A second vanquished Republican county executive has landed a gig with the Hogan administration.
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced Wednesday that former Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh will take over as executive director of Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center. Schuh will serve as the state’s principal coordinator in the fight against the opioid crisis, and replaces Clay Stamp, who will return to Talbot County as the assistant county manager and emergency services director.
“I know that Steve’s first-hand experience as county executive, including the local programs he championed to help to fight this crisis, will serve our state well as we continue working to save the lives of Marylanders every day,” Hogan said in a statement.
Schuh served as Anne Arundel County executive from 2014-2018 before losing in November to Democrat Steuart Pittman. He previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates for eight years.
“I want to thank Governor Hogan and Lt. Governor Rutherford for the opportunity to serve the administration and the people of Maryland in this vital way,” said Schuh. “We aligned our three-pronged approach to fighting the opioid epidemic in Anne Arundel County with the governor’s strategy, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with our communities and partners across the state to continue to fight this crisis.”
Under Schuh’s leadership, Anne Arundel County launched the Safe Stations program, which designates each Anne Arundel County and Annapolis City fire station, as well as county and city police stations, as a safe environment for individuals looking for assistance to start their path to recovery from heroin and opioid addiction. The county also created “Not My Child,” an education initiative on substance abuse.
“Steve’s work in Anne Arundel County helped to open the community’s eyes to the opioid epidemic and that it is not just one person’s problem, it affects the community as a whole” said Angel Traynor, founder and director of Serenity Sistas’ Inc., an Annapolis-based addiction treatment center. “So much good has come out of his ability to recognize this crisis and go after ways to solve it.”
Two weeks ago, Hogan nominated former Howard County executive Allan Kittleman (R), who also lost his reelection bid, to serve on the Maryland Workers Compensation Commission.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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