Prince George’s County Council member Krystal Oriadha has always been one of the council’s most active members, especially when it comes to introducing legislation, with Oriadha typically introducing more bills than anyone else. She admits she might be introducing fewer bills in 2026, though, now that she’s been elected the new chair of the county council.
Oriadha, who spent most of 2025 as vice chair, told a packed council chambers on Tuesday that her theme for the 2026 session will be a “prototype for what is possible.”
“It’s a declaration. A prototype is intentional. It’s bold. It is the first step in designing something greater than what currently exists,” Oriadha said. “Across the country, local governments often operate in a reactive posture, responding to the crisis instead of preventing them, adjusting to problems instead of solving them. This year, Prince George’s County will lead by example and shift forward from reactionary to proactive.”
Oriadha, who has a 2-year-old son, then declared that efforts to make child care more affordable around the county would be among her top priorities as the new council chair.
“For years, families across the county have struggled with child care costs that rival mortgage payments and with wait lists so long that parents must plan months and years in advance,” Oriadha said. “Entire neighborhoods in Prince George’s County are considered child care deserts, and this affects everything. This affects workforce participation, family stability, early childhood development and economic mobility.”
After the meeting wrapped up, Oriadha said helping families access and afford child care would mean more economic and educational opportunities for families, noting it would create more small businesses, too.
“There’s the business development of child care, the professional development of child care,” she said. “We don’t have enough small businesses that operate as child care, so that’s an opportunity to create entrepreneurs and create businesses.”
In the short term, her plan calls on the county to map out where child care assets and resources are, and where more might be needed. In the long term, she plans to work with the county school system to develop what would eventually be a universal child care program
“They have it at a small scale now,” Oriadha said. “They have the infrastructure. They have the buildings. They have staff pool.”
Oriadha called it “foundational change” during her first speech as chair.
Her first three years in office have been marked by several ambitious pieces of legislation, some of which the county has struggled to come up with the funds for. And with the county in the red to the tune of well over $100 million next year, it’s something that will also need to be considered.
“That’s one of the reasons why we need to start with asset mapping to understand what it currently looks like,” she said. “That’s another reason why we need to start with the pilot model, leveraging the infrastructure we already have. It’s definitely not tomorrow we can pass universal care.”
Still, she believes the investment now will pay off for the county in the long term.
“It is the first step toward something our nation talks about but rarely invests in,” Oriadha said in her speech. “Prince George’s County will show it is possible when local governments stop asking whether we can afford to support our families and instead ask, ‘What will it cost us if we don’t?’”
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