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I invite you to click on any of the topics below to see how I would address each of these issues facing our City:
Professional Management of the City Click here to read one of my many statements in favor of a City Manager. Click here to get a copy of the City Manager petition currently being circulated. Controlling Growth and Development and Promoting Transit We need to plan for our City with controlled,
modest growth. This growth needs to be
of a density, scale and design that continues the special character and charm
that is Annapolis. Because of the scarcity of vacant land, virtually
all of our future development will have to be infill and redevelopment, which
means we will be impacting existing neighborhoods and utilizing infrastructure
that was originally built to support lower density development. In particular, we are already facing
unresolved traffic and transit issues that will only be made worse by
significantly increasing density before we know how we will resolve our transit
issues. We need to make transit planning
and improvements a top priority. I do
not believe we want to become a City of mid to high rise buildings and traffic
jams. I will promote modest growth and
development of a scale and design that is consistent and compatible with Annapolis' history and
character. Click here to see my testimony on the proposed Comprehensive Plan. The Market House and the Economic Vitality of Downtown The Market House has been a civic disgrace and a serious detriment to the
vitality of downtown, which is struggling with very difficult economic
challenges. Click here to see my statement about the future of the Market House. As Mayor, I would place high priority on getting the Market House back to being a vital, active
part of downtown. Small, locally owned
businesses providing essential services, a farmers market, festive events
and community gatherings could make the Market House a source of pride and activity,
adding to - not detracting from - our precious historic downtown. Our downtown businesses are facing and will continue to face severe challenges from new competition and a difficult economy. The City cannot allow our downtown to decline, it is our heart and soul and is essential to our economic well being as a City. As Mayor, I will do everything possible to establish City policies and practices that help, not impede, our downtown businesses. The downtown area now has about 20 vacant buildings. This provides challenges, certainly, but also opportunity. I would have City government:
To recruit these businesses, the City would set forth a set of initiatives that include:
As Mayor, I would meet personally and regularly with downtown business leaders to ensure constant communication and cooperation. Nothing is more important to the fiscal health and civic pride of Annapolis than a vibrant, economically thriving downtown, and preserving it is a top prioirty of mine. My background as head of an Annapolis-based business, which has worked in the City, makes me an ideal candidate to fulfill these objectives and work well with the business community. We must fundamentally transform the nature of our public housing to benefit
both the City impacted by it and the residents who live there in concentrations
of poverty, isolation and aging housing.
The City can no longer turn its back on the needs of public housing and
say it is a "Federal Government problem.” That
approach has hurt the City as a whole and reduced opportunities for the
residents to grow into self sufficiency and move up and out of public housing. We must end having housing solely owned and operated by a public housing
authority that is dependent totally on the Federal Government to provide
meager and inadequate funding. The
public housing system is a relic of the past and there are much better ways to
provide affordable housing. For the last
30 years, all affordable housing in the country, other than public housing, has
been provided by the private sector or by private/public partnerships. The Annapolis Housing Authority started in this direction during my
tenure as the volunteer Chairman of the Board. Four of the 10 public housing properties are being redeveloped into public/private ownership and
private property management.
Redevelopment of these projects will begin in 2009. In addition to changes in ownership and property management, we must
redevelop the properties to include a mix of rental and homeownership units
that will result in a greater mix of incomes. We also need to ensure that new units have high standards for residents
and an array of on-site public and private services to help residents achieve
self sufficiency. We would do this,
consistent with Federal law, in a way that ensures that residents are not
displaced without adequate housing they can afford. In fact, existing residents
can be offered greater choices where they choose to live, either continuing to live on site or elsewhere, through other rental assistance programs at rents they can afford. As Mayor, my housing background makes me uniquely qualified to preside
over accomplishing this transformation of public housing. It is difficult technical and political work
and a Mayor taking this task on will need great resolve and knowledge. I have proven already that I have both, and I
am up to the task of completing this transformation of our public housing and
improving the lives of its residents and surrounding neighbors. See my overview here of the public housing transformation that has started in the Clay Street area. Click here to see a report I produced about housing in the City of Annapolis. We are a City which has had crime rates in excess of comparable cities of our size.
While we have made recent progress, we should not be fully satisfied
until we are among the best. I have a
long record as a civic activist advocating and presenting facts and recommendations
on reducing crime in Annapolis. Our crime stems mostly from issues related to drug trafficking in the City and
as such has required significant changes in how we were policing. For a long time we were not doing that and as a result the City had crime rates, particularly
for violent crime, that were escalating.
Lastly and very importantly, in addition to policing and crime control techniques, we need programs to give hope and options to young people so they do not start a life of drugs and crime. This means particularly drug treatment and prevention programs, entry level jobs and job training, youth mentoring and parenting support services. Click here to review my consistent advocacy regarding crime, and click here to view a major crime report I initiated.
