WASHINGTON POST: After a year of division over priorities pushed by a new liberal majority, the Prince George’s County Council is heading into a second term in a big year for county politics.
County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) is locked in a competitive U.S. Senate race. Should she prevail, the county’s top job will open up — presenting an opportunity that’s likely to generate interest from other county leaders, including members of the council.
Eight of 11 council members shared thoughts with The Washington Post about 2023 and what they want to tackle next. They head into 2024 facing a tight budget and increasing needs. At-large council members Mel Franklin and Calvin Hawkins and Ingrid , District 4, did not return interview requests.
District 1, Thomas E. Dernoga
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Proud of: CB-2 (site-specific text amendments) and CB-3 (master plan consistency as a standard for site plan review and approval).Would revisit: CR-83-2023, which focused growth to targeted areas. The point was to start a conversation and see how far we can advance a policy that aligns growth with our comprehensive planning.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
Making the public feel welcome and engaged. We had a number of successful town hall meetings. We brought back pre-session opportunities to address the council. And we made more outreach efforts to encourage the public to come testify on bills and resolutions.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
As one of the leaders of what we called “the people’s council,” I consider it a personal failure to have been unable to find more common ground with the minority faction on the Council. I could have done better.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
That really should be driven by the new chair. I expect that we have unfinished business, such as zoning for cannabis shops, forest conservation law update, 10-year solid waste plan update, clarifications to the new zoning ordinance, and hanging over everything will be the budget.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
I will continue to advocate for High Point High School reconstruction, a replacement fire station in South Laurel and relocation of the Division VI police station in Beltsville.
District 2, Wanika Fisher
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Most proud of: the Climate Action Plan, which aims for the county to halve its climate emissions by 2030. Would revisit: CB 101-2023 to modernize our department of inspection and enforcement to do more virtual tickets. … I think making sure we virtualize our process is important.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
Passing the budget is any council’s biggest accomplishment. … Nothing happens without the money.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
I think people not collaborating and I think blunders about communicating to the public what we are doing. You see that with the zoning legislation (about) cannabis businesses that did not pass. The entire conversation was about legalization and the bill had nothing to do with legalization.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
I think public safety will be huge. The DMV, to me, is grappling with issues around juvenile crime. Transportation safety, pedestrian safetyand walkability are going to be huge. I think helping seniors to age in place, the cost of living and how seniors are going to manage in the county are going to be huge.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
Modernizing DPIE (the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement), cleaning up our community, serving our immigrant community … making sure everything with the Purple Line is going smoothly. Sometimes being a council member isn’t just passing a magical bill. It’s keeping people accountable. It’s having hearings because there might be issues.
District 3, Eric C. Olson
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
I’m most proud of the Walkable Urban Streets Act, which will make our streets safer for all users, especially pedestrians and cyclists. It places best practices in urban street design into the county road standards. … Types of improvements include reducing distances for pedestrians to cross streets, narrowing lane widths, adding off-street bike accommodations, creating sharper turns so that vehicles need to stop and look before turning at an intersection, and other measures.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
Among our first actions, we repealed measures that would have undermined the countywide zoning ordinance and the public process that established it.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
I wouldn’t call it a failure, just something that is in progress and not completed yet. I started the process to establish a noise enforcement program through the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement. We have made good progress, but we do not yet have a fully operational program with a dedicated noise enforcement hotline.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
We are likely facing a tight budget this year that may include tough decisions. In addition, I am planning to focus on the following: affordable housing — the county has a real need for more affordable housing options, particularly near transit. Permitting, inspections and enforcement — we made progress in 2023 putting more resources into these areas, but we need to continue that progress and responsiveness. Crossing guards — it is unacceptable that we have over 80 vacancies countywide. Every school should have a full complement of crossing guards. Mental health — the council needs to build upon (work it has begun) to increase the services and the responsiveness for county residents and their families in need of mental health services.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
My ongoing work in District 3 includes addressing neighborhood quality-of-life issues of code enforcement, infrastructure and speeding; addressing storm water and flooding; connecting our communities with new trails and increasing pedestrian infrastructure; facilitating smart growth redevelopment around transit; addressingfood insecurity; and ensuring that Purple Line construction is done with as little disruption as possible.
