The contest for the Harford County Council District C seat has drawn two candidates with different professional backgrounds but overlapping concerns about how the county grows, what it spends, and who gets a seat at the table when those decisions are made.
Democrat Jessica Ryley Hammond, 49, and Republican Paula S. Etting, 67, will face voters Tuesday. The race centers on land use and development pressure, fiscal responsibility, funding for public services, and government transparency — issues that have moved to the front of the conversation as Harford County faces increasing development pressure.
Hammond responded directly to The Harford County Sun’s candidate questionnaire. Etting did not respond to the questionnaire; her positions are drawn from publicly available documents and statements.
Who They Are
Jessica Ryley Hammond grew up in Harford County, graduated from Bel Air High School, earned a degree from Harford Community College and a degree in psychology from Towson University. She works as a counseling administrator for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, where she provides mental health and social services for workers in Maryland’s Thoroughbred racing industry and oversees an aftercare program that places retired racehorses in new careers and homes. Her professional background spans mental health services, social services, emergency room work, schools, program administration and budget management. She has advocated before the Maryland House of Delegates and participated in public discussions on land use, government accountability and public safety. She has no prior elected office experience, though she has worked on policy advocacy through her professional responsibilities and helped with a family member’s political campaign.
“My career in mental health and social services has taught me the importance of listening, finding common ground, and working with people from all backgrounds,” she said.
Paula S. Etting is a longtime Bel Air resident who graduated from John Carroll School, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law. She became an attorney in 1985 and spent three years as a prosecutor in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, handling cases that included homicide prosecutions. She later joined the Harford County Department of Law, where she spent 27 years advising county agencies and handling litigation involving contracts, zoning and other matters before retiring from county government in October 2016. She was elected to the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners in 2021 and has served as mayor since 2023, winning reelection to the board in 2025. Her municipal liaison roles include the Bel Air Police Department, the Planning Commission and the Committee on the Elderly and Needy Citizens. Her public record includes decisions on town budgets, development density, land-use regulations and public safety.
The Biggest Challenges
Growth and Open Space
Both candidates identify development pressure as among the most serious challenges facing the county, though they approach the problem from different angles.
Hammond frames the issue in terms of pace and process. “Growth that outpaces infrastructure and fails to consider environmental impacts or community concerns threatens the character and quality of life of our neighborhoods,” she said. She also points to the emerging pressure from large-scale technology facilities. “We must also be prepared for increasing pressure to site hyperscale data centers in Harford County, a type of development that raises significant concerns about land use, energy demands, and impacts on surrounding communities,” she said.
Etting has identified land use as the most important issue facing District C. Her published positions focus on holding the line against high-density residential development inconsistent with established neighborhoods and opposing the expansion of the county’s Development Envelope in the 2027 comprehensive plan update. She has also opposed expanding public water and sewer infrastructure in ways that encourage higher-density development. Etting supports restrictions on data centers and calls for careful evaluation of large solar installations and battery energy storage facilities, particularly when they could threaten farmland or established communities. She has pointed to development-density restrictions adopted during her time on the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners as evidence of her record on the issue and has expressed support for the county executive’s policy restricting data centers.
The two candidates share a concern about inappropriate development and the preservation of farmland and open space. Their differences lie in emphasis: Hammond stresses early intervention in the rezoning process and environmental protection, while Etting stresses retaining the Development Envelope and limiting the expansion of water and sewer infrastructure.
Affordability and Essential Services
Hammond describes the financial pressure facing both families and county government as a central challenge. “Families are struggling with rising costs, while county government faces the challenge of adequately funding public education, law enforcement, first responders, and other essential services without continually increasing the burden on taxpayers,” she said. “Balancing these needs requires fiscal discipline, creativity, and a careful examination of spending priorities.”
Etting’s campaign emphasizes tax restraint and fiscal responsibility. Her published materials highlight her record of supporting balanced municipal budgets in Bel Air without raising taxes or cutting essential services — a characterization of her own record. She has also emphasized her support for fully funding the Bel Air Police Department’s annual budget requests as part of her public safety record.
