Donna Edwards and Glenn Ivey, Democratic candidates for U.S. Representative for Maryland Congressional District 4, participated in a forum on Sunday, June 26, at the Greenbriar Community Building in Greenbelt East. Sponsored by the Eleanor & Franklin Roosevelt Democratic Club and moderated by Club President Konrad Herling, the forum presented an opportunity before the July 19 primary election for Greenbelters to see, hear and talk to two of the nine Democratic candidates for the open seat. Following this session, three of the four Democratic candidates for Prince George’s County Council District 4 – Michael Estève, Ingrid Harrison and Patrice Murray – took the stage. Trance Washington, the fourth candidate and, ironically, a Greenbriar resident, was not present. This, too, is an open seat, as County Councilmember Todd Turner, who has represented District 4 since 2015, is not running for reelection.
Congressional Candidates
In this heavily Democratic district, the Democratic primary winner will likely also win in the November election and become the next person to represent Greenbelt in Congress. Greenbelt has long been represented by Steny Hoyer but was moved out of his district when the map of congressional districts in Maryland was redrawn this spring. Hoyer will continue to represent Greenbelt until the new Congress is sworn in in January 2023. Anthony Brown currently represents District 4 in Congress, but he is not running for reelection and is instead seeking to become the Democratic candidate for Attorney General of Maryland.
Edwards spoke of her previous terms in Congress ‒ from 2008, filling out Albert Wynn’s term and then four full terms before unsuccessfully seeking to become Barbara Mikulski’s replacement in the U.S. Senate in 2016. She served on the Science, Space & Technology and Transportation & Infrastructure committees and built relationships with many of her colleagues. She expressed dismay over the recent Supreme Court decision and the vulnerability of other rights that it reveals. If elected, she vows to get infrastructure funding for Prince George’s County and wants new development to be focused around Metro.
Ivey spoke of his efforts to address crime and domestic violence during his eight years as County State’s Attorney. He cited abortion rights as a top issue, saying the public must continue to protest the Supreme Court decision and vote for Democrats. He said Maryland needs to step up to support women from other states who need health care.
Both candidates think the county should tout its “research triangle” ‒ Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) and the University of Maryland ‒ to attract and keep small, tech-related businesses. Edwards worked at GSFC for several years in the 1980s and, while in the House, helped to stop Republican efforts to cut funding for GSFC research on climate change. She would like to see BARC take a larger role in food security.
Neither candidate supports using taxpayer money to subsidize the building of stadiums for professional sports teams. Ivey said he’d support Dan Snyder building a replacement for FedEx Field if he develops other nearby sites ‒ requirements to stay should be imposed rather than offering increased incentives.
Both candidates pledged to support the eventual election winner.
Ivey said that recent negative ads about Edwards originate with a super PAC (political action committee) affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and not him, though he agrees with the criticisms, which apparently are based on statements made in Washington Post editorials. Edwards feels strongly that Ivey should disavow the ads since AIPAC supports more than 100 Republicans who voted not to certify the 2020 election. Ivey noted that it takes little effort to respond to constituent needs.
The candidates were not asked about the proposed SCMaglev project during the forum, but in informal conversations later, Ivey emphatically expressed his opposition; Edwards said she believes that high-speed transit to New York City is needed, but should be done along the Amtrak corridor. Edwards also said informally that, if elected, she’d like to again serve on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
County Candidates
This session, sponsored by the County Council District 4 Candidate Forum Planning Committee, was moderated by Joe Brice, president of the Prince George’s County Civic Federation. He asked the candidates different questions each round, rather than having all three respond in sequence. Two questions focused on Bowie, home to all the candidates; Estève and Harrison serve on the Bowie City Council.
All felt the County Council has favored some developers, leading to too much low-density, traffic-heavy residential developments. Candidates agreed that the Department of Permitting, Inspections & Enforcement (DPIE) discourages businesses from coming to Prince George’s, makes development difficult and should be revamped. All three oppose maglev, and support implementing public financing for candidates in county elections to encourage more residents to seek office.
When asked if tax rates on individuals should be reduced, Estève said that Greenbelters understand that if we want city and county services, we have to pay for them; he’d rather work to raise the quality of services to match what residents are paying. Harrison emphasized the need to increase the commercial tax base rather than relying so heavily on the individual property tax. Murray wants to encourage and support small businesses. She also noted that the new county hospital received a D rating; the hospital and county must be attractive enough to recruit top doctors. Harrison wants more emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles.
When asked for their top priorities, the candidates responded as follows:
Estève: Revamp DPIE and permits system; make the county a regional leader on climate change; improve school quality; make a broader plan for public safety and policing; fully fund the public finance campaign act.
Harrison: Create affordable workforce housing; improve education and mental health services, especially for kids; elevate public safety. For the environment, reduce greenhouse gases, implement the county climate action plan and make infrastructure improvements.
Murray: Smarter development; increase civic engagement; increase quality of life throughout District 4; improve county cleanliness and departmental accountability; increase school quality.
To Learn More
There were many empty chairs at the forum, with few people present other than those involved in the sponsoring organizations. Fortunately, Phoebe McFarb of Greenbelt Access Television recorded the proceedings and the videos of both sessions are posted (see greenbeltaccesstv.org/recent-productions). Readers are encouraged to view the candidate sessions to learn more about the views, priorities and personalities of their local representatives.