Incumbent Robert Day and 2015 University of Maryland alumnus Ryan Belcher are endorsing each other for the two District 3 City Council seats.

“A lot of people admire a long-term resident who has done a lot of work for the city and someone who is a recent graduate running together,” Belcher said.  “People are liking that what is often perceived as two divided groups are actually working together.”

The two spent Sunday morning going door-to-door in Calvert Hills and the afternoon campaigning in Old Town. They spoke at 10 fraternity and sorority chapter meetings last Monday and hope to visit at least 10 more this Monday, the day before the election.

READ MORE: Meet the Candidates: College Park Edition

“This way, we get name recognition, and we want everyone who votes for one of us to vote for the other,” Belcher said. “If we go to every chapter meeting at UMD, we’d be able to touch base with like 3,500 students, many who live in District 3.”

Belcher was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity while at the University of Maryland, which Day said has helped their campaign when reaching out to students in Greek life.

READ MORE: Six College Park City Council candidates have UMD connections

“It’s like you get brought in by one of their own and that means they’re going to take the time to speak to you,” Day said. “It’s not just another politician knocking on their door.”

Jessica Richards, the president of the Alpha Phi sorority, said it was helpful to have the two candidates speak to the chapter. Day and Belcher are the only candidates to have reached out to her, she said. 

“I have never really been big into politics, and I know a lot of the girls aren’t either, but I know how important it is for us to be involved in College Park decisions,” said the junior marketing major. “I respect the fact that they’re going out of their way to give the students a voice. They make us feel like we’re part of the community.”

Belcher is Facebook messaging registered voters to remind them to vote for him and Day on Tuesday.

The two decided to run together after finding they were “working on the same issues with the same point of view,” Day said. 

They hope to address noise problems and quality of life issues, work on encouraging more faculty and graduate students to live in College Park and ensure access to affordable housing.

READ MORE: College Park continues to struggle to control noise in Old Town

Day said he has worked constantly to include students’ voices during his time on the council, which he said would be easier with Belcher as his counterpart. 

“He understands where I’m coming from when it comes to working with students and talking to them,” Day said. “They need to be included in everything we do. They need to be treated like young men and women trying to make a difference, not someone who is an ‘issue’ every time you bring them up.”

Day and Belcher are running in the most highly contested district, with five candidates running for two spots. They’re up against John Rigg, Robert McCeney and incumbent Stephanie Stullich. 

READ MORE: Robert Day, Stephanie Stullich face challengers in District 3 debate

During the last election, Day made a point of running independently from both Stullich and Matthew Popkin, a then-university graduate student. 

“My point of view was that I was running by myself because I didn’t necessarily agree with everything being done by either candidate,” he said. “This time I think I needed to pick a side. I wanted to reach out to everybody.”

Incumbent District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich said it is up to candidates to decide who they want to run with. 

“I’m just focused on my own campaign,” she said. 

Belcher said he’s always admired Day, who has been “the strongest advocate for a unified district.” The two worked together on projects like implementing on-campus tailgates when Belcher served on the Student Government Association.

 “It makes it easy when you’re addressing student issues,” Day said, “to have someone like Ryan work with you.”