Chamblee channels anger and activism into school board bid

Five years after tragic circumstances made her one of Maryland’s most highly visible gun control advocates, Andrea Chamblee is running for an open seat on the Howard County Board of Education.

Chamblee faces a tough race for a board seat in Maryland’s sixth most populous school district, which is also one of the highest educated in the state. The incumbent, Yun Lu, isn’t seeking reelection.

Chamblee’s husband — sports reporter John McNamara — was one of the five journalists killed in the 2018 Capital Gazette shootings in Annapolis.

Starting in 1993, the couple would host international students through American Field Service study abroad programs. Chamblee said she found it “particularly rewarding” to learn about the cultures of the students she’d meet.

After the Capital Gazette shooting, she couldn’t recommend that any of those students move to the state.

“I couldn’t in good conscience tell these families that their child will be safe in the United States.”

In her day job, Chamblee is an adjunct assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at George Washington University. But since her husband was murdered, she has become a vocal and visible gun control advocate. Chamblee has volunteered for Moms Demand Action’s Maryland chapter, which she said supported her after the shooting. Last year, she testified in support of stricter gun laws before the House Judiciary Committee.

Chamblee has also witnessed the mental strain school shooter drills have had on her nieces and nephew.

Chamblee said there’s a mental health crisis in Howard County, which is being felt acutely in the classroom. And local schools, she argues, are falling into disrepair, becoming infested with mold and rats due to deferred maintenance.

“Students who aren’t well can’t learn well and teachers who don’t feel safe can’t teach,” she said.

The Howard County native decided to run after witnessing problems with the new bus system rollout earlier this school year. On the first day of school, thousands of students couldn’t get to school by bus after the county changed its transportation policy. Some parents alleged that the change was made without warning.

Chamblee worked as the director of compliance policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for nearly 12 years before leaving in March of 2021, and she said that the bus plan didn’t meet a high enough standard.

“I saw about this bus system, and I thought they wouldn’t pass my audit,” Chamblee said.

This led her to research many of the issues Howard County schools face. She’s looking to bring her background in public health and government management to address the busing system, the budget and public safety.

Chamblee faces two opponents in the May 14 primary — former state delegate Trent Kittleman (R) and small business owner Catherine Carter. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

Kittleman, part of a prominent Howard County Republican family, failed to win a third term in the 2022 election, losing to Democrat Chao Wu by 113 votes.

Kittleman was a reliable conservative as a state delegate. In another election, this might be a plus to some voters, according to Howard County resident Tom Coale, a lawyer, lobbyist and civic activist, but in a school board race where the candidates do not run with partisan affiliation, it could hurt her chances.

“For these Board of Education races, they end up relying a lot on just the personal networks and community experience of the candidates,” Coale said.

Kittleman is pushing for a policy requiring parent approval or an opt-out option for any teaching material regarding sex or gender in elementary school. Her stance mirrors that of conservative activists nationwide.

Benjamin Schmitt, the president of the Howard County Education Association — the largest teachers’ union in the county — criticized Kittleman’s stances, saying she was harmfully injecting politics into a non-partisan race.

The election could become a battleground over the Board of Education’s budget. Chamblee’s view of the budget and her regulatory experience was a significant factor in the union’s decision to endorse her, Schmitt said. 

The Board of Education adopted its fiscal year 2025 capital and operating budgets on March 7. The board restored some educational positions and some summer programs eliminated in the superintendent’s proposed budget.

Chamblee said the $75.7 million capital budget request “isn’t nearly enough.”

Schmitt said that the teachers’ union provided “clear ways” to restore cut positions while still maintaining fair employee compensation packages.

“The current board is willing to take the proposed budget put in front of them and not willing to look at taking a scalpel to any of the proposals or numbers within that budget,” Schmitt said.

Chamblee agreed, saying that the budget was a “terrible headache.” She emphasized that the school system needed to define its financial needs more clearly.

“You can’t ask voters to agree to a blank check,” Chamblee said. “You have to explain yourself and what you want to use it for.”

Carter, a former teacher who runs a cybersecurity business, said she is also running to address budget issues. Schmitt said that though the teachers’ union was impressed with Carter, her comments on social media about the budget were “a little bit misguided” and distracted from “real problems with the budget.”

The small business owner made Facebook posts about the district’s budget, including one about how the board’s “equity-based budget,” disproportionately hurt District 5 students. The district is largely in the western section of Howard County, which is considerably less diverse demographically than other parts of the county.

Howard County voters are heavily invested in budget issues. Schmitt points to a public hearing in March where 98 people, including some high school students, signed up to testify about school funding. 

“This is my 26th year in the [Howard County Education] system and this is probably the most engaged I have seen staff and parents and other community stakeholders, especially students involved in this level of advocacy around the budget,” Schmitt said.

Chamblee said she’s hoping to use some of the name recognition she’s gained over her gun control advocacy to show the skills she’s used as an advocate transfer over to other issues, such as public safety in schools.

“That’s my challenge,” Chamblee said. “I want to do all I can do to keep our kids safe.”

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