No idea too big for Howard chief

Ulman addresses environment and health care but some question the county’s role

He apologizes for the look, saying it is part of his goal to go ‘‘casual for the holidays.”

The casual demeanor belies what some have called an ‘‘ambitious agenda,” propelled by youthful energy and initiatives — such as a plan to give health coverage to 20,000 uninsured county residents — that have gained Ulman (D) notice around the state and beyond.

Ulman is relatively plain spoken, avoiding hyperbolic statements that some politicians rely upon, even when talking at length about his goals.

The flashiest thing about him is his age: 33. He does not hide from it, mentioning that he was 32 when he was elected county executive.

Youth can be an asset, said Neil F. Quinter, a former Democratic delegate from District 13. ‘‘It takes energy to be at the cutting edge of these issues,” he said.

‘‘I’ve been impressed with his start,” said Quinter, a lawyer from Columbia, like Ulman. ‘‘He’s been good and proactive in his first year in office.”

Quinter said he is ‘‘particularly impressed” with Ulman’s focus on the environment, which included creating a commission to focus on initiatives such as greenhouse gas reduction and green building. The commission recommended the creation of an Office of Environmental Sustainability, which Ulman proposed last month.

Such efforts are ‘‘not sort of standard county government procedure,” Quinter said.

That might not be such a good thing, some said.

‘‘Sometimes I question,” said Del. Gail H. Bates (R-Dist. 9A) of West Friendship. ‘‘It’s nice to have a big agenda. But is that really the role of local government?”

Taking care of business

In that more traditional role, Ulman has added 32 officers to the county’s police force. The county is also working with developers to revitalize downtown Columbia, its signature planned community, and the Route 1 corridor through North Laurel, Savage, Jessup and Elkridge.

While Ulman has laid out parameters for zoning and how the county, the state’s wealthiest, will address growth, there is some concern that he has not been involved enough in the Columbia redevelopment. He has set out a ‘‘framework” describing the county’s vision for the downtown and left it to General Growth Properties, which owns most of the undeveloped land and parking lots around The Mall in Columbia, to develop a master plan.

‘‘I think it’s going to be very important for Ken to give very strong focus and priority to that issue and I’m hoping and expecting that that will be the case,” said Howard County House Chairwoman Elizabeth Bobo, who was county executive from 1986 to 1990.

Bobo (D-Dist. 12B) of Columbia said she hopes Ulman will focus on transportation, including expanding bus service and managing erosion of the county’s streams, which feed the Patuxent and Patapsco rivers.

Cuts in state aid to school systems could force Ulman to address the fiscal health of Howard County’s vaunted school system, something that he did not have to address in his first year.

‘‘I really hope Ken will step up and maintain support for education in Howard County,” said Quinter, who called education ‘‘the hallmark of the county.”

Ulman called the school system ‘‘the engine that drives the county.”

‘‘The vast majority of people with the means to send their kids to private school still send them the public school,” he said. ‘‘Once you lose that it’s very hard to get that back.”

High home prices meant tax revenues have not declined as much as in some neighboring counties, and Howard is expecting a slight surplus to its $1.3 billion budget for fiscal 2008.

Still, with counties urging the General Assembly not to cut state aid and legislators passing $890 million in new taxes and directing Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) to cut $550 million from the state budget, ‘‘There has to be a better control of spending,” said Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman. ‘‘You can’t do everything you want to do. You have to live within your means.”

Zoning, growth, roads, schools, public safety are ‘‘not the glitzy, the glamorous,” Bates said. ‘‘[They don’t] get a lot of press.”

Still, they are traditional county government roles, Bates said.

‘‘But health care?” she asked.

‘‘I think he has greater ambition,” Bates said. ‘‘It’s a way to show he can play on a bigger stage.”

Indeed, some of Ulman’s energy in his first year has been spent on two issues that were focuses of the General Assembly in 2007: health care and the environment.

Besides the commission on the environment, Ulman has overseen the purchase of nearly 50 hybrid vehicles, secured funding for a climate action plan that will analyze not just the carbon dioxide emitted by county government buildings and vehicles burning fossil fuels, but the entire county’s carbon footprint.

