TOWSON, Md. - Marylandian -- Mansoor Shams of Towson, Maryland officially filed to enter the County Executive race on Wednesday February 18th, joining Democratic candidates Julian Jones, Izzy Patoka, Nick Stewart, and Pat Young. Already his candidacy is inspiring many looking for an outsider to take the lead in county government. "I've heard what the other candidates have to say, I've been to a town hall to hear them speak, I'm just not convinced they have a plan for change," says Shams.

A newcomer to the Baltimore County Executive race, Mansoor Shams is raising concerns about the county's priorities and pledging to do things differently. He points out that politicians who have been in politics for ten or twenty years have gotten us to where we are right now. "I don't think (the other candidates) realize how much Baltimore County families are hurting: how high the heating bills are, how much groceries cost. In some cases, families are having to choose between housing and paying healthcare bills."

As a Fair Election campaign aiming to qualify for public financing, the candidate has raised around $23,000. That is just a fraction of the money raised by the other Democratic candidates for County Executive, three of whom serve on the Baltimore County Council. "It's very different," says Megan Wobus, the communications director for the campaign. "We're a small donation campaign, so it's a shoestring budget. I film Mansoor on the sidewalk near his home for our social media clips. We use coupons when we order campaign literature." Wobus described the mindset of the team working on the campaign as "scrappy."

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Shams is proposing progressive solutions to the affordability crisis with specifics not often heard from conventional candidates. The campaign website gomansoor.com outlines a Household Stabilizing Fund that would be used for payments to low-income County residents who apply for help, a series of mini-marts with low priced essentials in county-owned buildings to increase access to food and necessities, and a 50% cut in the county portion of property taxes for homeowners over 65, with the tax eliminated for seniors 70 and over. "I'm excited to use these programs as a starting point for changing the system, re-ordering our priorities, and focusing government on the project of helping everyone, not just big donors."

When asked about the Direct Access Meetings Shams is offering to Baltimore County residents, with a calendar available on his website, he describes them as solving a problem of access. "If leaders don't know what's going on with people, if they're not hearing stories and getting feedback, of course they're not taking direct action to change the system." Shams proposes continuing the open calendar of meetings, available to all residents, as Baltimore County Executive if he succeeds. While Baltimore County holds a short series of "Budget Open House" sessions that are open to the public, the current executive has no open office hours or time reserved for any constituent to schedule a meeting.

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Shams points out that running a campaign of open access, for far less money, is central to his goal of making better use of county money to help the most vulnerable first and serve the people. Says the candidate, "There's a way things have been done, with the Executive, with the Council, and with the nearly five-billion-dollar budget. I'm proposing something different. If that's a change Baltimore County voters want, if that's a change they're ready for, I invite them to join us."