All city incumbents plan to seek re-election

Deadline to file candidacy is Friday

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005

All eight College Park City Council members and the mayor have announced their plans to seek re-election in November, while newcomers have come forth saying they will challenge some of those seats.

The deadline for candidates to file is Friday.

Competition for the City Council’s two-year terms has lagged in recent years.

In the 2003, only one seat in District 1 was contested. The mayoral race has been uncontested since 1989, but this year may prove different.

As of this week, 20 people, including the current council members had picked-up candidate packets from City Hall.

Not everyone who signs out a candidate packet will necessarily run for office, said Yvette Allen, assistant city clerk. Some people pick up packets solely for information while others plan to assist another candidate, she said.

Bill Flanigen, 70, who has lived in the city for 35 years, already returned his packet and plans to run against the incumbents for the District 1 council seat. The two candidates with the most number of votes will win the seats.

‘‘I heard that the two City Council members were running unopposed and that’s dangerous for a democracy,” he said.

Flanigen said he canvassed his neighborhood to learn his neighbors’ concerns, and found issues have ‘‘not been adequately addressed.”

Flanigen is particularly interested in preventing high density apartment buildings from encroaching on his neighborhood. The council voted to support a large residential and retail development in District 1 recently that is being proposed by JPI Development Partners Inc.

Partha Pillai, a retired federal government scientist who has lived in the city for 24 years, will formally announce Sunday that he is running for a District 4 seat against two incumbents. Pillai, who has worked with city youth and been involved in his community for several years, said it was time for him to serve the city full-time.

Bob McCeney, a longtime District 3 resident, said he will run against two incumbents because it is time for ‘‘change.”

Councilman Eric Olson (Dist. 3), who is running for his fifth council term, is rumored to be planning a run for the Prince George’s County Council seat being vacated by County Councilman Thomas Hendershot (D-Dist. 3) of New Carrollton next year.

Olson, who has not formerly announced a run for the county seat in 2006, said he is ‘‘strongly” considering it. If Olson is elected to the County Council, he will have to resign from his City Council seat, creating the need for a special election.

Other residents who signed out packets for this November were Lee Fung and Patrick Wu, University of Maryland students; Kevin Phelan of District 2 and a local landlord Jutta Hagner of District 3.

Candidates for council seats have until 5 p.m. Friday to complete and return their packets with 25 signatures from voters within their district. Those running for mayor must return their packets with 20 signatures from each of the city’s four districts.

Residents who plan to vote for city seats must register with the county by Oct. 7. Voter registrations may be picked up at City Hall, a public library or at the department of motor vehicles.

E-mail Meghan Mullan mmullan@gazette.net.