City Councilman Patrick Wojahn has announced he will be running for mayor in the upcoming election.
As College Park faces one of its most competitive mayoral races in decades, its current mayor has endorsed District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn for the seat.
City Mayor Andy Fellows said while most mayoral candidates hail from the Calvert Hills neighborhood or College Park Estates — the neighborhood in which Fellows resides — Wojahn is from northern College Park, which could advance the council’s goal of collaborating with the university and county.
“In terms of the goal of one College Park, it’s a statement for voters if we go for Patrick Wojahn, because it’s for the good of all College Park,” Fellows said. “He lives in and has represented the northern part of College Park since 2007.”
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The two candidates this year, District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn and District 4 Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell, have served on the College Park City Council since 2007 and 2009, respectively. Before the 2013 election, when middle school teacher Robert McCeney challenged incumbent Mayor Andy Fellows, the last contested mayoral race was in 1989.
Though Mitchell has been mayor pro tem since 2011, Wojahn said his accomplishments as a councilman, such as starting College Park Day, forming the College Park Community Foundation and forming the Neighborhood Quality of Life Committtee, give him an advantage.
“The reason I’ve been supporting Wojahn is because he has a little more experience on the council,” Fellows said. “His accomplishments speak well to his leadership skills.”
Wojahn said his top priorities as mayor would include increasing diversity in residential neighborhoods, which would improve relations among neighbors.
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“I want to focus on working with the university to bring in those young professionals who can live in our city, in the city of College Park and frequent our downtown businesses,” Wojahn said. “That will help create a balance — it can help promote a more diverse range of businesses and a better harmony in our residential neighborhoods.”
Mitchell said she wants to improve the transparency of the city’s affairs, in hopes of increasing student involvement.
“I want to make sure we have a leadership that reaches out to students and in turn makes sure they know what the city of College Park is about,” Mitchell said. “Residents citywide need to know what’s going on.”
Recent collaboration among the city, university and county, such as the Interfraternity Council tailgate, make this election a crucial time for the city to choose the right leadership, Wojahn said.
“We have a lot of opportunities, so we need somebody at the helm able to collaborate well with the university and other stakeholders,” Wojahn said. “We’re on the verge of developing our downtown and a new level of partnership with the university. If we steer it in the right direction, it could benefit long-term residents and students.”
Though Wojahn is “a better candidate,” Fellows said, both candidates would serve the city well.
“The choice for voters is between two quality candidates,” Fellows said. “It’s very clear that those on the council have moved in the same direction, which is strengthening the relationship between the city, the university and the county.”
The candidates’ experience makes this the first time in years the city has two serious candidates competing for the top leadership position, said Ryan Belcher, a 2015 university alumnus and candidate for a District 3 spot on the City Council.
“Now you have two council members running for the same post,” Belcher said. “It gets people excited.”
Elections will be held Nov. 3, and voters must be registered by Oct. 6.
