The Prince George’s County Council unanimously elected vice chair and District 7 council member Krystal Oriadha as its chair for the 2026 legislative year during a meeting Tuesday.

District 3 council member and College Park resident Eric Olson was also unanimously elected as vice chair for the upcoming legislative year at the meeting.

Oriadha succeeds District 8 council member Edward Burroughs III, who became the council’s youngest-ever chair at age 32 when he was elected in March. That vote came after the council failed to elect a new chair after multiple rounds of voting in December 2024, The Diamondback previously reported.

Each council chair sets a theme for their term, and Oriadha said hers is “prototype for what is possible.”

“Local governments often operate in a reactive posture, responding to the crisis instead of preventing them, adjusting to problems instead of solving them,” she said.

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Oriadha was first elected to the council in November 2022. She co-founded PG ChangeMakers, a grassroots organization launched in 2020 that focuses on racial injustice issues.

Olson previously served on the College Park City Council from 1997 to 2006. He was first elected to the county council in 2006 and served until 2014, including two years as vice chair. He returned to the council after winning the 2022 general election.

Oriadha said the theme for her term involves transforming the status quo.

“Prince George’s County will lead by example and shift forward from reactionary to proactive,” she said.

Affordable child care will be one focus of that shift, Oriadha said.

The council will launch a first-of-its-kind countywide child care asset mapping and expansion initiative this year. Oriadha said the effort will identify where new childcare centers are needed and support providers in expanding capacity.

The council will also work with school board leaders to design a pilot universal after-care model to provide families with predictable and high-quality child care every afternoon, she said.

Oriadha said she is also prioritizing constituent input in her upcoming term. She will ask the council to launch a series of community conversations across the county and roll out a priority survey for all residents, she said.

“This listening tour and survey will guide our agenda and keep us grounded in a simple truth: effective government begins with listening,” she said.

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Burroughs said he nominated Oriadha for chair because he thinks she is well-prepared for the role.

“I don’t think that there’s anything you can not do, and I think you’ve been an extremely influential and successful vice chair,” he said to Oriadha at Tuesday’s meeting.

District 6 council member Wala Blegay also expressed support, saying Oriadha is committed and passionate about fighting for her community.

Numerous council members described Olson as kind and dependable when explaining their vote for him.

Oriadha said Olson’s legislation seems to receive the most unanimous support, and she looks forward to working alongside him.

“I feel like the dynamic between myself and you will be one that I think hopefully echoes what started with chair Burroughs and myself,” she said.