Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association and affiliated groups, celebrated her birthday Wednesday in a most unusual way: She filed to become a Republican candidate for the Anne Arundel County Council in the 7th District.

Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association.
Locklair is the first candidate to formally enter the race to replace Councilmember Jessica Haire (R), who has created an exploratory committee for the county executive race in 2022 and is almost certain to run for the top job. The 7th District as currently drawn takes in the Crofton area and most of South County.
“I believe our community is at a crossroads,” Locklair says in a campaign video. “Will our families and businesses come out of the pandemic stronger or weaker?”
Locklair describes herself as “a seasoned advocate who knows how to bring people together to get big things done.”
Locklair has been a government affairs professional in Maryland for over a dozen years and has been a leading voice in Annapolis for business interests since taking over the retailers group. In that position, she is also the president of the Maryland Chain Drug Association, the Maryland Food Industry Council, and the Tri-State Jewelers Association.
Previously, she was the deputy executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council and was an assistant administrator for the Maryland House of Delegates. On her new campaign website, she stresses the work she’s done during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep businesses and their workers afloat.
“I will be your voice, with the experience and expertise to cut through red tape and political noise to make our county a better place to live, work and play,” she says in the video.