Pr. George's Executive Touts Development, Property Values
By Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 15, 2005
At churches, backyard barbecues and community forums, Jack B. Johnson ran for Prince George's county executive in 2002 promising to bring "crime down and education up."
He told residents of trash-strewn streets that he would help turn their neighborhoods into "livable communities." The then-state's attorney pledged to rebuild a police force rocked by two federal investigations into use of excessive force. He presented himself as the candidate who could unite a sometimes fractious county leadership.
Well into his third year in office, and with the 2006 political season ready to begin, Johnson (D) remains in campaign mode, shaking churchgoers' hands, kissing supporters and sounding the same broad themes.
So what's changed?
"People are happy. That's what I hear when I go across this county," Johnson said recently. "The county is clean. Their property values are up. There are great things happening."
In some important respects, Prince George's fortunes have risen on Johnson's watch. Police are under a federal consent decree in which the county promises to closely monitor their conduct.
Once written off by developers and investors, the county is emerging as a desirable venue for retailers and builders. Two new Metro stations on the Blue Line and a town-center style shopping development in Largo have opened. Johnson has broken ground at M Square, a 120-acre research project run by the University of Maryland, and National Harbor, the $2 billion Potomac riverfront convention and resort complex.
Greater-than-expected tax revenue has produced a modest budget surplus. The county's bond rating, Wall Street's assessment of its financial health, has been upgraded.
Johnson's critics say he is more the beneficiary of these achievements than the architect -- that they are the fruits of work begun years earlier by others.
"Johnson is just stewing in [Wayne] Curry's juices," said Judy Robinson, a community activist, referring to Johnson's predecessor.
At the same time, detractors say, Johnson's record on the issues that defined his campaign has been mixed at best.
The county tops the state in most categories of violent crime. It has the highest car theft rate and the highest number of carjackings, according to data from Maryland's Uniform Crime Report. Prince George's has recorded 63 homicides this year, up from 40 at this time in 2004.
Chronic personnel shortages have left the police department understaffed by FBI standards and have sparked complaints from residents about lengthy response times.
"There was a time when you could say, 'Maybe our educational system is not the best in the state, but at least you're safe,' " said Rushern L. Baker III, a former Democratic delegate and a likely candidate for county executive in 2006. "You can't say that anymore."
Johnson's appointment of former Norfolk police chief Melvin C. High to head the Prince George's department has drawn some good reviews. High's emphasis on community policing, which strives to get officers out of patrol cars and into close collaboration with residents to reduce crime, is "the best thing to come to Prince George's police department," said neighborhood activist Phil Lee.
But Johnson's signature anti-crime effort, a campaign to clean up 22 high-crime apartment complexes, nearly blew up his face.
In March, he announced that he was prepared to use the power of eminent domain to tear down some of the complexes if they did not adopt stringent security measures. Failure to comply, he warned owners, could result in revocation of their operating licenses.
Fearing eviction, tenants rallied in front of the County Administration Building. Some owners filed a lawsuit. Both groups said Johnson was blaming them for the county's failure to maintain public safety.
Looking to avert what was becoming a political fiasco, Johnson tempered his remarks, assuring residents that he did not intend to force them out, but rather to create a safer environment for them.
On one of the most contentious issues facing the county -- the proposed introduction of slot machines in Prince George's -- Johnson first told members of the county's legislative delegation to "vote their conscience." Then he was noncommittal. Finally, he said Prince George's did not want or need slot machines.
Last month, after nearly two years of considering a campaign to repeal the county's voter-imposed cap on property taxes, Johnson said he had changed his mind. The economy is so good, he said, the cap does not need to be removed to generate additional revenue.
A repeal or modification of the cap, known as TRIM (Tax Reform Initiative by Marylanders), could have meant additional funds for the county school system, consistently ranked near the bottom in statewide testing and widely regarded as underfunded.
Johnson said he has met his promise to lift county schools by helping in 2003 to push increased fees for home builders to subsidize school construction. Last year, the General Assembly amended the county's telephone tax, allowing the county to use a portion of the revenue to float bonds for school construction. Johnson spent some of the additional revenue on air conditioning for classrooms, one example of the importance Johnson places on "livability" -- an agenda of small-scale initiatives to improve the quality of life in Prince George's.
On larger issues, however, Johnson, who campaigned as a unifier, has been involved in a series of protracted and at times puzzling disputes with county and state officials.
Johnson said he is pushing to meet the commitments he made during his campaign, especially to bring the police department up to its authorized strength of 1,420. He also wants to make certain that Prince George's Hospital Center continues to meet the health care needs of uninsured residents.