Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman launched an "Anne Arundel County Proud" campaign Monday as part of her second State of the County address to business groups.
During a 50-minute speech at a Linthicum hotel, Neuman highlighted people in the county who have made a difference for others, including a firefighter who rescued a child from a well and a police officer who nabbed a man who had allegedly used Craigslist to line up victims. She called them up to the stage and then removed her jacket to reveal an "Anne Arundel County Proud" T-shirt.
"All of these folks make me proud to be a citizen of the county," Neuman said.
Shirts, stickers and magnets were distributed to the more than 300 people who attended the event.
For most of her speech, Neuman highlighted her past year in office with a focus on accomplishments she felt were business-friendly, including changes at the county's permit office, business loan programs and changes to health benefits for retired county employees to save money.
Neuman also said she wants to lobby to get more state tax dollars for Anne Arundel County. She said for each $1 paid by county taxpayers to the state, 28 cents is returned to the county.
"Our taxpayer money needs to come back to our county," she said.
Neuman also said she wants to adopt "zero-based budgeting" — the practice of looking at each expenditure to create a budget, rather than using the prior year's budget as a baseline.
Neuman was appointed county executive last year to replace John R. Leopold, who resigned following his convictions of misconduct in office. In the Republican primary this year, Neuman faces state Del. Steve Schuh. The winner will face Democrat George F. Johnson IV in the general election.
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