Olson announces bid for County Council

College Park City Council could have two vacancies in the fall

Thursday, April 27, 2006

College Park City Councilman Eric Olson (Dist. 3) announced his plans to run for the Prince George’s County Council before fellow City Council members, politicians and supportive residents Saturday as city officials hoped for stronger municipal representation at the county level.

The announcement, made in front of more than 150 people at Old Parish House, included Olson’s vision for improving public transportation, education and policing, among other countywide issues.

Olson is not the only council member who could move from his current post in the fall. Councilwoman Joseline Pena-Melnyk (Dist. 4) decided in March to run for the District 21 seat left open by Del. Pauline Menes (D – Dist. 21) of College Park, who retired after this year’s legislative session. The council openings would call for a special election.

Olson, a city councilman since 1997 and a Sierra Club employee since 2003, said he decided to run for the council seat when he realized the potential for changing policies that affect College Park and the rest of the county.

‘‘There’s so much that can be done to affect positive change at the County Council level,” said Olson, 35, who serves on several county boards, including the Air Quality Committee, the Baltimore-Washington Clean Air Partners and the Metropolitan Washington Transportation Planning Board. ‘‘Being on the City Council is a similar job, but the County Council has more authority over things like zoning, redevelopment and the transportation budget.”

Morgan Gale, president of the Calvert Hills Citizens Association and a friend of Olson’s for seven years, said Olson’s commitment to his constituents would bolster his chances for the county seat.

‘‘I think Eric is a known quantity,” said Gale, who went door to door with Olson and his campaign team after Saturday’s announcement. ‘‘What I heard from people is that [Olson] is excellent on constituent service.”

Gale applauded Olson’s willingness to adhere to unpopular positions, such as his lone dissenting vote against the building of a new City Hall on the Friends Community School site.

‘‘That’s the kind of leader I want – a person who is not afraid to lose because he’s willing to stand by his principles,” Gale said.

Olson said he has raised close to $34,000 so far, and Pena-Melnyk said her campaign has collected more than $30,000. Both City Council members will run as Democrats.

Councilman John Krouse (Dist. 1) said having a county councilman from College Park could pay dividends for the city.

‘‘It would be great to have a representative who has an understanding of College Park government on the County Council,” Krouse said.

Krouse said replacing two experienced council members later this year could be a daunting task, but he was confident that community leaders in Districts 3 and 4 could fill the void, and make for a smooth transition.

‘‘Replacing [Olson and Pena-Melnyk] is not something you do easily,” he said. ‘‘But there are people who could rise up and take [their] place.”

Pena-Melnyk agreed. ‘‘I think the city can handle [the transition] because there are always wonderful people willing to step up.”

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.