It was a sunny morning after a contentious vote and David Yungmann felt a twinge of remorse.

The Republican serving on Howard County Council wondered if he was too harsh when, a night earlier, he scolded members of the public for blasting two Democrats who sided with him.

“They’re all my friends,” Yungmann said of his four liberal counterparts, adding that he felt more like a brother defending a sibling than the lone conservative holding public office in Maryland’s wealthiest county.

Yungmann believes animosity won’t accomplish much in a jurisdiction where Democrats far outnumber Republicans and more than 68% of the county voted for Kamala Harris in the November 2024 election, despite the apparent nationwide swing rightward that propelled President Donald Trump back into office.

“I’m probably more conservative than I show here, but it isn’t going to get me what I need for my district,” he said. “I need two votes.”

Yet the councilman’s status as a political outlier representing western Howard’s District 5 is remarkably powerful. Any divide between Howard County Council’s four Democrats positions Yungmann as the tie-breaking vote.

After seven years in office, the councilman said he’s ready to step back from public life and refocus on his real estate career. He ran for office in 2018 on a platform as a fiscal conservative and local business owner with kids enrolled in the Howard County Public School System.

Yungmann does not plan to run for re-election in 2026, leaving the door open for someone new to inherit the consequential seat representing Howard County’s conservative western reaches. Whoever voters tap will help shape county government and school system budgets, major development projects and public policy.

It’s possible the next Republican on the council will more stridently reflect the nation’s growing political divide than Yungmann’s more conciliatory approach.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball has worked alongside several Republicans who held the District 5 seat over the years. Ball and Yungmann reached across party lines to carry out multiple agricultural initiatives for the county.

Ball said he’s most proud of their efforts to establish the county’s first Office of Agriculture, reopen the county’s agricultural land preservation program and distribute drought relief grants to farmers.

“While we didn’t always agree on everything, David has been a reasonable, yet staunch advocate for our community, and it’s been an honor to serve with him,” Ball said in a statement.

The opening comes at a critical time for Howard County, where elected leaders this month stood up for resources for federal workers who lost their jobs as the Trump administration scales back the size of the government. The state is also in the midst of a budget shortfall that could impact jurisdictions.

What’s good for the government, Yungmann said, is going to be hard for Maryland and Howard County, where an estimated 50,000 federal workers live.

Yungmann wants a Republican to retain the District 5 seat, even as the edges of his district tinge purple. He sees himself as a check and balance on single-party government in the county.

“If Republicans had total control of government, we’d screw up too,” Yungmann said.

When it comes to local government, most people just want safe communities, good schools and a low cost of living, he said. Still, the issues facing District 5 are different from those in the rest of the county.

Yungmann wants to see candidates step up who are committed to protecting an agricultural way of life in the county’s “rural west,” which accounts for about half of the jurisdiction’s total land area.

District 5 is home to several hundred farms but has become attractive in recent years to suburbanites seeking more space within commuting distance of Baltimore or Washington, D.C. Large housing developments are creeping onto former farmland, making it easy to spot modern McMansions tucked between the bucolic fields.

The dynamic means there isn’t always consensus on local issues like land use, population density, infrastructure and zoning.

Howard County Farm Bureau President Leslie Bauer said neighbors in District 5 want to enjoy the views of her farm, but don’t think about the smells, sights and sounds that come with it.

Some residents have opposed farmers’ efforts to lease land to solar energy companies or erect cell phone towers, Bauer said. Others have taken issue with their measures protecting crops from deer and, lately, coyotes.

“Every time we shoot a gun,” Bauer said, an angry neighbor calls her.

A big part of Yungmann’s job is helping to smooth out such neighbor disputes when he can. Some conflicts have surprised him.

Community members pushed back hard against plans to build a second gas station at an intersection in the town of Lisbon, just off Interstate 70, he said.

The site was located at a “commercial crossroads,” or a cluster of businesses situated where roadways intersect. Since public water and sewer systems don’t stretch into the district, businesses often face limits on what they can do with the land. Too many restaurants, for example, might exceed a septic system’s capacity.

Yungmann thought more competition would lower gas prices for consumers, but some residents were dead set against it.

That’s OK, he said with a shrug. He’s comfortable not winning every disagreement after seven years on County Council.

Even when Yungmann can’t convince two Democrats to vote with him, his presence on the council is a reminder not to forget the rural west.

“It’s important to explain the impact to people,” he said.