Zac Blanchard

Zac Blanchard (Democratic Party) is a member of the Baltimore City Council in Maryland, representing District 11. He assumed office on December 5, 2024. His current term ends on December 7, 2028.

Blanchard (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Baltimore City Council to represent District 11 in Maryland. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Blanchard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Zac Blanchard served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. His career experience includes serving as the Vice President of Economic Development for the Midtown Benefits District.^[1]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Baltimore City Council District 11

Zac Blanchard won election in the general election for Baltimore City Council District 11 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zac Blanchard (D)	97.9	15,932
	Other/Write-in votes	2.1	349

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,281
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Baltimore City Council District 11

Zac Blanchard defeated incumbent Eric Costello in the Democratic primary for Baltimore City Council District 11 on May 14, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zac Blanchard	50.3	3,467
	Eric Costello	49.7	3,419

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,886
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

To view Blanchard's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Blanchard in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Zac Blanchard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Blanchard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My wife and I are raising our son next to Cross St Market. I'm a Marine veteran and Naval Academy graduate, neighborhood association president, football coach at Digital Harbor High School (the second largest public high school in Baltimore), and a vice president for economic development in my day job. I got involved in politics because I was involved in my neighborhood, and I was involved in my neighborhood because I want it to have a real sense of place and social connectedness, where our kids might one day want to raise their kids.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Abandoned properties. Baltimore has 14,000 abandoned properties - we have over 500 in my district alone - that cost the city $200 million a year and tell our young people "there is no future in your neighborhood."
Transportation. Whether it's traffic-calming and pedestrian safety, prioritized bus infrastructure, bike/scooter lanes, or the Red Line, I'm the candidate to make our streets more livable and help end Baltimore's car-dependence, which is why I am the only council district challenger to receive Bikemore's endorsement over an incumbent.
Public safety. If you want people to stay in their neighborhood, they have to feel safe, and about half of the 11th District's neighborhoods hit all-time highs in violent crime over the last two years, despite city-wide numbers trending down. We need whole government, whole community solutions to public safety: addressing the truancy crisis, ending concentrated poverty, getting more cameras in key spots to solve crime, and enforcing the citation docket.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

While I am probably most familiar with land use and transportation reform ideas, I am also very interested in initiatives to support our youth - strengthening our after-school and sports programs, improving vocational training and apprenticeship programs.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

1. The Second Mountain, by David Brooks

2. Poverty By America, by Matthew Desmond

The first goes in-depth on how we can develop stronger neighborhoods and communities by leading the investment in them. The second discusses how our status quo political system makes life worse for poor Americans. Both are extremely applicable for the type of councilmember I want to be.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

1. The ability to make people believe that the future of their city is worth investing in
2. The ability to pull together a wide assortment of key stakeholders to come up with unique solutions to complex problems.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Running for office right after leaving the Marine Corps, with a toddler, and while my wife is a medical student, has been challenging. I have thoroughly enjoyed the campaign process, but it has definitely been a grind.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

VoteVets, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Bikemore, Jews United For Justice, Progressive Maryland, New Politics, Ashley Esposito (elected school board member), the Maryland Child Alliance

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I'm publicly financed - which means I'll never accept more than $150 from anyone. I am unequivocally in support of a strong Baltimore City Inspector General's office, and I helped draft the charter amendment that would end gerrymandering in Baltimore by introducing independent redistricting.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

External links

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Candidate

Baltimore City Council District 11

Officeholder

Baltimore City Council District 11

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 19, 2024

Political offices
Preceded by Eric Costello (D)	Baltimore City Council District 11 2024-Present	Succeeded by -

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 19, 2024

[1]

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Zac Blanchard

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Baltimore City Council District 11

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Baltimore City Council District 11

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

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Additional analysis

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