Both candidates express support for maintaining essential services while controlling costs to taxpayers. Hammond focuses on evaluating spending priorities and finding efficiencies. Etting points to her municipal budgeting record as evidence of her approach.
Transparency and Accountability
Hammond makes government transparency an explicit campaign priority. “Residents deserve a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their communities, yet too often they feel their concerns are not heard until decisions are already well underway,” she said. She also draws a distinction between party loyalty and constituent service. “Elected officials must be willing to make independent decisions based on the interests of residents rather than political alliances, developers, or other special interests,” she said. “Public trust depends on representatives who are willing to ask difficult questions, challenge the status quo, and truly stand up for their communities.”
Etting’s published campaign materials emphasize her governing experience and her record in public office rather than specific new procedural proposals on public input or transparency. Her written statements stress that her decisions are based on what she considers best for Harford County and District C.
Their Priorities
Protecting Communities
Hammond says the most effective moment to guard against inappropriate development is before it is approved. “One of the most effective times to protect our communities from inappropriate development is during the rezoning process, before changes are approved that allow more intensive uses,” she said. “We must be proactive rather than waiting until residents are forced to fight projects that existing zoning already permits.” She also ties her approach to her personal connection to the county’s landscape. “I am an avid outdoors woman and nature lover and that is the kind of Council member I intend to be,” she said. On data centers specifically, she said: “I support responsible redevelopment of existing properties and protecting our communities from inappropriate industrial uses, including large-scale data centers.”
Etting’s priorities on development center on opposing the expansion of the Development Envelope in the county’s forthcoming comprehensive plan update, resisting high-density residential development in established communities, and restricting incompatible industrial uses. She has pointed to density restrictions adopted in Bel Air during her tenure as a concrete example of her approach.
Responsible Budgeting
Hammond describes her budgeting approach as one of scrutiny and creativity rather than automatic action in either direction. “I will carefully examine county spending, identify inefficiencies, and pursue creative, resourceful solutions rather than automatically turning to tax increases or cuts to essential services and employee benefits,” she said. She adds: “Fiscal responsibility means making thoughtful decisions about how we use the resources we already have.”
Etting’s campaign points to her municipal record in Bel Air — balanced budgets, no tax increases and full funding for the police department — as the foundation of her fiscal approach. Her published materials emphasize experience and discipline as the basis for responsible county-level budgeting.
Both candidates frame responsible budgeting as protecting services while avoiding unnecessary tax increases. Hammond emphasizes the process of finding efficiencies; Etting emphasizes the record she brings to the table.
Accessible Leadership
Hammond describes the kind of council member she intends to be in direct terms. “I will be an approachable and engaged Council member who listens to residents, communicates openly, and works collaboratively to solve problems,” she said. She also draws on her outsider status as a qualification. “I am not part of the establishment and I think that’s a good thing,” she said. She adds: “I believe in collaboration, but also in independent thinking and having the courage to stand up for what is right. My responsibility will be to the people I represent, not political alliances or special interests.”
Etting’s published materials emphasize her experience in public office — first as a county attorney, then as a town commissioner and mayor — as the basis for effective representation. Her campaign pledges to base decisions on what she considers best for Harford County and District C. Her published statements do not include detailed new proposals on public participation procedures, though the absence of such proposals in her campaign materials does not indicate opposition to accessible government.
Where They Stand
The District C race offers voters a choice between two candidates who share some common ground on the county’s most pressing issues — particularly the risks of incompatible development — but who arrive at those positions through different experiences and with different tools in hand.
Hammond brings a background in mental health services, program administration and policy advocacy, and frames her candidacy around early intervention in land-use decisions, transparent government and independent representation. She has no prior elected office experience.
Etting brings more than three decades of legal and governmental experience, including 27 years advising county agencies on zoning and contracts and service as Bel Air mayor since 2023. She frames her candidacy around that record and the governing judgment it reflects.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.