Before You Vote Tuesday, Consider This
(MT. WASHINGTON, MD – June 22, 2026) – The polls open soon. And before you pull that lever, consider what actually makes a leader worth voting for.
A leader needs ego — but balanced ego. Enough confidence to fight for you. Enough humility to go home and be a real person. Mental health matters in elected office. Don’t sleep on that.
A leader needs to understand the business of politics. What resources are required. What things cost. Where to get them. Who controls them. Politics is not just passion — it’s operations.
A leader needs know-how. Book sense and street sense. Both. Not one or the other.
A leader needs intel. Much of politics is simply knowing what’s happening before everyone else does. The best leaders are the best listeners — and the most connected.
A leader needs means. This one people don’t talk about enough. A financially struggling elected official is a vulnerable one. Lobby money finds the cracks. A broke politician is a dangerous politician.
A leader needs common sense. Rarer than it sounds.
And a leader must be able to communicate — clearly, consistently, to the people they serve.
But here’s what I didn’t say yet.
A leader must know their community. Not just the zip code. The people. The resources that exist — and the ones that don’t. And then they must actually go get those resources and deliver them. That’s what effectiveness looks like in practice.
A leader must listen. And then act. Listening without action is just performance.
A leader must support policies that empower — not disenfranchise. That distinction matters more than party, more than personality. Who does your vote actually help?
And a leader must have the testicular fortitude to stand up for what’s right against all odds. That quality is rare. When you find it, you hold onto it.
But I’m not done. Before you vote, do your research. Don’t just take anybody’s word for it — including mine. Look at the track record. Not promises — patterns. What did they actually do when given responsibility? How did they vote? Who did they show up for?
Ask yourself: is this elected official accessible? Can you reach them? Do they come to the community — or do they only appear at election time?
Ask about accountability. What happens when they’re wrong? Do they own it, or do they deflect?
Follow the money. Follow the donors. Follow the endorsements. They tell you more than any campaign ad ever will.
And watch for consistency. Are they the same person they were before the campaign? Or did they change the moment they got into office?
Take Julian Jones. Nobody handed him Northwest Baltimore County. He went out and earned it — door by door, conversation by conversation. That’s a champion. Yes, he has areas to work on. They all do. Nonetheless, that’s potentially your next Baltimore County Executive.
Take Malcolm Ruff. In a short tenure in Annapolis, he’s already moved the needle. And separate from politics entirely, he secured a twenty-plus million dollar settlement for his client. You want to talk about effective? That’s effective. And last I checked — not indicted.
And Sabrina Tapp-Harper? I’m a Dunbar Poet. You already know.
Now let me say something else — and I’m going to say it plainly.
We need Black elected officials who are unapologetically Black.
Yes, politics is about compromise. I understand that. But let’s be honest with ourselves — we have not yet mastered the game of politics the way other communities have. We’ve had our moments of greatness. We’ve had Howard Pete Rawlings — controlling the purse strings of the entire state of Maryland as House Appropriations Chair. But we need more Howard Pete Rawlingses. We need more Black Americans positioned at the levers of real power.
Right now, too many of us are playing checkers while other communities are playing chess.
Look at where the money flows automatically — to certain institutions, certain corridors, certain communities. Those aren’t accidents. That’s chess. And it’s being played with our tax dollars.
We need the reason — the rationale, the relationships, the representation — to make those resources flow toward us. We need more WNADAs. We have the West North Avenue Development Authority, but we need an East North Avenue Development Authority, too! Both sides of town. Not one. Both. Growing. Evolving. Thriving.
We need leaders who understand that East and West are not in competition — they are both Baltimore, and both deserve to be nurtured.
And most importantly — we need leaders who are not afraid of the people in the community. Leaders who walk among us, not above us. Leaders who see Black empowerment not as a threat — but as the whole point.
Tuesday is not just about a name on a ballot. It’s about who has the foundation to actually represent you — without being bought, swayed, or outmaneuvered.
Vote with your eyes open. Vote for leaders who show up, stand up, and deliver.
— Doni Glover is the founder and publisher of BMORENews.com, now in its 24th year of covering Black Baltimore, and the founder of the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards, now in its 15th year. He is also the host of the Emmy-nominated Doni Glover podcast and The Doni Glover Show on WMAR-TV 2.
