Posted on 02/05/21
Baltimore, MD - Feb.5, 2021 - Baltimore County councilman Izzy Patoka is an amazing person and I'm really glad I got a chance to talk with him. He is a born and raised Baltimore County champion. He came up through Public Schools and was even a classmate of the late County Executive Kevin Kamenentz before Kevin left the public schools and went off to Gilman.
What makes Izzy different than most of the people I talk to in politics is that he has his degrees in planning. He prepared to be a public servant. He focused on the needs of the people that's what planning is about. Making sure that a community has the right schools and good roads and public transportation and sewers and trash pickup and everything else that goes into daily life. That's been his focus throughout his entire professional career. It really is the art and science of serving people.
Izzy Patoka is an award-winning nationally certified planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners. He's a proud alumni of Towson University where he received both his Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Arts degree in Geography and Environmental Planning.
He initially started out working for Baltimore County in their planning office and then then went to work for the city of Baltimore. It was there that a young hard charging Irish-American mayor of Baltimore spotted Izzy Patoka as someone special. Mayor Martin O'Malley tasked Izzy with creating the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods and serving as it's initial director. In the dizzying days of the O'Malley administration in Baltimore Izzy single-handedly led the Office to national recognition receiving the prestigious National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Multicultural Diversity Award for extraordinary outreach to ethnic communities. This prestigious award is cosponsored by the Women Officials in NACo, the National Association of Black County Officials and the National Association of Hispanic County Officials
It was at this point when Izzy Patoka was recognized throughout the region as a leader with a tremendous amount of drive and ability to create success. But more than that he garnered his well-earned reputation for being a nice guy, a good guy and a decent person. Someone who cares about other people
Jill Dudley Cohen:
"Izzy is attentive to his constituents and has a hands-on approach to community service. Personally, I was thrilled when he and Justin Silberman showed up to meet my neighbors and lend a hand during our “Dumpster Day” event. I also had a great experience with Izzy when he and his team arrived with “slow down” signs and we stood at a busy corner near Summit Park Elementary School. He could see firsthand that there was a problem with excessive speeding. He took it in stride when one of the drivers gave him the finger. He was hoping for a raised sidewalk but somehow we wound up with a cashtrap/speed camera that nobody in my neighborhood wanted. Izzy is ethical and a good guy. Justin is his best asset."
Dalya Attar:
Delegate Attar was my delegate when I lived in Gwynn Oak in the 41st. Very pleased that I could get her comment on it councilman Izzy Patoka:
"Izzy Patoka is one of the hardest working Councilmen I know. He is extremely devoted to his job and his constituents and puts in a lot of effort to assist his constituents. When speaking with others about him, I only hear positive."
Justin Silberman
“In the three-plus years I have had the pleasure to know Izzy and be a part of his team, he has applied what he passionately calls ‘relentless follow up’ to every function of what a Baltimore County Council member is elected to do. His attention to detail, commitment to the community and dedication to constituent services are all a reflection of his strong leadership skills. He says what he means and means what he says, and when he tells you he is going to do something, he honors his word and does it. He truly exemplifies what it means to be an effective, caring and compassionate public servant in every sense.”
Senator Shelly Laskin Hettleman was kind enough to send along this:
"Can’t think of a story offhand, but Izzy’s a pleasure to work with. He’s all over the community, has great staff, and runs a very effective constituent services program. Thankfully, as a planner by training, he loves focusing on land use issues, filling potholes and rumble strips - the stuff of local government - and he’s terrific at it."
Steven McAdams who I call the good Republican for good reason is head of the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives which Izzy did for Governor O'Malley before Steve did it for Governor Hogan. So this makes his observations especially interesting at least to me.
"I can not express the appreciation I have for Izzy as he would always answer my calls and provide insight on issues or questions I had during and after the transition period for the change of administrations. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for what Izzy accomplished as the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives under Governor O'Malley. In addition I watched him earn the people's trust and get elected as a Baltimore County Councilman which has given me insight in how to keep growing and serving others as the administration one serves comes to a close."
One of my friends in Baltimore County who's a very prominent political leader who would prefer not to be named gave me this observation:
"Hey.... I don’t really know him well enough to comment.... other than he seems Like a nice guy.... and I recall that he had a great background.
Word is that he is strongly considering a run for CE.... if he does, it will be an entertaining primary between him and Julian.
Julian will be the “establishment / developer “ favorite ...."
So we're going to mention the possibility of a contested primary for County Executive we may as well get down to the money. Izzy Patoka raised more money than any other council person.
Izzy raised $233,000 which leaves him with about $422,000 cash on hand.
Strictly for comparison purposes Julian Jones raised $124,000 leaving him with $241,000 cash on hand. Correction! I got one of the numbers wrong and it is now corrected..
Certainly dollars are not votes and when Baltimore county replaces Johnny O it's going to be a serious fight on the Democratic side and we may see other candidates come in. Certainly the two leaders right now are Julian Jones and Izzy Patoka.
BTW did you know Izzy served simultaneously as the Executive Director of the Governor Martin O'Malley's Office of Community Initiatives and as the Director of the Governor’s Intergovernmental Affairs Office for the State of Maryland.