Anxieties are growing inside the Prince George’s County government just months into County Executive Aisha Braveboy’s tenure. While campaign rhetoric promised bold reform, transparency, and efficient leadership, the reality unfolding at the County Administration Building is something altogether different, and alarmingly familiar.
One longtime county employee described the atmosphere this way:
> “She came in like a wrecking ball. Aisha demanded resignations from all the county attorneys, then walked it back days later. People were in tears. They had no idea if they’d have a job next week. In this economy, with federal jobs being cut and inflation still pinching, that kind of leadership feels reckless.”
The employee, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, wasn’t done:
“Now she’s yanking telework from the very workers who kept the county running during the worst of COVID. There’s an assumption that people aren’t working. But that’s based on a few bad apples, not the majority. It’s demoralizing. It’s an insult.”
Braveboy’s push to end telework was confirmed in her June 12 interview with WJLA, where she emphasized bringing employees back to physical offices. But the rollout has reportedly lacked grace, compounding tension in an already fragile economic moment. The latest jobs report shows Prince George’s County lagging behind Montgomery, Howard, and even parts of Baltimore in job recovery. For many government workers, Braveboy’s changes aren’t just administrative, they’re existential.
Revolving Doors and Old Ghosts
Perhaps even more concerning than the policy shifts are the names Braveboy is bringing back into county government.
Foremost among them: Leslie Johnson, the wife of disgraced former County Executive Jack B. Johnson Leslie pleaded guilty in 2011 to destroying evidence in her husband’s wide-ranging federal corruption case. At the time, FBI agents caught her stuffing nearly $80,000 in cash into her bra and flushing checks down the toilet. She later served time in federal prison.
Now, Leslie Johnson is back on the county payroll, running reentry services.
Even more troubling is Braveboy’s decision to appoint a **former deputy CAO from the Jack Johnson era** to a key leadership position. Sources inside the administration say the new deputy was “closely and intimately” involved with Jack’s operations back when bribery and favoritism were rampant. Some believe Braveboy is quietly building a team of loyalists with deep ties to the old machine—a machine that brought Prince George’s County its most notorious corruption scandal in history.
As one government insider put it:
> “A lot of us are wondering who’s really calling the shots. It’s starting to look like Jack Johnson is back—just behind the curtain, pulling strings. And Braveboy? She’s the sock puppet.”
The Cost of Arrogance
Braveboy’s defenders say she is simply demanding accountability, efficiency, and professionalism. But the execution has been uneven at best, and cruel at worst. Firing people without a transition plan. Making sweeping judgments about telework without evaluating performance data. Bringing back figures from one of the darkest chapters in county history.
The result is a growing perception that Braveboy is more interested in consolidating power and rewarding allies than building trust or governing wisely.
And there’s a political cost to that.
As the anonymous employee noted:
> “Does she realize that the same people she’s firing, sidelining, and insulting are the ones who vote next year?”
Prince George’s County voters haven’t forgotten the Jack Johnson scandal. And while Braveboy may believe that proximity to power is strength, she might soon learn that bringing back ghosts from the past is no way to build a future.
If you have information about government activity in Prince George’s County or want to share your experience confidentially, you can email us at Barry.OConnell@Yahoo.com
I think that I am m going to run for office. Can’t be any worse than any of the past few administrations.
Every agency especially housing agencies and all of its affiliates sdat, land records court clerks judges HUD CCOC HOA Attorney associated with these agencies mand more need to be investigated ASAP. Corruption at its finest. Condominiums used as a money laundering business amd embezzlement.