‘‘We’re really institutionalizing, in my mind, the environment as a priority,” Ulman said.

Signature program

In October, the county announced the Healthy Howard program, which will begin by enrolling 2,000 uninsured county residents in July and will offer access to a network of primary and emergency care, certain inpatient and outpatient hospital treatment and specialty care services.

The plan will cost $2.8 million, with $1.6 million coming from participants who will pay between $50 and $115 per month based on their income.

The balance includes $500,000 from the county’s general fund and services donated by partners in the network, including Howard County General Hospital.

‘‘We believe that this is going to be a model that folks are going to want to take a look at,” Ulman said.

Helping guide the effort has been Peter L. Beilenson, who built a strong reputation over 13 years as Baltimore city’s health commissioner and as the founder of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative.

‘‘Dr. Beilenson is a very respected health officer and I think it was a real coup for Ken to recruit him to Howard County,” Quinter said.

Except that, as Ulman tells it, he did not actively recruit Beilenson, whom Ulman called ‘‘the best public health officer in the country.”

Ulman got to know Beilenson on the campaign trail in 2006, during Beilenson’s failed run for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

‘‘I asked him to come in and meet with me, simply to ask him if he knew anybody,” Ulman said. ‘‘Who’s the latest graduate from the [Johns Hopkins] Bloomberg School of Public Health who’s a rock star, who wants to create the model public health community in Howard County? And I started talking about kind of my vision. And the next thing you know he raised his hand and said, ‘I might want the job.’”

After working on big-city issues such as violence, drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and lead poisoning, Beilenson said, he wondered how interesting taking the Howard job could be.

Ultimately, he said, he was attracted by Ulman’s enthusiasm.

‘‘It really struck me strongly that he cared deeply about public health,” Beilenson said, adding that Ulman’s passion is rare.

Most county executives care about development and transportation, Beilenson said. ‘‘Public health is not very high on their agenda. ... He was committed to making Howard County a model public health community.”

Health has long been a priority for Ulman, whose family started the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults after his brother, Doug, was diagnosed with cancer while playing soccer for Brown University. Doug Ulman is now president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Armstrong provided a bit of celebrity clout when the cycling champion recorded a robo-call message for Ulman during the 2006 campaign.

Beilenson, who served in Baltimore under Democratic mayors Kurt L. Schmoke and O’Malley, calls Ulman an ‘‘unusual politician.”

‘‘He is really more of a public leader than a politician,” Beilenson said.

Dismissing ambition

Ulman defends his initiatives while downplaying party politics.

‘‘The Democratic Party has to show that it can govern,” he said, adding that it is up to the party to ‘‘show that government has a role in society by bringing communities together through well-spent investments, wise investments.”

It is important ‘‘not to get so caught up in ideology,” he said.

Political and philosophical differences aside, Ulman has gained respect for working well with others.

‘‘I have to hand it to him, he reaches out to us, he’s very gregarious,” Bates said.

‘‘I think he works,” said Kittleman (R-Dist. 9) of West Friendship, who served with Ulman for two years on the Howard County Council. ‘‘I think he reads what’s going on. He’s in the issues.”

‘‘He’s very open, a good listener,” said Howard Community College President Kate Hetherington. ‘‘He’s very thoughtful. If he doesn’t know an answer he’ll get back to you. ... I think he’s done a terrific job in reflecting what the college’s needs are.”

Such accolades so early in a political career have Bates and others predicting that Ulman could take a shot at a bigger job: the governorship.

‘‘He has the smarts to do it,” Beilenson said, adding that Ulman ‘‘at a young age” has won both elections he has run in, the first for a County Council seat in 2002. His record could make him a candidate in the next election, Beilenson said. ‘‘Obviously he has the political abilities. He’s very good at following through.”

Ulman said he is flattered by the talk, but not distracted by it. ‘‘One year in, in Howard County, we’re focused on doing the best job here in Howard County.”