A student could serve on the city council as early as January – he’s just neither a student nor a councilman yet.
Jon Molinatto has applied to the university’s graduate electrical engineering program and is emphasizing city-university relations as he runs for city council in District 1.
A 26-year-old federal government mathematician, Molinatto stressed he is not a student candidate because he is not enrolled at the university, but he said he could start at the university as early as the spring semester if he’s accepted.
As the only district in the city that doesn’t include the university and the region with the lowest student population, District 1 is an unlikely home for a student candidate, but if Molinatto wins, he could be the first in the city’s history.
He is one of four candidates running for two open seats in a race that pits him against a disability rights lawyer, a former citizens association president and a 30-year resident who lost in the last District 1 race.
Graduate Student Government President Laura Moore said she’d support a student candidate, but having never met Molinatto, she said, she didn’t know enough about him to endorse him.
“I think that would be fantastic for the university and for the city council,” she said, adding that she believes he’d give students a stronger voice in city affairs.
No matter who wins, it’ll mark a shift in the district, after both its incumbent candidates declined to run again.
The candidates agree that the residents of their district situated in North College Park face many distinct issues that the city’s downtown hub does not. There has been an influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants into the district’s neighborhoods, and many residents say they feel neglected by the city council.
“People in this area are fed up with the city and the council,” said an emotional resident at a North College Park Citizens Association meeting this month. “So many people are saying, ‘I’m getting out. I’m fed up.'”
Like Molinatto, 32-year-old lawyer Patrick Wojahn only recently moved to the city and has had limited experience in municipal politics, but he said his experience holding city officials accountable in defending the disabled in Washington would compensate.
He’s sat on the boards of various civil rights organizations, including one which recently sued the state for same-sex marriage rights, and he said he shared a vision for the city with Molinatto.
“Both of us are young and energetic, concerned with environmental issues, but also with helping the community,” he said.
But their youth contrasts with the age and experience of Larry Bleau, a 53-year-old IT professional, and Bill Flanigen, a retired technical writer for the Treasury Department.
Of the four candidates, Bleau has the most experience in city affairs. A regular at Tuesday council meetings who has previously served as the president of the North College Park Citizens Association, Bleau said his ability to work with the other members of the council and his knowledge of the issues separate him from the pack.
He has also served on the Advisory Planning Commission and a Route 1 reconstruction focus group, among other committees.
“I know and can work with the players in the area where the city must operate,” Bleau said in an e-mail message.
Flanigen, 73, runs on his campaign with a goal of maintaining the “family-friendly” character of North College Park. His vision of the future of District 1 includes single family homes on quarter acre lots, something he admits is a “pipe dream.”
Flanigen, who ruffled feathers at a citizens association meeting when he said he would bring “surliness” to the city council, also restlessly emphasizes his three campaign promises: He’ll listen, he’ll be honest and he’ll admit it when he’s uninformed.
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