"Just because someone else has a different stance, you are required to work with them," he said. "That is your job." Board members echoed Dyer's sentiments.
"All of Allen's actions are to improve communication with the public," Giles said. "I would hope when we are all together we should be able to do that cooperatively."
Board Chairman Frank Aquino, who ran in two previous board elections with Dyer, sees a typical transition for a new member.
"I don't expect any issues with Allen that we would expect from any other new board member," Aquino said. "He will do his best to represent the community."
Dyer pledged that he won't rubber stamp every decision just to go along with the rest of the board.
"We'll have disagreements," he said. "I hope to shake things up a little bit. I expect to be a voice of dissent periodically. I don't have to have everything go my way."
Dyer attributed his election victory to stepping up his campaigning, compared with his previous races. This time, Dyer said, he worked closely with a dedicated group of volunteers. He also did a TV commercial for the first time.
"I had a lot of people who were working with me," he said. "I had a lot of people telling me what I was doing wrong."
Dyer enlisted the advice of several political figures in the county, including Del. Elizabeth Bobo and Ken Stevens, a member of Democracy for Howard County, which is affiliated with Democracy for America, the grass-roots organization that was formed from Howard Dean's presidential campaign in 2004.
"They were very supportive," he said. "It was all these little things coming from people."
Democracy for Howard County approached Dyer a couple of months ago about passing out literature containing information about other candidates' stances on issues, he said. The group endorsed Dyer and helped with his campaign.
"I jumped at the chance," he said.
Dyer may get a warm enough welcome from the board, but one former candidate is not so favorably disposed toward him. Diane Butler, who finished fourth in the race, said information in the campaign literature distributed by Dyer was taken out of context and cost her the election. Dyer has said that the language in the literature was taken verbatim from Butler's answer to a candidate survey distributed this year.
allen dyer
Age: 61
Place of Birth: Tacoma, Wash.
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Graduated from Lincoln High School in Seattle, Wash., in 1964; the Air Force Academy in 1968; the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976
Family: Married to wife Tamara since 1968; two children: Abe, 27, and Ann Marie, 23.
