Rethink College Park

If you follow local news and this site closely you may have noticed that we have made very little mention of the January 16th city special election. Indeed, as we posted once, I was a candidate for the District 3 council seat vacated by Eric Olson. Our minimal coverage was largely to avoid the perception that I was using this website for my own political purposes – it was never designed for that and we decided early on not to go down that road.

That being said, I am now dropping out of the race because I can no longer assure voters that I will stay in College Park after my graduation in May. A full explanation of my standpoint can be found on today’s Diamondback opinion page in my guest column. Despite some implications made today in a Diamondback news story, I actually feel that support for my candidacy was quite strong in the campus community and I thank all those people who sent kind words and support. If anything, the recent addition of two more city residents in the District 3 race actually strengthened my chances of winning. It ultimately came down to my personal situation for which I did not have a full picture of when I originally declared my candidacy. External factors contributed to a delay in my withdrawal (which I apologize for). Rethink College Park plans to do a full questionnaire for all the remaining candidates.

>>Diamondback 12/12/06 – College Park rethought

>>the Gazette 12/7/2006 – UMD students, city activists aim to fill empty council seats