Bowie seat draws eight candidates

Council to test hopefuls on city, budget issues this month

Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007

Eight people have placed their bids for the vacant District 1 City Council seat, and as interviews begin next week, the candidates will likely be quizzed on issues such as revitalization and the upcoming budget sessions.

Friday was the deadline for applicants seeking to fill the seat vacated by Kurt Kroemer, who resigned in November after moving to Annapolis. Because the seat was vacated less than 15 months before the next general election, the council will select someone from the district, who would have to stand for election in November if he or she decides to run.

James Marcos, Edward Leyden, Brendan Bohan, Monica Best James, Donald Ellis, Steve Krukar, Jenmarie Dewberry and Kimberly Smith will be vying for the seat.

The council will begin interviewing the applicants this month and will hopefully have a new council member in place by the first meeting in February, city officials said.

However, the council does have the option to leave the seat open until the November elections if a suitable candidate is not identified. But several councilmen have said they hope to fill the seat, especially before fiscal 2008 budget work sessions begin in April.

Some of the names are already known figures in Bowie. Marcos is the owner of T.J. Elliott’s Restaurant. Krukar, a member of the Constitution Party, ran an unsuccessful bid for the District 23-A House of Delegates seat in the November election. In 2005, Bohan was the chairman of the city’s board of elections.

Others have tried for this seat before. Leyden, Dewberry and Marcos were three of the eight residents who applied for the District 1 seat in 2005 when then councilwoman Valerie Bennett moved out of the city, leaving the seat vacant. Kroemer eventually won the position.

The candidates will likely be quizzed on the major issues not only in the entire city – growing crime, development, the fledgling police department – but also District 1 issues, which include Old Town revitalization, crime, traffic concerns and the future of the Bowie Race Track.

Bob Thompson, former chairman of the Old Town Revitalization Committee and owner of the Old Town Grille, said he wanted a ‘‘balanced approach” on issues dealing with businesses and residents. Not only does he want continued revitalization of Old Town, but he also would like to see the recent spat of crime in city’s historic district cease.

‘‘I just want a council person who is accessible to both businesses and residents,” Thompson said.

The prospective council member will have to deal with citywide issues soon after accession to office. In less than two months, the council will begin its budget work sessions, which will likely spark debate over how to pay for the new City Hall and police station, and how to fund a growing police department.

Kroemer said a key factor for the candidates is developing a budget strategy.

‘‘If we’re going to get a new City Hall and pay for the new police department, how are you going to prioritize other things folks will want,” Kroemer said. ‘‘Is it fiscally prudent to hold off and focus on just these two things? Clearly for them, they have to have some vision on how tax dollars are going to be spent or not.”

Kroemer also said the development of Freestate Mall and Hilltop Plaza, which are in District 1, and the neighboring Marketplace will also be an important issue to tackle. Hilltop Plaza developer M. Leo Storch Management Corp., is considering significant improvements to the shopping center. JBG Rosenfeld recently put Freestate Mall up for sale, and is considering mixed-use development for the Marketplace.

E-mail Jason Flanagan at jflanagan@gazette.net.