Curtis Smalls, a retired elementary school principal, is worried about the high rate of foreclosures in Prince George’s County.
Bridgette Kendrick, an analyst with the Internal Revenue Service in New Carrollton, says that crime in her Kettering neighborhood is on the upswing and that she no longer takes long walks in her leafy community.
Sandy Pruitt, a community activist from Lake Arbor, says Prince George’s needs to repair its “tarnished image” after Jack B. Johnson (D), the former county executive, and his wife, former County Council member Leslie Johnson (D), pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.
“We need to move ahead of where we are with Jack and Leslie,” Pruitt said.
Perhaps nowhere is that sentiment more evident than in District 6, where 15 people — 14 Democrats and a Republican — are vying to succeed Johnson, who on July 31 stepped down from the council after admitting to destroying evidence in the probe that also ensnared her husband.
Voters in District 6, which stretches from struggling mid-county inner Beltway neighborhoods to palatial residences in gated communities, will head to the polls Sept. 20 to pick Democratic and Republican candidates. The winners will face off in a special election in October, but in the overwhelmingly Democratic county, victory in the Democratic primary is usually tantamount to winning the general election.
October’s winner could become one of the current council’s longest-serving members, with the potential to occupy the seat for 11 years — the remaining three years of Johnson’s term and two full four-year terms.
Council seats are often steppingstones to higher office or higher-paying jobs; Prince George’s pays its council members $96,417, the highest in Maryland.
The council’s chief responsibilities are to oversee growth and development and provide oversight and accountability of the nearly $2.7 billion government budget and the $1.6 billion public schools budget.
Winning the District 6 seat is unlikely to be an easy task. Historically, voter turnout has been low in special elections for the council. It is almost always tough to energize voters in any off-year election, let alone a special, very local election.
“That could potentially make it a bit difficult,” said Alisha L. Alexander, the county’s elections chief, who added that participation by eligible voters in recent special council elections has ranged from about 5 percent to about 20 percent. There are about 76,000 registered voters in District 6; all but a few thousand are registered Democrats.
To reach voters, many of the candidates are engaging in true retail politics, going door- to-door and attending community forums and candidate debates. Big radio and television ad buys are out of the question; many of the candidates have only a few thousand dollars to spend, although campaign finance reports due Sept. 9 will likely show more.
The candidates also must overcome the lack of voter awareness of the election. Because of the grass-roots nature of the race, the winner may well be the candidate who is best organized on Election Day and is able to transport voters to the polls.
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