2022 County Executive Candidates & An Update On The Intersection's Progress - Issue #21
2022 County Executive Candidates & An Update On The Intersection's Progress - Issue #21
Correction: An email version of this newsletter spelled Mr. Sherman's last name is Handy. That is wrong. Sherman's correct last name is Hardy. We apologize for this mistake. The correction is made only in the online version and not the email version. Revue doesn't allow for those changes to take place in the email. Again, my apologies for this mistake.
Black History Month
Wanika Fisher, Maryland State Delegate of District 47B, talked about Constance Baker Motley - who became the first Black woman federal judge placed in the Southern District Court of New York. President Lyndon Johnson appointed Motley to the position in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
What has The Intersection Been Up To?
Here is what I've been working on since the beginning of the year 2022:
A story about maternal mental health in Maryland, and how one woman is trying to solve that problem.
A story about Co-ops in Maryland.
Good News: I received a grant from the Google News Initiative/ Lion News Publishers. I have also applied for another grant, and I am waiting to hear back. I am using that grant for digital marketing as well community outreach.
Building partnerships with local community organizations in order to do face-to-face community engagement. More on this later.
Who is Running For County Executive?
Angela Alsobrooks, democrat
On February 11, 2022, County Executive finally filed to rerun for County Executive. Alsobrooks, the first Black woman to hold the county executive position in Maryland, said her campaign theme is Further Together.
Per her campaign website, here are items that she considers accomplishments (context: Some of these items listed have been contested by local community activists as troublesome. For example, in 2021 Fort Washington community members and activists complained that a new school building could increase flooding):
Investing 2.34 billion to ensure that every student has access to a quality education.
Breaking ground on 9 new schools.
Breaking ground on a new behavioral health facility that will provide mental health and addiction care for residents, opening in the summer of 2022.
Welcoming the new University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center to downtown Largo.
Equipping our PGCPD patrol officers with body cameras.
Establishing a Gun Intelligence Unit that recovered 1,399 guns from the neighborhoods that experienced the most violent crime.
Opening a new American Job Center at National Harbor that will serve 10,000 residents and businesses each year.
Leigh Bodden, Democratic
Bodden, according to his website, is a native of Washington, D.C., but moved to Prince George's County at the age of 10. He graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville. He's a graduate of Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, and played nine years in the NFL. Furthermore, he has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. You can read the rest of his bio here.
According to his website, here is his 2022 platform:
School/Education: Our mind is the most potent and positive weapon we have to support our life's journey. We must nurture, develop and use it for personal and community advancement.
Nutrition, physical, and mental health: Prince George's county is one of the wealthiest African American communities in the country, but not necessarily one of the healthiest. We are going to change that. We will provide more healthy and natural food options in our schools. We will develop programs to teach families healthy diet and eating habits. We will encourage physical and mental wealth through county-wide programs for children and adults.
Housing: Our county continues to grow, and we must ensure that quality and reasonably priced rental properties are available. We also need to foster homeownership for all who desire it.
Policing and criminal justice -- Unfortunately, our county has had negative police vs. community relationships. We must combat this and ensure that policing efforts are void of discriminatory practices and justice is more than a rallying cry, but a reality that we live.
Our residents deserve the best, and I intend to drive the implementation of laws and policies that deliver the best! To develop these laws and policies that will provide the best, I will focus on hearing from the people -- our residents. I will give them the tools and opportunities to express their concerns and communicate their wishes. Their voice will allow me to correctly discern the community's actual needs because we cannot identify and solve problems if the people do not express them. My plan will place the power of government squarely back into the hands of the people.
Billy B. Bridges, Democratic
Mr. Bridges, who also ran in 2018, describes himself as a "strong Christian, one who has a sense of justice, right and wrong." He served in the Air Force, has lived in Prince George's County since the mid-1990s, and his daughters are products of the Prince George's County Public School System.
"My most recent career has been with the Prince George's County Public Schools for 20 years in various roles such as a paraprofessional, a teacher, part-time administrator, and information technology specialist," according to his website.
According to his website, here is his 2022 platform:
Bring Prayer Opportunities back to Public Schools.
Bring Excellence to Education.
Bring a 21st Century Economy to All Citizens.
Bring Increased Safety to All Communities.
Bring Law Enforcement Closer to Communities.
Bring Financial Responsibility to Government.
Bring Full Accountability to All Departments.
Sherman Hardy,
Mr. Hardy also served in the Air Force, has worked in non-governmental organizations, Vice President of the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals for the D.C. Metro, and the former Secretary for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Prince George's County.
Hardy's platform is centered around, to name some categories, education, housing policy, policing/crime, and transportation. Here is his 2022 platform, according to his website:
Education:
PGCPS deserves a fully elected school board that selects their leadership.
Preparing our scholars for the future means equipping them with all the necessary foundations and principles of life. STEM must be incorporated on all levels.
Capitalize on the usage of virtual learning enabling smaller class sizes, flexibility, and usage of remote educators.
Expanding Trade & Career Tech Training.
Create a prison to school pipeline.
Expand adult education for rapidly changing market.
Police & Criminal Justice:
PGCPS deserves a fully elected school board that selects their leadership.
Preparing our scholars for the future means equipping them with all the necessary foundations and principles of life. STEM must be incorporated on all levels.
Capitalize on the usage of virtual learning enabling smaller class sizes, flexibility, and usage of remote educators.
Expanding Trade & Career Tech Training.
Create a prison to school pipeline.
Expand adult education for rapidly changing market.
Transportation:
Connect traffic signals and emergency response vehicles to prioritize emergency vehicles approaching intersections and the route they take in order to reduce response times.
Create more bike and dedicated bus lanes.
Begin the usage of micro-transit and replace The Bus (PGC- owned) buses with more energy-efficient smaller capacity vehicles.
Invest in pilot program extending WMATA through a southern region bus line that connects central and northern Prince George's and rail lines.
Expand broadband access, investing heavily in historically marginalized communities.
Invest in adaptive traffic lights, real-time traffic monitoring devices to reduce traffic and noise pollution, variable speed limit signs, pedestrian monitoring & warning devices.
Invest in Free Public Transportation pilot.
Visit Handy's website (www.Hardy4pg.com) to read more about his agenda.
Tonya Sweat, political affiliation unknown
Sweat's family is originally from South Carolina, according to her website. Sweat is a managing member of Sweatism Consulting, L.L.C. Currently, she is the vice president of the South County Economic Development Association Inc., and a former board member and consultant to Coalition For Public Safety Training In Schools Inc. Read more of her bio here.
Sweat's 2022 platform doesn't seem to be on her website. However, she hosted a virtual meet and greet with Prince George's County residents on YouTube. Sweat mentioned that she donates a lot of her time providing free legal advice to residents who are unable to afford it. She said it's about serving the community. In addition, she said: "I am concerned about what I see in our home - Prince George's County." In that meeting, she shared three components of her platform: children, the community, and competence. She admits these are broad topics. You can watch the video below.
News
But masks will still be required on all public transit systems and in schools.