McFall kicks off mayoral run

By RYAN JUSTIN FOX, Staff Writer

Published January 09, 2009

Local activist and housing executive Trudy McFall announced her intention to run for mayor of Annapolis in front of nearly 100 supporters during a reception last night in a State Circle restaurant.

"Annapolis is ready for change, a new way of doing things," Ms. McFall said during her event at Harry Browne's restaurant. "I am determined to win this."

The long-time housing executive, who worked for the state and federal government for 35 years, was president of the board of commissioners for the Annapolis Housing Authority from 2002 to 2007.

Ms. McFall, 65, said she has been planning a bid for mayor for several years. She has lived in Annapolis for 28 years and currently resides in West Annapolis. She is the founder of a nonprofit affordable housing provider located on Sixth Street in Eastport.

Her campaign manager, Dennis Conti, worked on the successful campaigns of county Councilman Josh Cohen, D-Annapolis, and Annapolis Alderman Ross Arnett, D-Ward 8.

"(Trudy) knows how to balance a budget and she knows how to handle a payroll," Mr. Conti said yesterday.

Ms. McFall spent 14 years managing federal and regional housing agencies and another 13 years as the director for the Community Development Agency in the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

She founded the nonprofit affordable housing provider Homes for America in 1994 and has since grown the Sixth Street company into one of the country's largest businesses of its kind.

One of her priorities as mayor would be to continue to build public-private partnerships that allow public housing residents to become homeowners, she said. Ms. McFall said she works part time as chairman of Homes for America's board of directors but would step down if elected mayor.

In light of several proposals to restructure the city government, Ms. McFall said she would also bring on a professional manager or administrator to oversee day-to-day operations of the city.

She supports legislation currently in front of the City Council that would create a city manager to handle city operations. If the bills failed, she said she would empower the current City Administrator position to perform management duties.

Controlling growth and development also is one of her concerns. The latest Comprehensive Plan for the city calls for more density in the West Annapolis corridor and other portions of the city.

The Market House and crime were her other priorities, she said.

Ms. McFall recently founded a local non-profit advocacy group called Citizens For a Better Annapolis. It published a study that was critical of the city's public safety efforts as violence was exploding in many of the down trodden neighborhoods.

Ms. McFall has raised over $56,000, nearly twice as much money for her campaign as other potential candidates, according to finance reports filed July.

Some have been critical of some of her campaign's donors, many of whom live or are based outside of Annapolis. Some of her major contributors are the developers of the Annapolis Towne Center in Parole and Mark K. Joseph , founder of the Shelter Group, a low-income housing advocacy company based in Baltimore.

Other potential candidates are aldermen Richard Israel, D-Ward 1, Sheila Finlayson, D-Ward 4, Dave Cordle, R-Ward 5, and Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7.

Others considering a run for mayor include federal lobbyist and ordained minister Zina Pierre, local pub owner Chris Fox, and Mr. Cohen.

City Clerk Regina Watkins-Elridge said that nobody has officially filed for candidacy. Election officials still are finalizing the schedule for this year's election. The general election will take place in November.

Richard Callahan, Annapolis Housing Authority Commissioner and long-time associate of former mayor Pip Moyer, said the mayoral race is still in its very early stages to pick a favorite.

"I have a lot of respect for Trudy. But I have to see who else is running," he said yesterday at the reception.