Cory Sanders was going door-to-door campaigning for the upcoming College Park City Council elections when his father called. It went to voicemail.
Later that night, Sanders, who is running for a contested District 1 seat, sat down to prepare his talking points for the Oct. 8 District 1 candidate forum, aiming to tailor them to the issues residents brought up after he rang their doorbells.
It was then that he listened to the message, which informed him that his father’s prostate cancer had returned and was spreading.
While the other two candidates, Christine Nagle and Fazlul Kabir, discussed their visions for College Park during the forum, Sanders flew home to Montgomery, Alabama, to see his dad, who was first diagnosed and treated for the disease in 1999.
READ MORE: District forum focus on amenities rather than development
“The campaign was on my mind, and I had residents reach out to me saying they wished I had been there,” the 34-year-old said. “But when you’re having a conversation like I had with my father, it really puts things in perspective. You have to think about family and put other things aside for just a second.”
It was Sanders’ father, after all, who encouraged him to run in the first place.
“When I got to College Park, I called him and said, ‘Listen, there’s a lot of issues here,’” Sanders said. “And he said, ‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’ He said that if there’s something wrong in the city, change it.”
Sanders sees a variety of issues in District 1. Property taxes are too high, he said, and there need to be more sidewalks, more family-friendly businesses and more open conversations with this university.
“Let’s get everyone at the table to revisit the partnership,” he said. “I would like to see, before the university makes decisions about purchases in the city, for them to reach out more to residents. Residents should know what’s going on.”
Sanders, who serves on the city’s Aging-in-Place Task Force, also plans to forge a connection between the city and university populations in other ways. He wants to start a program in which students at this university volunteer to do yardwork for senior citizens.
Sanders, founder of video-telecommunications company Sandtech and president of the Camden College Park Neighborhood Association, is running against District 1 incumbent Kabir and Nagle, who served on the City Council from 2009 to 2011. Sanders said he realizes he is the “new guy in town,” which his dad told him to embrace during his recent visit home.
“He encouraged me to show residents my platform and policies, and if they think those are what’s best for their city, ask for their votes,” Sanders said. “He said to be true and honest to yourself and get to know everybody. That way you know all the issues and can try to help everybody.”
Heeding his father’s advice, Sanders knocks on about 30 doors every day, meaning his four-day trip home set him back about 120 houses. Since he’s been back, he’s resumed his routine.
“In District 1, there are so many people who have reached out to me to ask if there was anything they could do for me, so that helps a lot,” he said. “While I was knocking on doors, one resident came out and gave me a hug.”
Mayoral candidate and District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn said Sanders offers a unique viewpoint that could be useful on the council.
“Some of the things he brings are energy, youth and a fresh face,” Wojahn said. “It’s always good to get a new perspective. … He’s been really engaged. When there were several problems with crime and security at Camden, where he lives, he really brought the residents together to respond to that and to push the Camden management and the city to get involved.”
READ MORE: College Park Mayor Andy Fellows endorses Patrick Wojahn as successor
In a six-month period spanning last year and this year, there were at least 12 break-ins and one homicide in the Camden College Park apartments. Sanders responded by forming a neighborhood watch group — the first such orgnaization for a College Park apartment completx — which will start up in about three weeks, he said.
Ed Henderson, a Camden resident, said Sanders acted as an advocate when the building’s management wasn’t as helpful during the crime spree as Henderson would’ve liked.
“He was instrumental in communicating information to us, pooling together our concerns and then presenting a unified front to corporate,” the 38-year-old said. “In any form of government, you’re going to need someone who is going to hear the voices of the people and then be able to provide solutions and really initiate change within a situation. He’s shown that ability here, and he’d be able to do that for all of College Park.”
READ MORE: Break-ins and a body
Kabir, who is not endorsing either candidate for the second district seat, said he is glad Sanders is running and providing residents with another option. Every district in College Park is contested this year, making it one of the most competitive elections in decades.
Though the election isn’t until Nov. 3, Sanders said he has a plan for what he would do with the $7,000 salary that comes with being a City Council member.
“Public service is something that should come from the heart, so something I’ve always talked about is donating my city salary towards various organizations,” he said. “I’ve thought about [creating] the College Park Cancer Foundation.”
