On Air
Council Chair Todd Turner Guest On Radio Talk Show
On Feb. 28, County Council Chair Todd M. Turner joined host Kojo Nnamdi and resident political analyst Tom Sherwood on WAMU radio’s “The Politics Hour,” to discuss all things Prince George’s, including economic growth, transportation, public safety and education.
Tom Sherwood, Council Chair Todd Turner and Kojo Nmamdi on “The Politics Hour”
On the subject of education, Nnamdi inquired about the Maryland General Assembly’s consideration of a multi-billion dollar education reform Kirwan Commission proposal—-where counties and cities would be required to cover some of the costs and Prince George’s County is estimated to have to pay $360 million more each year to education when the reform plan is fully implemented.
Nnamdi asked Turner if he shared the County Executive’s concerns about that proposal, to which Turner replied, “I do, let’s be honest, we’re a partnership with the state of Maryland with respect to the funding of school education in Prince George’s County. We understand our needs, particularly with our student population [in] English as a second language, and free and reduced meals. So we have, along with Baltimore City probably the greatest need for additional funding. And so the Kirwan Commission has come out with its recommendations. We’re having that discussion now in the general assembly. We’re working with the Prince George’s County Delegation and working with subcommittees on the house side and considering amendments. Particularly the leaders of the education subcommittees on the house side including two from Prince George’s (Delegates Washington and Barnes) who came forward with amendments that would reduce the amount by almost 200 million dollars over the ten-year phase-in of what they are calling the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.”
The discussion also included mention of the end of another of the county’s newspapers, the Prince George’s Sentinel, “That’s another missing voice that we had so we were sorry to see it go…” remarked the Council Chair.
Turner, who was unanimously re-elected to serve a second term as Council Chair is already a celebrity in his own right. He is the host of the cable show “Around The County,” a production of Prince George’s County Council that speaks to services, the community and progress in Prince George’s.
Turner seems comfortable in front of the camera and behind the mic. Could this be a peek into the Council Chair’s future aspirations? As they say in television and on radio, “Stay tuned”.
