During the course of 13 hours tomorrow, Prince George’s County could be on its way to the most dramatic political shift in recent memory. This is an area clamoring for change – students have long complained about the Route 1 corridor, the crime rate, the less-than-desirable amenities in retail and restaurants – and it seems residents have had enough as well.
Locally, we’re seeing an increasingly active electorate who are pushing harder on development issues, demanding better schools and are increasingly incensed by the explosion of brazen crime that engulfed the region last year.
They have good reason to expect better: The county is home to the most affluent black population in the nation, is situated on the border of the nation’s capital and is finally attracting the type of high-end development it has sought for years.
So as the district where the university lies is charged with replacing two outgoing incumbents – one state delegate and one county councilman – they also have the option of electing some fresh faces to replace some incumbents.
Whoever is replaced, re-elected or newly chosen, the stakes are particularly high for students. Beyond the usual positions taken by current and former Student Government Association leaders that students should vote because higher education funding is at stake, quality of life beyond graduation should be a factor that drives students to the polls as well.
Many students who choose to receive their college education here end up staying in the area to look for a job. Everyone wants a job out of college, and public officials often take initiatives to boost job creation. Housing prices are often unaffordable for recent graduates, especially for people who want to live near work. That’s been a major issue on many candidates’ platforms.
But how much will students be able to hold politicians accountable for promises once elected? That will depend on how many of them turn out to vote, said Sen. John Giannetti’s campaign manager, David Singer.
By turning out to vote for even one favorite candidate this year, students could help swing the election in ways never seen before. The County Executive’s race has suddenly turned into a fierce fight for incumbent Jack Johnson. Candidate and former Del. Rushern Baker was recently seen on local news chasing Johnson across a plaza demanding a debate.
Even College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman said a “veiled threat was made several months ago” when Johnson’s chief of staff told him the city would have trouble getting municipal priorities passed at the county level if he didn’t sign off on an endorsement, highlighting how tightly the race could be fought.
Brayman subsequently endorsed Baker.
City councilman Eric Olson, running for the District 3 seat on the council, would have great sway over development issues and has declared his commitment to rebuilding communities chipped away by neglect and crime. But if elected, he would join a county council that has formed a veto-proof voting bloc against Johnson on some issues, actions Johnson supporters have attempted to thwart by trying to add additional seats to the council.
On the state level, Giannetti has frequently complained of an uncooperative District 21 delegation who, if they would just get along with Johnson, he said, would get priorities like rebuilding Route 1 approved.
Challenger Jim Rosapepe, who teamed with the two incumbent delegates to form a slate this year, has spoken of a need for the delegation to vote as a bloc and stop the infighting.
And at the student level, Brayman and Singer, along with a slew of others in the political know, have said if students could get things together this year and turn out even a few hundred strong this primary year, the political scales would probably tilt in favor of the student decision.
It wouldn’t necessarily stop the political bickering, but it would certainly refocus officials’ priorities toward issues that students have lacked representation on for years.
Kevin Litten is The Diamondback’s news editor. He can be reached at littendbk@gmail.com.