Although the
City does not have responsibility for the public school system, the quality of
the 12 public schools that serve Annapolis is of critical important to the future of the City. Our City is losing its middle class families with
children, in part, because of concerns about the public schools. Our children
from lower income communities often struggle and need special help. As Mayor, I will be closely involved, working with the School Board and Superintendent
and the local citizen advisory groups to improve our schools and ensure that Annapolis gets the
resources and attention it needs. For
example, where our schools are eligible for Title I and other special
resources, I will do everything possible to see that we get them. I will do
this through developing strong on-going relationships with the County and the
school system, identifying annually our top priority needs, and personally
testifying and advocating for those needs as part of the budget process. The bully pulpit of the Mayor needs to be
used to the maximum to ensure that Annapolis' needs are recognized and met. As Mayor, I
would also celebrate the successes of our schools, holding community events in
the schools, recognizing student and school achievements, encouraging parental
involvement, and encouraging parents to consider public schools. The City also has a responsibility to do
everything it can to help make schools and their surroundings safe and secure
through its own public safety programs. Lastly, I believe that improving early childhood education is one of the most important things that can be done to insure the success of our children in school. Our lower income and immigrant children generally enter school way behind in school readiness. This makes it difficult for many to catch up. I would also like to explore helping a charter school develop in the City in order to expand educational options, particularly for our disadvantaged children who enter the system less "school ready" than their peers. I would also focus resources available through the City’s grant and other programs, and have the City help organize and support volunteer efforts in our low income communities to prepare children to be ready for school. I believe this is one of the most effective things the City can do to break the cycle of poverty and dependence. Click here to see a report on education in the City of Annapolis that I have prepared. As Mayor, I will ensure that all of the practices of the City itself
would, to the maximum extent possible, protect and preserve the
environment. Our first duty as a government is to be a shining example of
environmental good practices as we operate municipal services and
facilities. For example, the Annapolis bus system uses oversized, energy inefficient buses and the City’s car fleet
and police vehicles need to be fully converted to the most energy efficient
vehicles possible. Our City building and facilities should be retrofitted
to operate in the most energy efficient way. We need to provide for recycling
at all commercial properties. When it snows, we throw tons of salt on
bridges and roads, salt which is left to drain directly into our creeks and
rivers. We require high standards of storm water management of private
construction, but our own runoff from streets and municipal facilities can be
lax and damaging to our creeks. We need to make it easier and more
desirable to walk, ride bikes, use scooters, and ride mass transit than to drive
cars. Visitors, tourists and long-term parkers need to be able to visit Annapolis while leaving
their cars outside the downtown area. We need to vigorously protect our
last precious open space and critical areas from excessive
development. I believe job one of the Mayor is first and foremost to
ensure that the City itself is doing everything possible to protect the
environment with all of its own actions and decisions. The City also needs, most certainly, to use the regulatory powers of the
City to ensure that private entities engage in practices within the City that
minimize damage to the environment. Such oversight needs to be applied
fairly, consistently and with good common sense. Regulations need to be
clear and understandable. We also need to continue to support the many
environmental projects and initiatives undertaken by volunteer and nonprofit
entities. They provide great contributions to not only improving the
environment, but also to educating and inspiring residents to care about the
environment issues.
Improving City Services to Residents As Mayor, I would place greater emphasis on ensuring
that the basic services of the City are delivered in a more efficient and
reliable manner. I believe the City has become involved in things that
are not the core business of the City, while neglecting some basic municipal
services and functions. In particular, I believe sidewalks, streets,
maintenance of physical facilities and the bus system are not consistently up
to quality standards. Residents are too often frustrated by the way the
City responds to requests for service and repairs. The City needs to set
standards for the quality of basic services and response times for resolving
citizen requests. Staff needs to be held accountable for meeting these
standards for service delivery. The City’s administration of the planning,
permitting and oversight of private construction is an area that needs
significant improvements. Private citizens undertaking home
construction and rehabilitation, businesses trying to construct or upgrade
their facilities, and contractors working in the City all too frequently
express great frustration with the City's requirements and, most
especially, the inconsistency of the administration of them and the lack
of timely approvals. Small business owners, in particular, feel it
greatly increases the financial burden of operating within the City. The
City obviously has valid and necessary regulatory functions, but it is
important that they be reasonable, fair and administered
efficiently. As Mayor, I would order a complete review of
the regulations and procedures for construction, eliminate the unnecessary,
illogical and out of date requirements, and establish clear processes and time
schedules for staff reviews and approvals of all construction projects.
Improving Intergovernmental Relationships and Cooperation Over the past few years, the City
has been handicapped in securing some of the critical resources it needs
because of poor interpersonal relationships with the County, the State and
other regional leaders. The City cannot succeed in its goals
without the cooperation of the County that surrounds us and the State that we
are part of. An important part of the job of the Mayor is to
maintain good personal and governmental relationships with these other entities,
as well as to encourage the City staff to do so. Intergovernmental
cooperation needs more attention and priority than it has had in the past. As Mayor, I will reactivate
the Capital City Commission, which at one time regularly brought together the area’s
top leaders to discuss and plan for common issues affecting Annapolis. I will also meet
regularly one-on-one with other top elected officials and the
State legislators to ensure that lines of communication are
open, relationships are friendly, and cooperation is improved.
I believe that it is uniquely the job of the Mayor to represent the City
to fellow elected officials and, if done properly, would bring significant
new benefits to the City.
Support Local Cultural and Arts Groups Our local cultural and arts organizations are special treasures of
As Mayor, I will move Annapolis into a new era. I am not a career elected official, not part of a political network, and I will never run for any other office but Mayor. I will approach the job without personal or political considerations or motivations; decisions will be made based only on what isbest for Annapolis. Accordingly, I am not seeking the endorsements or contributions of any union with whom I would be negotiating employment contracts, any developers whom I know to be planning development in the City, or any firms who lease City property. I will attract to civic life new people with more fresh ideas and less political motivations. I will emphasize professionalism, fact-based
decision making, due public process and openness in everything we do. I
will create an environment where differing perspectives are sought and
respected as public policy and legislation is formulated. I will ensure
that City Council members have the resources and information they need to be
effective and efficient representatives of their Wards. In my career as a manager and in my
volunteer civic life, I have demonstrated an ability to seek consensus, to
listen and learn, and to make the best possible decisions. |