Kevin Kamenetz
In 2010, during his first campaign for Baltimore County Executive, Kevin Kamenetz said something about Sparrows Point that seemed politically risky at the time: Maybe it’s time to think about a future beyond steel production.
His words seemed prescient two years later when, after cycling through five owners in a decade, the steel mill closed, putting 2,200 men and women out of work. At that time, most of Maryland’s political leaders promised that they would work to find a new steel company to take over production – although, in retrospect, that outcome was not possible.
County Executive Kamenetz had the foresight and courage to say something different. He said, the steel mill isn’t coming back, but let’s figure out how to bring new jobs to Sparrows Point.
This wasn’t an easy leap for many people to make. For generations, Sparrows Point represented the power of American industry. But by 2012, much of the 3,100-acre former Bethlehem Steel steel mill laid in ruins. The huge waterfront site where 30,000 men and women once reported to work daily was a polluted ghost town.
