Following their success at the polls Tuesday, the Bowie City Council’s seven incumbents, who all were re-elected, can now plan what they want to accomplish during their next two-year term.
Mayor G. Frederick Robinson, who ran unopposed for a seventh term in his at-large council seat, reiterated the direction he set for the city last year.
“My goal is to maintain fiscal stability and core services and continue to work with the [state] legislature, and I’m not anticipating a lot of new capital projects,” he said Tuesday.
Winners for the other two at-large seats on the council were Dennis Brady (3,372 votes) and current District 3 Councilman Todd Turner (3,124 votes). They defeated James G. Bell, who in his first run for office won 995 votes.
Brady said one of his main goals is to support the desire of the nonprofit Citizens for Local Animal Welfare’s desire to see the city establish a short-term shelter in Bowie where lost pets could be kept for a few days, giving owners more time to claim animals before they are taken to the county animal shelter in Upper Marlboro.
“I’d like to see that accelerated,” Brady said. “I see it as a valuable resource we can provide our citizens.”
Tuesday’s victory marks a change for Turner, who will now represent the city as a whole rather than one district.
Turner said one of his main priorities is to identify a use for the Bowie Training Center, a 169-acre tract close to the Patuxent River that has long been used to train racehorses.
The owners have said they intend to sell the center and shift horses to their Laurel or Pimlico tracks to save money.
If Bowie is able to acquire the site, it could build an indoor athletic facility for lacrosse and soccer, or possibly partner with a private company to build a facility, Turner said.
Turner also said the city has a stake in what happens to a 200-acre, county-owned site near Bowie State University because of how development there will affect traffic and the local economy.
“I think we have to step up and determine what’s in the best interests of Bowie,” Turner said.
Incumbents in the city council’s four district seats also won re-election; most notably, Diane Polangin (932 votes) held on to her District 2 after a second challenge from Piero V. “Pete” Mellits (587 votes). In both 2009 and on Tuesday, Mellits won about 39 percent of the vote.
Polangin said her top priority is increasing the supply of affordable senior housing in Bowie, as well as adequately supporting police and fire services.
District 1 Councilman James Marcos, who ran unopposed, said one his goals is to keep a lid on fees charged to groups such as the Bowie Boys and Girls Club. Last year the city council tabled a proposed new fee for groups who use lighted athletic fields, but the issue is likely to return this year.
In District 4, incumbent Isaac Trouth won with 742 votes, compared who challenger Carl Brown, who garnered 321 votes.
Trouth said he wants to work with the county school system to reduce per-hour fees that are now being charged to youth groups who use school buildings.
He also said he wants to improve communication between the city and Prince George’s County during situations like Hurricane Irene, when a tree fell across Church Road, knocking out power and blocking Bowie residents from using the road.
The county and BGE did not remove the tree for days, delaying the restoration of electricity, because Bowie was mistakenly not on the list to receive assistance, Trouth said.
“What if someone had a medical emergency?” said Trouth, who wants to establish a database of city residents with critical medical needs, such as dialysis, who would be contacted in an emergency in case they need help.
In District 3, current At-large Councilman Henri Gardner defeated Babatunde Alegbeleye with 618 votes to 173.
Gardner, who was appointed in January to fill out Geraldine Valentino Smith’s term after her election to the state delegation, said his main goal for his first full term is to provide more services for people having economic problems.
“I want to increase constituent services for those residents who are in need,” said Gardner, who also wants to see the city’s police department continue to expand.
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