About the NBCDC

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In 2016, Paul Henderson was appalled by the results of the Presidential Election. Living in a semi-rural district himself, he knew that he was not alone in wondering how we, as a nation, had strayed so far from the values of democracy. In order to share ideas with like-minded people, Paul organized a meeting at the back room of The Greene Turtle in Hunt Valley, and advertised it as the first meeting of the North Baltimore County Democratic Club.

It says much for Paul's patience and belief in the values of democracy, that he showed up, for two months in a row, to an empty room. In the meantime, he continued spreading the word about his new club and urged friends to attend. Gradually, word of mouth paid off and a small group gathered every fourth Tuesday of the month in the back room of The Greene Turtle to give voice to the belief that politics aside, people fundamentally cared about the same things- human dignity, equity, and access for all. 

Our club has grown to include over 150 members from all over the North part of Baltimore County. Members are active in community advocacy, philanthropy, and politics from the county level to the state and national levels. We have hosted Q & A sessions with Attorney General Anthony Brown, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, and at the state level, Senator Shelly Hettleman, Delegates Michele Guyton, Cathi Forbes, Mary Washington, and more, as well as County leadership like County Executive Johnny O and Councilmen Patoka, Jones, Ertel etc. 

We are equally honored to host neighborhood advocacy groups to teach us and guide us about best practices, including NeighborSpace, Electrify Baltimore, Strong Towns Baltimore, and other great groups. Among our members, we are proud to count community activists, legislative advocates, elected officials, county, state, and federal employees and most importantly, citizens striving to make their communities better each day. 

While we operate on the beliefs fundamental to the Democratic Party, we do disagree on the methods, timeline, and urgency of various goals. However we pride ourselves on our civil discussions, neighborly spirit, and genuine empathy for each other. 

Recognizing that change comes in small steps, we also participate in a variety of community events like the Towsontowne Festival, Hereford Independence Day Parade, Cockeysville Fall Festival, National Night Out, and more. We also support community organizations like the Padonia International Elementary School, Hereford Food Bank, Student Support Network, NCR Trail Clean-up, and others by organizing donation drives, volunteering in person, hosting informational sessions etc.