Only two of College Park’s four districts will be competitive in November’s city council elections, leaving two of the city’s most heavily student-populated areas with resident candidates who will apparently coast to victory.
Four candidates, including three incumbents, will run unopposed in District 3 and District 4, which together encompass areas including downtown, the Knox Boxes, Fraternity Row and many of the North Campus dorms. Although students over the age of 21 are eligible to run in city elections, none withdrew documents required to declare candidacies, city documents show.
The relatively low interest among students and residents comes just nine months after two student candidates ran in a tightly contested and at times bitter special election in January held to replace two council members who were elected to higher office in November.
In District 4, which includes many of the North Campus dorms, Councilwomen Mary Cook and Karen Hampton will return to their seats on the council. In District 3, Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich will return to the seat she won in the special election, and former state delegate candidate Mark Cook will begin his first term as a city councilman. Cook is also the Yarrow Citizen’s Association President.
Both student candidates last year emerged from these two districts, which represent North Campus, and the Knox Boxes.
Alumnus David Daddio, a candidate for the District 3 special election seat in January, said the lack of a student candidate in this election only forecasts a similar trend for coming years. If a student candidate could not emerge amidst a Student Government Association voter turnout campaign aimed at increasing visibility in city politics, he said, it’s unlikely for a student to run in coming years.
“I felt like this election would have been the one,” Daddio said. “It was so fresh in people’s minds after the special election, you would have thought that one person out of the 35,000 would have run.”
The SGA has registered about 600 students this year, but SGA President Andrew Friedson said the organization did not plan to throw support behind a candidate.
At the very least, more registered student voters could impact the race in District 2, where Stacey Baca is challenging Mayor pro-tempore Bob Catlin and 20-year council veteran Jack Perry. The top two vote-getters will win the election under city rules.
Bacca, a stay-at-home realtor who said she decided to run because she hopes to address public education issues, said she will focus her campaign on change.
“My priorities are different than Jack and Bob’s,” she said. “Education is not one of their top three. As a realtor, I know that one of the big drivers of a neighbor is education and that people will fight tooth and nail for strong schools.”
In District 1, which covers most of North College Park and where relatively few students live, sitting councilmen David Milligan and John Krouse will not run for re-election. A four-way race in that district has emerged, with Lawrence Bleau, William Flanigen, Jonathan Molinatto and Patrick Wojahn competing for the district’s two seats.
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