Bowie, College Park, Greenbelt to elect councils

Voters in three Prince George's County municipalities -- Bowie, College Park and Greenbelt -- will go to the polls Tuesday in nonpartisan elections.

The Bowie race features contested races for mayor, the City Council seat in District 2 and a pair of at-large seats on the council.

In the mayor's race, Samuel Graham, a retired ironworker, is challenging incumbent G. Frederick Robinson. In the District 2 race, incumbent Diane Polangin faces challenger Piero "Pete" Mellits, while incumbents Geraldine Valentino-Smith and Dennis Brady face challenger Anthony Kennedy in the race for the at-large seats.

Among the issues facing the candidates is ensuring that Bowie maintains it fiscal health in a down economy and how best to address speeding in the city.

The other three City Council incumbents -- James Marcos (District 1), Todd Turner (District 3) and Isaac Trouth (District 4) -- are running unopposed.

The polls in Bowie will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

College Park will have elections for mayor and all eight of its City Council seats.

Andrew Fellows, a District 3 councilman from 2001 to 2007, is running unopposed to replace four-term Mayor Stephen Brayman, who said he chose not to seek reelection because he wanted to spend more time with his family, among other reasons.

All council races are contested, with 15 candidates vying for eight seats in four districts. Major campaign issues include future Route 1 development, neighborhood crime and the relationship between the city and the University of Maryland at College Park.

Seven of eight council members are seeking reelection, the exception being one-term member Jonathan Molinatto (District 1), who said he wanted to spend more time with his wife.

Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Greenbelt, two seats were added for this year's City Council election, meaning that the five incumbents and four other candidates will vie for seven seats.

The new council will deal with issues including funding and construction of Greenbelt Middle School, which is slated for completion in fall 2011, and whether to switch council elections to even-numbered years to coincide with larger races.

Early voting is available at the Greenbelt Municipal Building at 25 Crescent Rd. from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Friday. The election runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.