Council hopefuls face off

Candidates say crime, education and growth major issues in District 9 race

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Five candidates are vying for the District 9 County Council seat hoping to replace the incumbent Marilynn Bland.

Marvin Silver, James Fred Harley, Wanda White, Keith Washington and Vernon Hayes are all Democrats with varying backgrounds of experience, but they agree that crime, education and growth are priority issues in their campaigns.

Bland, a resident of Clinton, just finished her first term as Councilwoman of District 9. She has served on the council’s planning, zoning and economic development and the transportation, housing and environment committee.

Silver, of Upper Marlboro, said all of the issues are interrelated.

‘‘I want to bring my experience and background to the community because I do this work everyday,” Silver said.

Silver is a member of the South County Coalition for Quality Communities. He said the organization is trying to address transportation needs, especially improvement of the Route 223 Corridor and A65, a new access four-lane roadway that will be constructed near the Bevard Farms development area in Clinton. He said a lot of the problems stem from ‘‘poor planning and poor management.”

Another concern of Silver’s is the response time of emergency vehicles in the area where traffic is most congested. He said those times need to be improved.

He also said there are not enough schools in the area to handle the children who live there.

‘‘Leadership is about action, leadership is about service and putting the people first,” Silver said.

White, of Clinton, ran for county council in the past and believes this time she is the most qualified candidate.

‘‘I’ve been out there paying my dues,” she said. ‘‘I planted my roots and I’m ready for the harvest.”

White said she encourages ‘‘smart growth” in the area as long as the priorities are set.

‘‘We need schools and we need to recruit more police officers. We need more incentives for teachers to keep them here,” she said.

She said she loves her community and her district. She is a member of the Clinton Community Advisory Council. She is also a substitute teacher in the county schools. White’s motto is ‘‘making a difference.”

‘‘Help me to help us make this a better place to live,” she said.

Harley, of Clinton, said one of his main concerns is the number of police officers. He said while the population of residents has increased over the years, the number of officers has not.

‘‘We have not increased our force level since 1986, we are way behind in force numbers,” he said.

He said police officers, teachers and fire and emergency medical service workers should be paid a compatible salary with the income of county residents. He also said there is a need for affordable housing for those workers.

‘‘The need to live where they work,” said Harley, who is retired.

He said the roads are over capacity and ‘‘they’re like parking lots in the morning and afternoon.” He said residents are burning up fuel and wasting time in traffic.

Harley was on the planning board for two years. He said the county needs to make it clear to residents what they want to do to the rural tier. He said farms are being lost and there is still plenty of space to build in the development tier.

‘‘We need to work together as a county to make a decision to save the rural tier,” he said.

For candidate Hayes, of Clinton, crime is the most important issue. He said that in the past couple of years, he has seen an increase in crime in his area. He has had his tires slashed three times and his home vandalized.

‘‘We’ve had a host of car thefts in the area,” Hayes said.

He had to buy a security system for his home and has come up with a 13-page 15-point crime plan. It includes school bus safety, ways to recruit more police officers and suitable equipment for police officers.

Hayes said the past four years ‘‘have been an abject failure.” He said the candidates running for the District 9 seat would have to ‘‘defend their record.”

‘‘I think the whole race is going to come down to competence. If you’re already with the county government, explain your competence or incompetence,” he said.

Washington, of Accokeek, is running a campaign with a focus on families.

‘‘Our families are our future, or families shape the way we live. Families are the cornerstone of our society, when they achieve we achieve,” he said.

He said he believes in smart growth, measured growth and well-planned growth. He said it is important to build schools instead of developments.

‘‘I also think it is important when we build communities, we build community centers. Kids need community centers,” he said.

Washington is currently the deputy director of the Prince George’s County Office of Homeland Security. He called his campaign a grassroots campaign. He said people have been calling to volunteer to help.

‘‘It’s about the people and government should be about the people,” he said.

E-mail Tia Carol Jones at tjones@gazette.net.