In 1939, Frank Capra directed the classic film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Today, 85 years later, Baltimore County is considering who should serve as its next county executive as Mr. Olszewski goes to Washington.

Twelve people have submitted applications for the County Council’s consideration to complete the remainder of Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s unexpired term as county executive. There are many fine names on the list, and each individual is to be commended for his or her willingness to subject themselves to public scrutiny and offer two years of their lives to serve as the county executive of Baltimore County.

I have known one of the applicants longer than I have known the others (and there are a few I do not know at all). I have known George Perdikakis for nearly 25 years and believe that he would serve our county well as the interim executive through December 2026.

I was the county attorney for Baltimore County from 2001 until 2004, and one of my first tasks was to confront a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assertion that Baltimore County should be a “responsible party” to remediate the Superfund site at the 68th Street dump in Rosedale. The County Attorney’s Office hired Perdikakis, then recently retired from his service as director of Baltimore County’s Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management (DEPRM), to serve as our expert engineer. We devised a plan of action and were successful in having the EPA remove Baltimore County as a potential responsible party. We traveled to EPA’s regional headquarters in Philadelphia, presented our arguments, and succeeded. The eventual responsible parties are now in the midst of a remediation costing over $50 million.

I tell this to you as it is a great example of Perdikakis’ substantive engineering and environmental expertise, and an example of how he was able to utilize his local government and state government work histories to benefit Baltimore County.

Perdikakis’ long work history includes having been part of Mayor William Donald Schaefer’s leadership team and in leadership with the Maryland Environmental Service, a quasi-governmental entity of the state. He then led Baltimore County’s DEPRM. For almost 25 years he has worked in the private sector, including many years with KCI Technologies, a national engineering firm. At KCI, Perdikakis has been an integral part of its engineering and land use practices.

George Perdikakis has the skillset and independence of thought needed to lead this county until the next election in 2026 when the voters will decide who should be our next county executive. It is hard to think of any individual better known to state and local governmental leaders than Perdikakis. His history of problem-solving governmental issues is the skillset needed during these coming two years.

Edward J. Gilliss is a former chairman of the Baltimore County Board of Education and was county attorney for Baltimore County.