the rumor mill. Shameful.
Wow. Lance Miller as Chief of Staff and Hanley as county executive. That would be quite an ethcial administration. Between the two of them, they are partners with every developer in the county.
Miller quit working less than a year into his second term on the council and now he wants to be chief of staff? Hanley’s shady financial dealings will certainly be brought to light by Craig’s people if he isn’t careful. This declaration of interest in running “if” Craig does not is just the start of a primary run against Craig. If he keeps it up, he will ruin any chance he has against Macmahan.
The same developers who Hanley thinks he is in bed with have already funded Craig to the tune of $400,000 so far. They will need a return on their investment and work to keep Craig. Hanley will be painted as the developer candidate, but not recieve the finanacial support he needs to overcome that label.
Prediction: Hanley paints himself into a corner and ends up with no choice but to run against Craig. Craig beats Hanley 62% to 38% in an embarrassing defeat.
The Dems can’t find anyone credible to run against Craig and a Helton gives it another shot, only to waste another half million of their own dollars.
And the beat goes on in Harford . . . . . . . .
Even though David Crag was in education before,he does not have the required degrees to be superintendent of the school system
True Tony, but being a mayor and a county executive gives him more administrative experience than anyone in education could ever dream of having.
And the past superintendent did not have her doctorate until the second half of her tenure.
Dr. Haas completed her doctorate about 2005 if I remember correctly–very recently.
Judy just couldn’t remember the year but I do believe it was a year or so after she was picked. But i remember that getting her doctorate was part of her being picked the job.
David Craig does not.have his degree but he can always ask his developer buddies to have the requirements changed like they did for the zoning code rewrite.
Judy is right about the year. This is a link to Dr. Haas’ dissertation dated August 2005: http://www.lib.umd.edu/drum/handle/1903/2879
As a lifelong Republican and a resident of Bel Air since 1968, the only way I would vote for Hanley is if he was running against Helton. Or Glenn Raynor.
Didn’t anyone ever tell him that the title “Mayor of Bel Air” that he threw around more than Giuliani does “9/11” is only an honorary title, and the position he held was Chairman of the Board of Town Commissioners, a rotating position among equals?
I love getting the Aegis just to read how he’s against everything I’m for, and for everything I’m against, while he constantly claims “It’s what the people want.”
Just say no to Hanley. Please.
I am glad to see that Terry Hanley is considering running for office besides Town Commissioner. I think that he could be effective in any office he was elected to and isn’t afraid to state a position and stand by it, so I am encouraged to hear him say that he would have “the most transparent administration.” It is impossible to please everyone you represent, but Terry has put himself out there and taken both the criticism as well as the accolades, and usually with a smile on his face.
When it became apparent that HCPS had made a mistake in the capacity of the auditorium in the new Bel Air High School, it was the leadership of Terry Hanley that moved the project forward. He never waivered in his support for the school and what was in the best interest of the county and the students. He, along with the other Bel Air Town Commisioners were being publicly criticized by the BOE for not talking with them about a joint use facility or shared costs when in reality, they had written letters to the BOE expressing their interest when the new high school was being developed. I sincerely believe that in the next several years, Harford County will realize the benefits of having an enhanced auditorium for the cultural arts and for the school system and Terry Hanley was one of the individuals responsible for that.
Whatever Terry decides to do, I think he has many of the attributes that make an effective leader.
Craig doesn’t have the degrees necessary to be a superintendent? Doesn’t anyone remember that Jackie Haas didnt have a master’s degree when she got the job? She earned it while in the position..
Hanley may have the ego but little else. Not sure when but I think Senator Glassman will be our next County Executive.
It seems timely to be discussing what some of our local politicians may be considering for future offices given today’s historic events. Our leaders have to start planning early! I do not know Terry nor do I live in the Town of Bel Air, but I can speak to an issue that has been mentioned briefly- the new Bel Air High School.
The building has been a long time in coming and in 2006 when the final plans for the auditorium were being approved by the Harford County’s BOE, some concerns were identified. However, even prior to this the Town of Bel Air had written to the BOE TWO times asking to be involved in the planning and possibly the financing of the auditorium area of the new school, (but our appointed BOE never answered them).
Given the location of Bel Air High School, it makes sense that the Town would want access to it, when not in use by the school system, to host community events. This is not a new concept to have joint use of a local high school to host large art or music events, (Similar to Wilde Lake’s High School in Howard County). Events like this are beneficial for the school and the community.
But, the plans for the new Bel Air showed proposed auditorium seating that was grossly inadequate. The proposed occupancy for the new school is about 1600 and the proposed capacity for the new auditorium was only 550.
(The current auditorium’s capacity is about 900, for a school with a much lower occupancy).
When the plans were made public, Terry Hanley was the first to speak out, prompting a meeting with school officials. His attention to this situation helped heighten the awareness of this issue. Consequently many alarmed parents and students also spoke out with their concerns.
Terry and Captain Jim led the effort to expand and upgrade the auditorium, which will now benefit not only BAHS’ students but also all of Harford County. Terry spearheaded the effort to find the necessary funding and this auditorium will now serve both the students and the taxpayers of Harford County. This joint effort I felt demonstrated long needed collaboration between taxpayers and the BOE, Terry Hanley was instrumental in getting this cooperation to happen.
I for one would like to see more teamwork like this and more open dialogue. I hope our next superintendent will appreciate this type of collaboration.
I think Terry would be a great candidate for County Executive. He has served honorably as Town Commissioner. He will be a strong fiscal hawk as Executive and would make transparency a priority. As a business owner in Bel Air, he has always been attentive to my needs.
There is definitely one person who should NOT be considered: Barry Glassman. The only thing he is known for in Annapolis is his cushiness with liberals and his proclivity to vote against former governor Bob Ehrlich’s agenda. He blows with the wind and is more interested in being friends with Democrats than he his about representing the people of Harford County.
Not sure what you’re saying about Senator Glassman but he is 100% by the Christian Coalition and over 90% with Business votes maybe he just didn’t vote for all Ehrlich’s fees, gun grab bills or to dump another 10 million in the Balto City schools…quite frankly he is the best we have…..
What a total joke. Hanley has been using people for years. Who in their right mind would trust an uneducated, xxxxxxx, used car salesman?