The Accountant Who Hit a Pothole: Jack Carmody’s “Flat Tire” Campaign for District 8
Historic Courthouse of Baltimore County photo by James G. Howes
By Adam Reuter
Jack Carmody didn’t launch his political career with a grand vision or a handshake deal in a Towson backroom. He launched it on the side of Back River Neck Road with a flat tire.
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“I really wish this road had gotten repaved,” Carmody thought as he stared at the damage. Then he remembered an old joke he used to tell coworkers about running for office. The joke isn’t funny anymore. It’s a real campaign.
Carmody, an employee at McCormick Spice Company specializing in budgeting and inventory, is bringing a auditor’s eye to the District 8 race. He isn’t a pilot, a lawyer, or a career politician. He’s a guy who crunches numbers for a living and is currently finishing his accounting degree because he believes Baltimore County’s finances are as broken as its roads.
The “Common Sense” Ledger
In a recent interview with The Baltimore Informer, Carmody laid out a platform that is less about soaring rhetoric and more about balancing the books. His frustration is palpable, driven by the daily realities of living in Middle River—a place he chose over Cockeysville because it was the only place a regular worker could afford a home.
“No matter how you run a county, good or bad, there’s going to be a whole lot of budgeting,” Carmody said. “I figure if I get the budgeting down right, a lot of the rest of the stuff will fall into play.”
The Three-Point Audit
Carmody’s interview highlighted three specific areas where he believes the county is failing its shareholders (the taxpayers):
1. The Infrastructure Collapse Carmody didn’t mince words about the state of the county’s roads and water mains. He described a water main break near his home that has been leaking for months, flooding the street and destroying driveways. “What happened with that money?” he asked. “Why are the roads falling apart? Why is our water supply falling apart? I don’t want to know what the inside of those pipes looks like.”
2. The School Budget Bloat While he supports teachers—and explicitly called for raising their salaries—Carmody is gunning for the administrative bloat at the top. “We spend a good chunk of change on education,” he noted. “Way too much of that is going to superintendents and high-level county executives… Let’s cut some of that out and give it to the teachers themselves. They’re the ones that actually matter.”
3. The Housing Supply Crisis Unlike many candidates who dodge the issue of development, Carmody offered a purely economic take on housing. He criticized the lack of starter homes, noting that builders are incentivized to construct “$500,000 townhomes” rather than affordable single-family units. His solution? Use zoning to encourage starter homes and increase supply to drive down costs. “I’ve never really thought the ‘I want to protect my property value’ excuse is an acceptable reason to stop people from having a place to live,” he said.
The “No New Taxes” Promise
Carmody’s financial philosophy is simple: The money is already there; it’s just being wasted. He pledged “no new taxes,” stealing a line from George H.W. Bush but insisting he means it. “Everyone in Maryland is taxed enough as it is,” he said. His plan relies on reallocating funds from bloated administrative budgets to essential services like fire, police, and teachers.
The Bottom Line
Jack Carmody is the ultimate “average guy” candidate. He freely admits he’s young (30), he admits he’s dealing with the same cost-of-living struggles as his constituents, and he admits he’s running because he’s tired of replacing tires.
He may not have the war chest of the incumbents, or even a functional Facebook page until April (thanks to a technical glitch), but he has something potentially more dangerous to the establishment: a calculator and a grudge against potholes.
Adam Reuter is an independent journalist and editor of The Baltimore Informer.
