This article was written by Hansen Zhang.

As the rain pelted outside, dozens of constituents and candidates alike entered the Elkridge Branch Library on the afternoon of Saturday, January 10th. Inside, the atmosphere was lively and excited, as attendees gathered to watch a forum featuring the four candidates vying to become Howard County Executive in the upcoming 2026 election. Notably, the event was conceived and organized entirely by a youth-led civics organization, Illuminate Maryland. 

Illuminate Maryland held a Howard County Executive Forum on Saturday, January 10th, 2025. Source: Hansen Zhang/The AAPI Angle

After nearly eight years in office, current County Executive Calvin Ball is term-limited and cannot run for reelection. This has paved the way for multiple local politicians to announce their candidacies for this position. These include Howard County Councilmembers Liz Walsh and Deb Jung, businessman Bob Cockey, and former Maryland State Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, who stepped down in December 2025 to focus solely on her County Executive campaign. Atterbeary previously served as the Chairwoman of Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee. 

Another Maryland State Delegate, Jessica Feldmark, pulled out of the Executive race in December following a recent breast cancer diagnosis. Feldmark now indicates that she plans to run for reelection to her District 12a seat, which spans parts of Howard County.

All four remaining candidates, who are Democrats, participated in the forum. The event followed a tightly structured format: each candidate delivered a two-minute opening statement, responded to a series of questions from both the youth moderating panel and the audience, with one minute per response, and concluded with a two-minute closing statement. 

The organization behind this event, Illuminate Maryland, was initially formed as an environmental group by three AAPI Howard County students: Sidaarth Karegowdra and Dhruv Dobariya of River Hill High School, and Rishit Guttam of Marriotts Ridge High School. However, as the group’s traction grew, Illuminate Maryland expanded into civic engagement and education. A fourth student, Grace Castleberry of Atholton High School, joined the team in organizing the forum. 

The event had a lively turnout, with dozens of constituents and candidates alike. Source: Hansen Zhang/The AAPI Angle

As the forum opened up to audience questions, I had the chance to ask the four candidates about their previous engagement with Howard County’s AAPI community and how they would ensure those voices were meaningfully represented if elected. 

Businessman Bob Cockey was the first to respond. He said he had served as a “senior advisor to the Chinese business community” and that it was “a Pakistani and an Indian who talked me into running for this [position].” Cockey then added, referring to the Asian-American community, that “you guys aren’t taking up any space in our prisons. You guys are raising the bar in our schools. You guys are putting into the community; you’re not taking out of the community. And I thank you for it.” His remarks were met with a mixture of applause and confused murmurs from the audience. 

Following Cockey, Councilwoman Deb Jung highlighted the county’s reputation for excellent schools and emphasized the importance of elevating AAPI candidates, declaring, “We need to do more to ensure that [AAPI residents] are right in the middle of the community.”

Councilwoman Liz Walsh, seemingly responding to Cockey’s earlier comments, stated, “When people say crazy racist stuff, you have to stand up and say that is crazy racist stuff,” eliciting resounding applause. She echoed Jung’s emphasis on inclusion, proposing that the county work to “elevate [AAPI residents] into those positions, gain those connections, and go higher and higher.”

Finally, former State Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary reinforced the need for roundtable discussions with members of the AAPI community to understand their needs and concerns. She also talked about her close working relationship with Delegate Chao Wu, and how they collaborated in the past to ensure that “school calendars reflect Asian-American communities’ holidays.” 

Speaking to The AAPI Angle, Goher Bhatti, a junior at Wilde Lake High School who attended the forum, noted that he was “pretty shocked” by Cockey’s response to the question, specifically citing what he described as “microaggression.”

Beyond the Asian-American community, the forum also focused on climate and civic engagement. All four candidates expressed their desire to lower the county’s emissions, but Cockey was the only one to oppose installing solar panels on Howard County’s many warehouses. He argued that utilizing crops to create biofuels was a better solution. All candidates also stressed the need to increase civic engagement among youth. 

Dr. Kevin Chin, an emergency room physician and Democratic candidate for Howard County Council District 1, attended the event and noted, “The forum was very, very impressive. I’m really appreciative of that, and it’s great to have a wonderful next generation stepping up.”

Illuminate Maryland co-founder Sidaarth Karegowdra. Source: Hansen Zhang/The AAPI Angle

When asked what message he had for AAPI youth interested in civic involvement, Illuminate Maryland co-founder Sidaarth Karegowdra poignantly said, “No matter what you are standing up for; no matter what kind of problem, initiative, or issue you are looking to support, I promise you that having a voice is strong enough so that you can make any change possible.”