I came across the website for Becca Niburg for Delegate in District 13 a month and a half ago and was waiting for an official announcement to mention it here on the blog. Readers of the blog sent me photos of campaign materials at the Howard County Democratic Party Booth from the Howard County Fair and I saw these photos published yesterday on social media with Becca in a campaign shirt:
I figured that was enough of an announcement for me to put something out on the blog.
I reached out to Becca for a photo (see above) and a statement for my readers. Here is what she sent over to me:
I’ve felt drawn to service for as long as I can remember - it has never been enough to just do my thing, I always wanted to know the why behind things and wanted to help people. I started by taking calls on a domestic violence crisis line in college (which I continued into law school). Also in law school, I spent a summer in the domestic violence unit of the Broward County (FL) Legal Aid. Although I don’t do domestic law, I’ve continued to take protection order cases pro bono throughout my career. I’ve also taken immigration cases pro bono especially when they involve women and children who have survived violence.
The majority of my legal career has been spent in service with the federal government, first with the Department of Justice and then the Department of Homeland Security. In 2017, I left federal service and focused on advocating more in the County and the State as a whole both in private practice and on behalf of nonprofit organizations.
In addition to my professional work, I served for three years as the Chair of the Howard County Out of the Darkness Walk and raised tens of thousands of dollars for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as well as awareness for the disease and its lasting impact on families and communities. I also served on the BOE Policy 1070 Committee in 2017; as the PATH liaison for my synagogue, Beth Shalom; on the HOA Board for my neighborhood of Emerson; as an at-large board member of the Howard County NAACP; as the logistics coordinator for Howard County Pride; and as one of the County and State heads of Together We Will.
I’m running for Delegate because District 13 deserves representation that is pushing the needle on initiatives- not just showing up to vote but actively engaging with constituents on their own terms (and on their own turf) to figure out what is needed and then fighting to get that implemented with real action. District 13 deserves a problem solver who is a pragmatist, ready and willing to listen to diverse ideas to implement things that make sense, making true progress on things that matter most to District residents from environmental and education objectives to mental health initiatives.
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Becca has not filed to run for Delegate in District 13 as of this post (no one has filed to run in that race yet).
You can view the campaign website for Becca Niburg here: https://www.beccaniburg.com/. I do not think any social media channels for the campaign are active today.
This has me thinking about the “Team 13” slate. Will it return with all of the members from the past election cycle (State Senator Guy Guzzone, Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, Delegate Shane Pendergrass and Delegate Jen Terrasa)?
I feel pretty sure that Delegates Atterbeary and Terrasa will be running again (I did see them at the River Hill 4th of July parade)
Delegate Terrasa and members supporting Team 13 have been seen at the Howard County Fair:
So in my mind this just leave the question about Delegate Pendergrass. Will she be running in 2022?
As a previous resident in District 13 and someone that has been coving politics in Howard County for many years it is honestly rare to see Delegate Pendergrass at events that many other elected officials or candidates for office attend. Delegate Pendergrass has no online presence (website or social media channels). There have been questions for years about what state the Delegate actually spends much of her time in throughout the year. Might this be the year that she decides to step away from elected office? I will be watching for an announcement one way or the other.
Becca Niburg will have a tough campaign if “Team 13” comes back in full but I expect she will have a decent amount of support in the community for this campaign cycle.
This is a race very much on my radar going forward.
If you want to keep up with all of the candidates in Howard County running for office in 2022 be sure to visit this page:
Scott E