District 5, Jolene Ivey, chair
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Most proud of: universal design, which requires developers who are building new homes to include features that make it possible for seniors to age in place, and anyone with a permanent or temporary disability to be able to more easily remain in their homes. These features will also make it possible for people to visit each other without the barriers that stairs or no first-floor bathroom creates. Would revisit: rent stabilization. We had to put in a stopgap measure to stop a few unscrupulous big landlords from dramatically and unethically increasing rents on some of our residents. Unfortunately, we had to use a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel. We have to come up with a plan that doesn’t penalize our good landlords … while at the same time protecting our renting residents from landlords who prioritize their profits over the public.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
There was a renewed commitment by the council to be transparent in its deliberations and to make a greater effort to hear the voices in the community. The commitment was to work to support families, increase opportunities for local minority businesses, to be bold on environmental and climate issues, and to pay closer attention to smart growth and the need for quality development.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
Occasionally, discussions on important issues didn’t start soon enough to help craft the strongest bills. It’s important to talk to people on every side of an issue, to the people who lead agencies affected by legislation, and to people in the community well before a bill is drafted.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
Our budget is facing a serious deficit, and a big driver of that is the mandate from the state that we continue to dramatically increase education spending. Everyone wants more money for schools, but that money has to come from somewhere. We need to work with our state legislators to rebalance and rethink education funding.
Our property taxes are already high, so we need to find innovative and effective ways to increase our understaffed police and fire departments, enhance our social services for those who need them, and to support our struggling families.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
Too many children walk to schools on unsafe routes. We need to add sidewalks on these streets, speed bumps on others and crossing guards to help at especially busy locations. Given our budgetary constraints, we’ll have to be creative in figuring out how to make sure our students arrive to school safely.
District 6, Wala Blegay
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Most proud of: CB-66, whichwill require security (cameras)at high-occupancy dwellings. There has been an increase in crime in apartments and age-restricted senior housing dwellings. While surveillance cameras will not completely prevent crime, they can serve as a tool to deter criminal activity. Would revisit: CB-52, an ordinance to temporarily pause for two years the development of townhouse and townhouse-related residential uses outside of areas designated for medium to high-density development in the county’s approved general plan and comprehensive plans. This bill did not pass the council this year.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
I proposed CB-46 in response to the rise in chronic illnesses and the county’s lack of healthy food options. … The bill requires the Prince George’s County government to provide incentives to businesses offering foods deemed “healthy” by the county health department’s Healthcare Action Coalition and a registered dietitian.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
I voted to legalize marijuana in Maryland but do not want marijuana products to be sold so close to our youth and vulnerable populations in my district. That is why I co-proposed CB-70. This bill would have kept new marijuana dispensaries away from residential areas and shopping centers and in industrial zones, so that they are away from our communities. This bill passed in the Committee of the Whole, but failed in the council session on Nov. 21.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
I will [be] working with my colleagues to introduce an environmental package of bills in 2024. … I am looking to co-author a bill with Thomas Dernoga of District 1 to require charging infrastructure and electric vehicle charging station “ready” spaces to support electric vehicle charging stations at newly constructed commercial retail developments and office buildings, and near multiunit dwellings in residential areas.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
In 2024, some of the issues I will be focusing on are: homeowners association legislation to address issues and conflicts, addressing affordable housing through land bank legislation and other such options, and programs and services that will help our senior community.
District 7, Krystal Oriadha
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there anything you want to revisit?
Most proud of: the temporary Rent Stabilization Act of 2023 (which set rent hike caps). I think it’s something I’m most proud of because there were so many people who were in immediate need who were suffering, and we were able to see the direct impact of that legislation instantly. Also, the guaranteed income pilot program. There’s a large conversation around federal and state together to look at guaranteed basic income … the more local jurisdictions that do this, the more likely we could see an influx of resources on a state and federal level. Would revisit:the cannabis zoning legislation. It’s our legislative duty to come up with our own regulations for this new industry. My goal is for us to pass something that all of us as a council can support.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
[Residents] feel the difference in the legislation that we’re moving, and they feel that the legislation, for the first time in a long time, represents directly the issues that they’re seeing in their community. It’s an attempt to actually prioritize all the things that people [campaign] to run things. … I think that’s something we can be proud of.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
For me, just as an individual legislator, I think it’s just that learning curve. Even though I have been a policy director for a council before, I’ve been in the community, there’s a difference when you’re sitting in the seat and truly understanding all of the things that you have at your fingertips to impact your community.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
Top priority for me is permanent rent stabilization. I think in managing the budget situation that we find ourselves with … thinking about how we create other revenue streams is going to be a priority for me. … I don’t believe in the notion that because we’re in a budget crisis, that means we cannot create new initiatives. I’ve always felt that the first thing you have to look at is, how do we spend the money we have?
