Campaign Phone
240-416-3184
I have served District 3 and delivered results as a member of the County Council from 2006-2014 and again since 2022. I have always prioritized responsive constituent service, addressing neighborhood quality of life problems, and delivering quality redevelopment and transit-oriented development with community involvement. Making our communities more walkable and safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists is another area where I have had success. I have led the effort to build more trails, sidewalks, and to overhaul the county's urban street design to be safer for all users. I have also supported our most vulnerable residents and led the effort for strong environmental protections, particularly tree canopy and stormwater management.
We always must ensure that our school system is fully funded, and that our public safety agencies have adequate support. While education and public safety make up the majority of the budget, I have also prioritized support for social services, transportation and infrastructure (including streets, sidewalks, and stormwater), and protecting our environment.
I am a strong supporter of community involvement in decisions around land use. The public must be involved. We must follow smart growth principles by developing around our transit stations and in our existing urban areas rather than sprawling out into more rural areas, which only increases traffic and takes greater resources. The County must continue to improve by considering climate change in every decision we make since climate change is the biggest global threat today. We also must listen to, and empower, communities that are least empowered and ensure that they are not taken advantage of by companies or government decisions that would bring environmental or health hazards to neighborhoods.
We need to continue to tout the many great things happening in our public schools. I don't think those get nearly the attention that they deserve. At the same time, we need to protect and expand the programs that are successful and that engage students. We have many great teachers and we need to attract and retain teachers and principals who bring strong passion and commitment to teaching. Parent involvement in schools is critical, but it is uneven across our schools. Too often, parents feel like their involvement is not welcome. That must change, and administrators should be encouraged to involve parents, and receive training on best practices.
We need to work on preventive measures, including healthier food access. One concrete initiative that I have been working on is to establish a food bank in Prince George's County. We do not have a food bank dedicated to Prince George's, and we rely on those outside the county. This is important in times of crisis. During Covid, when restaurants had excess food to donate, they had to donate to food banks outside the county since there were none here. Recently, when the federal government shut down and SNAP benefits were curtailed, the county had to scramble and rely on sources outside the county. My public health priorities include attracting beds to Prince George's County for mental and behavioral health, especially adolescent beds.
We need to diversify our tax base through attracting more transit-oriented development and commercial development so that the tax burden does not fall so much on homeowners. I have had a role in the development of nearly $1 billion worth of smart growth redevelopment, which increases the tax base. I am also working with partners at the University of Maryland to grow jobs and companies in quantum computing and other emerging technology in Prince George's County. We are a global leader in quantum computing and we must harness that to create more investment and jobs locally, which will grow our tax base.
As I've stated in other questions above, we need to continue to attract transit-oriented development, and harness the advantages we are getting in transportation with the Purple Line and at our Metro stations. We are well positioned for greater investment, and I will continue to work with partners at the University of Maryland to grow quantum computing and other technology businesses to make their home in Prince George's. We are a global leader in quantum computing, and must continue to build upon that. Like other jurisdictions around the country, we need to continue to raise our profile internationally to attract investment, such as from South Korea where we have established strong ties.
I have been a strong leader in the effort to build more affordable housing. During my current term on the County Council, there are at least seven affordable housing developments that have either been opened, are in progress, or are under discussion in District 3. These are all transit-oriented or in more urban areas. I will continue this work. In addition, I am leading an effort to establish a community housing trust in the county. I helped establish one in College Park previously. This model helps make homeownership possible for individuals and families who might not otherwise be able to gain entry into our very competitive housing market. A nonprofit trust would own the land, while a homebuyer purchases the home.
1. Increasing transit-oriented, smart growth development in the areas appropriate for redevelopment, and creating walkable communities;
2. Ensuring we are addressing neighborhood quality of life problems so that our neighborhoods are clean and safe;
3. Protecting our most vulnerable, by supporting our seniors, ensuring young people get a strong education, addressing food insecurity, bringing back the Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative to provide wraparound services in areas with the greatest need, and protecting our neighbors from ICE.
