The Next Level Of The Game
Todd Turner Remains Chair Of County Council As Calvin Hawkins Steps In As Vice-Chair for 2020
By Raoul Dennis // PHOTOS: RAOUL DENNIS AND JOHN EDMUNDS
With an 11-0 vote Dec. 3, the Prince George’s County Council voted to retain Todd M. Turner (D-District 4) as chair of the county’s leading elected body while advancing Calvin S. Hawkins II (D-At Large) to the position of Vice-Chair by the same margin.
Turner referenced NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan saying leadership must be earned every day, saying that the council will maintain its current pace and that he would redouble his own efforts in leading it.
“I have taken that message to heart. My own sense of leadership is guided by the maxim that only through service to the community can we achieve progress in Prince George’s. I will continue to ‘earn my leadership daily’ as this council continues building a successful legacy for Prince George’s County,” Turner said moments after the vote.
The council will focus on several issues that it addressed during the 2019 session. Under the ‘culture of openness and accountability’ theme that the council adopted, it will build on the history-making year that comes to a close Dec. 31.
“We learned the value of partnerships early,” Turner said reflecting on the hard challenges brought onto the county by the federal shutdown crisis and its effects on families. “The council joined with County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George’s County Public Schools, the Prince George’s Community College, the United Way and [other stakeholders] to provide assistance to impacted federal workers and their families.”
In 2020, the council will continue partnering as it tackles school funding, money for schools reconstruction and renovation, affordable housing for working families and seniors and the 2020 census among other issues.
The Chair found it easy to continue his use of sports philosophy to illustrate his own points with the championship wins of the Washington Nationals, the Washington Mystics, and the Washington Capitals.
“A great team must have the right balance and the right mixture of players, good leaders, good communicators and good technicians. And people who are strategically astute,” Todd said quoting Hope Powell, former coach of Great Britain’s, Olympic Football team. “As a former football team captain myself, her words resonated with me.”
