The views in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of Rethink College Park or its other contributors.

Election season is upon us. Because of terms limits, 5 of the 9 Prince George’s county councilmember seats and the county executive’s spot are incumbent-less and up for grabs. While the general election isn’t till November, winning the Sept. 14th primary in the heavily democratic county usually ensures victory.

This fresh start couldn’t come at a more important time for a county that has a (as the Post puts it) “political culture marked by cronyism, highhandedness, factionalism, and a lack of accountability.” At 850,000 people, Prince George’s boasts a population about 45% larger than DC and many locational and infrastructure advantages compared to similarly situated suburban counties nationwide. Yet it faces a “pandemic of home foreclosures; poverty, crime and unemployment; struggling public schools; an anemic commercial tax base; and Metro stations bereft of the surrounding development that such sites have attracted elsewhere in the region.” Greenfield developments like Konterra and National Harbor abound in the county and sprawl is leapfrogging it’s way towards Upper Marlboro Charles County, but inner ring suburbs continue to deteriorate. Billions in heavy-rail metro investment (15 stations) sit underutilized decades after construction. Developers avoid the county for fear of a shakedown and hyper-gentrification in DC forces the least economically mobile in the DC region to locate here.

Marcus Afzali pointed out last month that whoever gets elected to the County Council basically reigns king when it comes to proposed development in their district. One person can literally make or break development in their district. The County Executive election is also critical in shaping the direction of the county in the coming years. Who can help make College Park a national model of smart growth and change the course of the county for the better?

District 1 (College Park north of 193, Laurel, Adelphi, Beltsville) – Frederick Smalls - endorsed by the Washington Post for his 8 years of experience on the Laurel City Council and time as a state administrator which includes substantial planning experience. The other candidate, Mary Lehman, is a dedicated community activist who was a staffer for Tom Dernoga – the outgoing office holder.

District 3 (College Park south of 193, UMD Campus, Riverdale, Lanham-Seabrook, New Carrollton) - Eric Olson – it’s hard to imagine anyone who has done more for smart growth in College Park than Eric. He has the temperament and clear focus to see the East Campus Redevelopment through to groundbreaking and the chance to further revitalize much of Route 1 near UMD.

County Executive - Rushern Baker - I concur with the Washington Post and Greater Greater Washington. GGW put it best:

“Mr. Baker is the only candidate who puts development around the county’s underutilized Metro stations as a top priority and leading asset for economic development. He also stresses the need to invest in the county’s inner Beltway communities.

After education, Mr. Baker puts development around Metro stations as his top priority. He says that the attention that went into National Harbor should go into development around Metro stations and inside the Beltway forgotten areas.” He also cites the need for mixed use development at Metro and inside the Beltway to include affordable housing.

Mr. Baker often talks about the County’s recent forfeiture of unspent funds that were sent back to HUD and how developers are reluctant to develop in the county due to a perception that they will be “shaken down” by politicians. He calls for leadership that sets a new standard for ethics as critical to attracting quality businesses while helping local businesses thrive. Mr. Baker is the only candidate who can begin to tap the potential of the county and its 15 Metro stations.”

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that our old friend Tom Dernoga will be on the ballot. This time he’s running for Prince George’s state’s attorney – the most important elected law enforcement job and the second highest office in the county. While Dernoga is well-financed and  seems to have a strong following (including in northern College Park’s NIMBY quarters), I’m hard pressed to think of anyone with a worse temperament to hold this or any other elected office. The Post went so far as to say that he’s not qualified for the job:

“…Thomas Dernoga, a term-limited member of the County Council. He is simply not qualified to be the state’s attorney. Although he knows the county’s budget and land-use laws well, Mr. Dernoga has never worked as a prosecutor, nor even as a criminal defense lawyer; in fact, he hasn’t practiced law of any sort in almost a decade. Lacking that basic background and familiarity with criminal law, Mr. Dernoga has no business running a prosecutor’s office in one of Maryland’s biggest and most crime-ridden counties.”

What’s your take?

Back in June, we speculated that UMD and the City of College Park would reapply with Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER competitive grant program. Back in February, we noted that the MWCOG did not win the $10 million for bikeshare expansion that it had applied for through a federal stimulus program called TIGER. Apparently, both the university and city did jump on board for the TIGER II grant round that was due to the feds last Friday, August 20th. The new proposal requests more than $12 million to add 2,500 bikes (and 331 stations) regionwide to the nascent 1,100 bike (110 station) Capital Bikeshare program that DC and Arlington are unveiling next month. The new proposal includes a request for $306,000 for 56 bikes in College Park, 6 stations on campus, and 5 in the city including at least one at the College Park Metro (read the full proposal).

If the proposal is successful, you could start seeing implementation in College Park as early as March. Unfortunately, just like the first round of TIGER grants, the second round will be just as competitive and it’s extremely unlike any money will be awarded. No official numbers are out now that the final deadline has passed, but the July 16th pre-application brought in $26 billion worth of requests for $600 million in available funds. Still, we commend UMD and CP for joining this application and we hope they’ll continue to pursue the idea when the grant application ultimately fails.

After a “half victory” with Campus Drive this summer, here is our chance to speak out as part of the University’s public involvement process and make it known that students, staff, faculty, and visitors do not support plans to restrict Shuttle UM and Metro Bus (and in the future, the Purple Line) access to Campus Drive.
If you were on campus at all this summer, please fill out the University’s survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GRN8KFN

Questions 17 and 18 are crucial.

17. If in the future Campus Drive were closed to most vehicles, and Shuttle-UM dropped off passengers on the outskirts of campus (only Campus Connectors would be permitted on Campus Drive), what do you think that would mean for the campus?
18. If in the future the Shuttle-UM bus route were to terminate at Regents Drive garage, how long would you be willing to wait for a Campus Connector to take you to the center of campus?

It’s almost as if the survey design indicates that the administration is leaning toward keeping the roadway open to buses while closing it to cars…. honestly we don’t see any reason why they couldn’t permanently implement such a scheme during the fall semester. Perhaps the “half victory” in May will ultimately lead to some sound transportation planning decisions from the UMD administration.

ANYONE who has been on campus over the past three months– students, staff, faculty, alumni, and visitors included–can fill out this survey so please circulate widely!

It’s official.  The University of Maryland, College Park, has chosen a replacement for retiring President, CD Mote.  According to a University System of Maryland press release, the Board of Regents reported today the appointment of Wallace D. Loh as President, effective November 1, 2010.

Mr. Loh, who has over 30 years of experience in higher education, is currently the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa.  He has held this position since 2008.

Although Mr. Loh was born in Shanghai, China, he grew up in Lima, Peru.   After graduating from high school in Peru, he immigrated to the U.S., where he attended Grinnell College in Iowa.  In addition to holding a PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mr. Loh holds a JD from Yale Law School.

More information can be found at the following link, http://www.usmd.edu/newsroom/news/877.

The Experience and Enjoy College Park Tour will be visiting N.Y. Deli in the Hollywood commercial district on Wednesday, August 25th.  The guest speaker for this event will be the new Police Chief for the University of Maryland – David Mitchell.  The Experience & Enjoy College Park Tour is designed to bring those who work, live, and play in College Park together to talk about local issues and patronize a local restaurant once a month.  Previous guest speakers have included College Park Mayor Andrew Fellows, State Senator Jim Rosapepe, and County Councilman Eric Olson.

I highly encourage anyone interested in supporting our local restaurants,  meeting with other city residents, or wanting to find out more about what is going on around College Park to attend.  These events are always fun and if you haven’t been to one yet now is as good a time as any to check one out.