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
The specific issues are just a continuation of the focus that I’ve had so far. We talk about food insecurity, the lack of nice and affordable housing in the district. I plan to continue to push for resources and better partnerships with the nonprofits in our district, making sure that the funding and the budget is equitably spent inside of the Beltway. The second thing is really focusing on these development projects that are coming into my district and making sure that I’m having early conversations about what these projects look like. Are they affordable and market rate? Because we need both.
District 8, Edward Burroughs III
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Most proud of: I’d pick a theme, the workers rights package (CB-33-2023, CB-4-2023) … then, the responsible contractors resolution and bill … basically, puts teeth to procurement requirements because before, you could be a contractor engaging in wage theft and there were no real penalties in place. … What I’m most proud of is our council and the issues that I’ve worked on have been worker rights issues and economic issues requiring the county to put project labor agreements in place to recruit, hire and train Prince Georgians to work on county jobs.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
I believe we have the needs of everyday Prince Georgians, first and foremost, in our legislation even when the business community or the industry or some sort of outside force with more power didn’t want it. I do think we kept our word this year on that agenda (especially with rent stabilization, workers rights and minority business legislation). We did so even when it wasn’t easy. … Every time we tried to do something, they told us the world would collapse. Rent stabilization? Oh! The world is going to collapse! PLAs (project labor agreements)? Oh! The world is going to collapse.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
I was deeply disturbed when the county executive vetoed the $250,000 for the emerging adults program in the state’s attorney’s office, which was proven to reduce crime. … There must be some issues that are greater than personal political agendas.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
Public safety and affordable housing. I want to make sure I fight for additional programming, youth programming and things of that nature. Park and Planning receive a lot of money and the return on investment for Prince Georgians is not there frankly.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
It’s going to be important that we continue to provide additional services, leveraging that local impact grant that allowed us to do free community college. I’m also going to be announcing a mental health initiative for the district, a senior program … all types of programs that will uplift the district.
District 9, Sydney Harrison, vice chair
What legislation are you most proud of, and is there any you want to revisit?
Proud of: Franklin, Hawkins and I worked on [banning] real estate appraisal bias. … There seemed to be appraisal bias that was happening in Prince George’s County where[real estate appraisers were] devaluing of the value of somebody’s home in Prince George’s County. [We put] proper measures in place to hold bad actors accountable now. [We’re] making sure that we send the message out to those people that seem to be … not creating the fair and equitable balance that protects people’s most prized investment in Prince George’s County.
What was the council’s greatest accomplishment this session?
Making sure that a procurement process is fair and equitable for local community-based businesses and minority businesses right here in Prince George’s County.
What missteps do you hope will not be repeated next session?
Our communication hasn’t always been great. We all represent a district. One of the greatest things this council is learning how to do is learning how to communicate with one another. With anything, everything takes time to grow. We’re a growing body right now trying to find solutions together. It doesn’t mean respect has been lost.
What should the council focus on in 2024?
Cost containment is critical. We’re spending from an empty well telling people we’re going to go find the water. It’s been an honor over the last year to work with each one of my colleagues, but my main focus is now making sure we do everything in our power to keep our Triple-A bond rating. … We have dire fiscal responsibilities that we have to attend to. That’s going to force us to work together even stronger.
What are some district-specific issues you plan to tackle?
Prince George’s ranks 24 out of 24 counties (in outpatient services). The prevention services haven’t been so readily available. … In my district, 1 out of 4 deaths is from a heart attack … (and we lead)the county in low birth weight babies. We have to do better … everyone deserves to have quality access to outpatient services.
