Authority: Cory Shaffer For Baltimore County Council,(Jaclyn Shaffer, Treasurer).
Cory Shaffer
Independent for Baltimore
County Council District 5
Life is too expensive
Politicans should be fighting for us, but they care more about donors and developers than the people living in our community.
Housing costs, Lutherville Station, BGE and the MPRP.
These are all symptoms of a bigger issue.
Authority: Cory Shaffer For Baltimore County Council (Jaclyn Shaffer, Treasurer).
Regular people don't have A voice
I want to re-invent the County Council office as a vehicle to organize the community to fight back.
Powerful interests have lobbyists fighting for them every day.
The County Council office should fight for us. Help residents speak out, connect neighborhoods, & give our community the tools to fight back.
We fix this by giving the power back to the people.
Cost of living is just the start
A community can't fight back if most people are paying more, getting less, and working harder just to get by.
When every bit of our time and money goes towards housing, BGE, and groceries. There isn't much left to build something better.
That's why lowering the cost of living is where we start.
More money in your pocket.
More control over your life.
More power in our community.
That's the Baltimore County I want to build.
I'm not waiting until i'm elected
One Voice gets ignored, thousands don't
Now imagine if our elected officials were organizing us and we had the powers of the office behind us.
That's what this campaign is about.
This is already being put into practice.
I formed a group. Stop Data Centers in Baltimore County.
We've held a rally. Our next is September 3rd at 4:00pm.
The same day as the next public input meeting for data centers.
The entire purpose is organizing residents to speak out and fight back.
This is how we build community power. By organizing our community.
What I'll do
Turn the County Council Office into a Tool for the Community
I want to use this office to represent our district. But I also want to use it to organize our communities. We'll build neighborhood networks (imagine the GTCC with the power of the council seat behind it) and we'll teach residents to have a voice around the decisions affecting their lives. No more backroom deals. The residents are the first to know and there's already a plan in place to stop it.
Give Residents the Power to Fight Back
There are already groups and organizers fighting development and infrastructure projects. And we're all tired of rising costs and powerful interests taking over Baltimore County. Instead of all of us fighting alone, my office will help connect people. We'd give them the information and resources needed to fight back. And that way these isolated battles can become connected. Which in turn builds organized community power.
Make Developers Work For Us
I'll introduce and push for a community benefit ordinance. If you want to build here, you don't get all the benefit and leave our community picking up the tab. With a community benefit ordinance, large projects have to provide defined benefits to the community. If it doesn't work for us. It shouldn't get built. This mainly applies to large businesses. If a developer wants a permit to build more homes here, then they have to help with our overcrowded schools. And some of those homes have to be affordable so people can start a life. It has to be a mutually beneficial situation.
Fight Back Against BGE
We can use bulk buying power to get better electricity rates. Instead of hundreds of households buying electricity individually, the county can combine them into one customer base that has more power. The county can use that buying power as leverage to negotiate better rates. And people are still able to opt out as individuals. Imagine a 10,000 customers individually walk into a car dealership and they each buy a car. They don't have any bulk buying power. Now imagine one person walks in and says: I'm buying 10,000 cars. Who can give me the best price? It flips who has the leverage. Suddenly, the buyer has the power. That's what bulk buying of electricity can do. BGE still serves up our power, but we have the leverage to negotiate the best rates.
I'm Cory Shaffer
County Council
District 5
Independent
for Baltimore
I'm a husband and a dad to two little girls.
I'm a small business owner. I started a mental health clinic during the height of the opioid crisis.
Patients were being treated as paychecks instead of people and I wanted to build something better for our community.
I started an organization that doesn't just help people get better, it helps them get back on their feet.
Because that's how we build a strong community.
By understanding that when people have the tools to build a better life, they actually have the agency to build something better.
I'm a problem solver. I don't just talk about change. I build it.
Baltimore County
New District 5
(Currently District 3)
Lowering the cost of living is the only way we build a county where people have real economic stability.
Because when people are financially secure, they're less divided. Less afraid.
When that happens, everyone finally has the opportunity to be themselves.
To live up to their fullest potential.
To build a better county and a better community.
Policy
BGE:
Other counties are using community rate negotiation. Meaning that customers don't deal with BGE one-on-one anymore. It's everyone in Baltimore county saying - Give us rates and fees that work for us, or we're all going to be pushing back together. It's already happening in other counties. I would bring it here.
Housing & Development:
Development in it's own right isn't bad, it's how it's done and who it benefits. If a developer wants county approval, we should be getting something in return. They should provide more affordable housing. More local jobs. And more community investment. If a project needs county approval, it should benefit the people who live here. Development shouldn't just make corporations richer. It should make our community stronger. I would introduce a bill called the Community Benefit Ordinance. Where if developers want to make money in our community, they have to help our schools, infrastructure, and the people who live here.
Education
Countless examples show that spending alone doesn't improve outcomes. The best-performing school systems consistently measure results, identify problems, and intervene when something isn't working. I support public school performance dashboards that give people more transparency. We have to track outcomes and measure the statistics that matter to success. We also provide alternative options like workforce pathways and apprenticeship partnerships. But the main portion in tracking is budget transparency. We have to know where our money is going and how it's being used. Then if there are issues, we implement targeted intervention protocols when students and schools fall behind. I would introduce a bill and pressure the school board to implement each of these practices.
Public Safety
Residents see the same problems happening over and over. The same properties. The same areas. The same trouble spots. It happens because agencies often work separately instead of together. What policy would I introduce? Require coordinated tracking between: police code enforcement public works schools community organizations and publicly report repeat hotspots. How does that improve people's lives? Problems get solved instead of repeatedly managed. Communities become safer. Residents see actual progress instead of temporary fixes.