The Greenbelt News Review, in conjunction with Streetcar Suburbs News and the Bowie Sun, queried the 13 (now 12) candidates running in the special election primary, vying for the At-Large County Council seat left by Mel Franklin’s sudden resignation last month. We asked them to detail: Professional Experience; Community Involvement (and civic participation); Priorities (identifying the two most important issues facing county residents and what action they would propose to address them); and Ethics (how they would prevent misuse of campaign funds and carry out duties ethically). Below are their responses, edited for space, grouped by party and listed in alphabetical order.
Democratic Candidates
Timothy J. Adams, Age: 65, Residence: Bowie
Professional Experience: Mayor of Bowie, President of SA-Tech.
Community Involvement: University System of Maryland Foundation, board member; Luminis Health, board member; African American Mayors Association, member; Prince George’s Community College Foundation, board member and finance committee; lifetime member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; 100 Black Men of Prince George’s County, Inc.
Priorities: 1) Fighting crime: community policing, engaging with law enforcement partners. We must review our budget and ensure we properly support law enforcement. 2) Increasing quality of life: seniors, education, development, public services. I am committed to ensuring the county’s education improves.
Ethics: 1) Establish a clear and transparent accounting system for all campaign funds. 2) Strict budgeting and spending controls.
Angela M. Angel, Age: 44, Residence: District Heights
Professional Experience: I serve as Senior Advisor to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and other political and social service organizations. As an attorney, I have experience working at local, state and federal government levels.
Community involvement: I am active at my children’s schools and sports teams. I participate in the Domestic Violence (DV) Ministry at First Baptist Church of Glenarden. As a DV survivor, I regularly help out and speak at local shelters.
Priorities: Crime and public safety, economic development and employment are top issues. Supporting workforce development initiatives, affordable housing and policies that facilitate employment retention will be essential. Additionally, I will focus on expanding the commercial tax base to reduce reliance on residential property taxes.
Ethics: I will implement strict oversight of campaign finances, including regular audits and public disclosure, and maintain an open-door policy for constituents to voice concerns.
Tamara Davis Brown, Age: 58, Residence: Clinton
Professional Experience: Wireless Telecommunications Attorney; Co-Founder & CEO, Last Mile Broadband of Maryland LLC.
Community Involvement: Greater Piscataway Alliance, vice president; MD 210 Traffic Safety Committee, Police Districts IV, V and VII Citizens Advisory Council; Advocate for Social Justice Committee, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Upsilon Tau Omega Chapter), chairman; Maryland Consumer Council (O’Malley and Hogan appointments), past vice president.
Priorities: Public safety and budget deficit ‒ For both, the county must leverage more federal funding from the Department of Justice and other federal agencies’ grant programs for staffing police force and fire/EMS; and for other local programs (for example, affordable housing from HUD and EPA/USDA for environmental cleanup).
Ethics: We will continue to ask appropriate questions and seek the advice of the Maryland Board of Elections and Campaign Finance Reporting staff to ensure compliance and integrity.
Leo Bachi Eyombo, Age: 51, Residence: Brentwood
Professional Experience: I am a clinician, healthcare executive, educator and entrepreneur. I am currently serving on the faculty at Bowie State University. My educational background includes a doctorate from Columbia University; a doctorate in optometry from Lyceum Northwestern University; and several master’s degrees, in business from Morgan State University, in health policy from Columbia University, in science in public health education from Columbia University and in science from Howard University.
Community Involvement: Social Justice Fellow for Bowie State University and University of Maryland Social Justice Alliance.
Priorities: Support legislation on academic success and well-being of all students and stakeholders for a police force free PGCPS.
Ethics: I am running for this position because our county urgently needs change.
Marvin E. Holmes Jr., Age: 75, Residence: Upper Marlboro
Professional experience: Maryland General Assembly, Legislative District 23. As chair of the Housing and Real Property Subcommittee, I am responsible for policy in the General Assembly as it relates to common ownership communities and real property. Prince George’s County Common Ownership Communities Commissioner.
Priorities: 1) Education ‒ Funding for new schools must be set aside for the areas where new development is occurring. 2) Economic Development ‒ The tax base must be revised to create a major commercial investment, to remove the tax burden from residential dwellings.
Ethics: Funding for campaigns will be expensed by the campaign treasurer and verified by the campaign manager.
Jolene Ivey, Age: 62,
Residence: Cheverly
Professional Experience: I currently serve as chair of the Prince George’s County Council and was elected in 2018 and again in 2022. My colleagues elected me chair in 2023. I previously served in Annapolis as a Delegate representing District 47 in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2007 to 2015 and was elected by my colleagues to serve as chair of the Prince George’s County House Delegation from 2012 to 2014. I am a former broadcast journalist with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.
