County Native Brings Diverse Skills to Race

By Len Lazarick

April 2006

Melissa Ridgely Covolesky, like other Howard County political hopefuls, is part of a younger generation of candidates who grew up here. But unlike most of these candidates, Covolesky lives and works on the family farm, and is part of the Ridgely clan that has been in Howard County and Maryland for centuries.

Preserving the farming way of life that makes western Howard County so attractive to new homeowners is a prime reason she's running. "Our agricultural heritage is not dead and it is important enough for someone to stand up and say it is worth protecting," she said at her March 6 speech, when she kicked off her race for delegate in District 9A against two incumbent Republicans.

Covolesky said that, despite encroaching development, she wants to "expand markets and create new opportunities for farmers," offering them tax incentives.

In an interview, she noted that "development restrictions preserve open space but they don't preserve farming operations."

Besides helping run her father's thoroughbred farm in Cooksville, Covolesky, 37, has an extensive law enforcement background. An ROTC graduate of then-Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College, she served in the airborne military police with postings in Panama, Haiti and Egypt, and eventually commanded the military police brigade at Fort Bragg, N.C., home of the 82nd Airborne Division.

After serving as an anti-terrorism officer in southern Germany, Covolesky left active duty and is now a major in the reserves. She is finishing her law degree at George Washington University. "As you can see, I'm not your standard candidate for public office," she said.

Howard County "is a safe and comfortable place to live and work," she told a group of family and friends, "but our state as a whole isn't as lucky as we are here, and some of our laws need strengthening to ensure crime and gang activity don't encroach into our areas. We need stringent laws against witness intimidation and programs that link jurisdictions trying to fight transient criminal activity."

She also believes her anti-terrorism experience will be useful on homeland security issues at the State House.

Covolesky favors income tax exemptions on the retirement pay for members of the armed services who have served at least 20 years, and she also supports tax exemptions for Maryland residents serving in the military outside the state. She believes both measures will encourage veterans to retire and retain their residence in Maryland, rather than in states that do not tax their pay.

In this heavily Republican western Howard County district, Covolesky is running in the GOP primary against incumbent Dels. Gail Bates and Warren Miller. But she is specifically targeting Miller, who was appointed three years ago to fill out the term of Del. Robert Flanagan, now Maryland secretary of transportation.

Bates and Miller are running on a ticket with Sen. Allan Kittleman, who was appointed to complete the term of his late father, Bob Kittleman.

Because Miller "hasn't already been vetted and elected, I don't think he should be riding on the coattails of those who have," Covolesky said. "He was appointed by a small, select group," the Republican central committee, of which he was a member, she pointed out. Miller was chosen over several longtime party leaders who had applied for the job, including Charles Feaga, who was later appointed to fill Allan Kittleman's seat on the County Council and who attended Covolesky's announcement.

The candidate met her husband, David Covolesky, at Fort Bragg. He is a West Point graduate who became a Green Beret and later graduated with an MBA from Harvard University.