Leadership promises to continue economic revival for Prince George’s
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Version 0 of 1. The Prince George’s County Council elected a new chair and vice chair on Tuesday to lead the legislative body into the forthcoming year. Council members Derrick Leon Davis (D-Mitchellville) and freshman lawmaker Dannielle M. Glaros (D-Riverdale Park) were chosen by their colleagues during the ceremonial gavel exchange as the new leadership, each serving one-year terms. “People crave consistency so they can make decisions,” Davis said in an interview. “We have to create that environment of consistency to attract the kind of business that can flourish and see the opportunities we see in Prince George’s County.” Davis succeeds council member Mel Franklin (D-Upper Marlboro) who served a rare two terms as council chairman, shepherding legislation that smoothed the way for the MGM casino and squaring off against the county executive’s plan to raise taxes to fund schools. [American Dream shattered for families in nation’s wealthiest black county] Prior to Franklin, council member Andrea C. Harrison (D-Springdale) became the first legislator in years to serve consecutive terms as chair and ended the annual turnover. That stability in leadership, Davis said, has helped to instill confidence in the government. As his vice chair, Davis worked closely with Franklin to simplify the county’s development and zoning regulations to encourage private-sector investment. His election advances the council’s goals of the last several years to expand the commercial tax base and wean themselves off the residential tax base for revenue. Those goals align with the vision County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) has delineated for Prince George’s economic revival. Davis said he looks “forward to working even more closely with him.” “We are committed to creating a more business-friendly county,” Davis said. It also means promoting Prince George’s County’s affordable-housing stock and telling people, “It is less expensive to live in Largo than the other end of the Silver Line in Tysons Corner.” [People are moving to Prince George’s County] Davis, who won a special election in 2010, was born and raised in Prince George’s County. He worked for the school system for nearly 15 years and was appointed by then-Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D) to serve as chair of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund. Vice chair Glaros is a county transplant who worked for eight years for former council member Eric Olson (D). One year into her first term, she has become a strong proponent of development and sponsored legislation that encourages entrepreneurship such as recent laws reintroducing food trucks to Prince George’s after a longtime ban. Glaros’s district, which includes Riverdale Park, College Park and New Carrollton, has become a hot spot for investment from businesses along the Route 1 corridor and the state with the coming Purple Line light-rail project. Improving the school system and finding solutions for the county’s structural deficits are also top priorities for the incoming leaders. “While we have made progress on a number of fronts,” Davis said in his first remarks as the newly installed chairman, “there is still considerable work ahead as we continue on the county’s path of transformation.” |