Community Involvement: I co-founded Mocha Moms, which is now a national support group for mothers of color. I was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to serve on the Zero Emission Energy Vehicle Infrastructure Committee for the 2023-2026 term.
Priorities: In a year when we faced a $171 million budget deficit and a state-mandated increase in education spending, prioritizing schools and public safety without raising taxes on our residents. A stable economy is vital to attract investments and opportunities for our residents.
Ethics: I sponsored the amendment to Maryland’s Constitution to remove elected officials from office who are found guilty of certain crimes.
Keisha D. Lewis – Withdrawn
Judy Mickens-Murray, Age: 76, Residence: Upper Marlboro
Professional Experience: After 30 years in the federal government, I retired as chief of the Personal Property Branch and administrative officer for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Community Involvement: I enthusiastically offer my support in providing transportation for neighbors to stores and doctor appointments, assisting with various school activities, participating in organizations’ food giveaways and aiding in efforts to increase voter turnout.
Priorities: 1) Public safety and crime concerns: inadequate policing; and emergency response times. 2) Affordable housing: strengthen tenant protections, increase funding for housing assistance programs and promote inclusive zoning practices.
Ethics: 1) Establish clear financial controls and conduct regular audits. 2) Community Engagement: promote open communication channels and public forums.
Gabriel Njinimbot, Age: 50, Residence: Laurel
Professional Experience: Entrepreneur, author and lawyer.
Community Involvement: President of Bali Cultural Association-USA for seven years.
Priorities: 1) Improve on education and empower our educators. 2) Fight crime in our inner cities. Urge the Council to allocate more budget to our schools. More community policing and additional programs to keep youths and guns off the streets
Ethics: Campaign finance reforms, holding elected officials to be more accountable and additional measures to ensure frequent audits for transparency.
Republican Candidates
Kamita Gray, age not given, Residence: West Brandywine
Professional Experience: Managing director CDC organization; building healthy communities. Engaging communities in a process of identifying issues, developing a plan to address these circumstances.
Community Involvement: Community outreach and engagement.
Priorities: Require adequate public facilities. The continued issuance of a Certificate of Adequacy is broken at the root of low level of service standards causing the inadequacy of transportation infrastructure (roads/traffic) and other public facilities directly related to public safety.
Ethics: Ethical principles should be applied to public-life rules about conflicts of interest, access to government and integrity. Laws governing campaign finance should prevent inequities and be respected, not only in letter but also in spirit.
Michael Riker, Age: 61, Residence: Cheltenham
Professional Experience: I spent 25 years in law enforcement, 22 years with Prince George’s County and three years with the U.S. Capitol Police.
Community Involvement: I was the president of the International Counter-Terrorism Officers Association, a nonprofit organization.
Priorities: Two top priorities I am focusing on are supporting public safety, including safer schools and road improvements in conjunction with litter pick-up.
Isaac Toyos, Age: 29,
Residence: Temple Hills
Professional Experience: I currently work as a legislative specialist and contractor in the DOD, specializing in legislative matters that include military housing, real property, energy and environment. I also teach a leadership development course part-time (online) at South College. I am an Army veteran who served in both enlisted and officer ranks. Finally, I serve on the board of directors for Cherry Hill Development Corporation whose primary purpose is to promote the general welfare and economic development of low-income persons and groups residing in the Cherry Hill area.
Community Involvement: Cherry Hill Development Corporation (nonprofit), board member.
Priorities: Affordability. The county needs to make life more affordable for its citizens. Attract new businesses and allow sustainable housing development. Public safety should be our number one priority and our county needs to ensure it can provide basic safety and security to its citizens. The County Council should fully support our police and fire departments. Citizen participation is key.
Ethics: I’m running a decentralized and grassroots campaign that will commit to transparent and ethical recordkeeping. I will commit to ensuring that all hearings, statements, and comments are made public for the citizens of this county.
Jonathan White, Age: 50, Residence: Upper Marlboro
Professional Experience: My qualifications are rooted in a lifelong commitment to service: 20 years in the United States Air Force and a career in government security.
Community Involvement: I currently serve as a volunteer high school football coach. I mentor young men with resumé writing, college preparation and career goal setting. I am a member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the American Legion
Priorities: The top two issues facing county residents are rising crime rates and zoning for affordable housing.
Ethics: Implement stricter transparency measures with detailed disclosures of campaign contributions and expenditures, regular audits and public reporting to ensure accountability. Introduce term limits to prevent long-term entrenchment and promote fresh perspectives. Establish robust ethics reforms with mandatory ethics training and create an independent ethics commission to investigate misconduct. Additionally, my campaign is completely self-funded and does not accept any campaign funds.
Editor’s Note: Claims by candidates have not been independently fact-checked by News Review staff.