Giving This The Best That We’ve Got

Alsobrooks And County Leaders Stand Firm And United Against Covid-19

By Raoul Dennis 

The county’s top executive found another gear when COVID-19 came to town.

The Alsobrooks Administration was already moving at a fast pace when it closed out 2019 leading the state in job creation, another AAA Bond rating and promising inroads in economic development for 2020. And they did so having lost time due to the furlough mess the previous January.

But they saw the writing on the wall about this new disease when the administration smartly canceled the annual Women’s History Month Luncheon – the first time in over 25 years. Looking back on it, had the luncheon been held—traditionally attracting over 1,000 of the county’s most influential leaders—the virus would likely have had a feeding frenzy. Remember what happened to New Orleans when Mardi Gras festivities weren’t canceled?

Canceling the luncheon was the first major good move in the fight against the virus that few experts knew how to fight in the first place. We didn’t know enough. But we did know that we needed to stay apart because this thing was more contagious than anything we’ve experienced before.

In fact, no one has a training guide or blueprint for fighting this war. The closest situation we’ve known is the misnamed Spanish Flu of 1918. Alsobrooks and the County Council had to figure out how to lead against the devastating disease on the fly.

They have risen to the occasion.

Alsobrooks vaulted into the fray, adapting to virtual town hall meetings, coordinating with local and state health leaders and creating deeper partnerships with regional institutions experienced at food distribution and developing emergency support networks. The administration almost immediately increased its dialogue with the public by hosting frequent press conferences, announcements and social media public service messaging in efforts to increase awareness about the disease, what we knew about how it works and the critical importance of social distancing.

The county council has been equally aggressive in squaring off to fight the spread of Coronavirus.  The body has met more times in its capacity as the county’s board of health than it has as council (which are typically weekly public meetings) in an effort to inform, update and attack the problem. Working with the county executive and the state, the county council has pushed greater attention and dollars toward aiding families, supporting local businesses and creating legislation to get ahead of the ripple effect of issues brought about by the virus.

In fact, the county’s recent recognition as being in the top three percent of jurisdictions across the nation applying the social distancing measures by a University of Maryland study indicates that the persistent early work by county leaders has been effective.

There can be no denying that Prince George’s leads the state in Coronavirus cases. There are a number of factors that contribute to this. The county’s large number of workers in high contact, service industries are part of that equation. Prince George’s has grown to become a gateway to the nation’s capital: the virus was first found here in a major setting at the CPAC conference held in National Harbor (February 26 to 29). Another factor includes health predispositions many African Americans have that create more susceptibility to the virus. And add to this, the social and economic weaknesses in many communities that make social distancing sound more like something in a sociology lab study.

Respectfully, Gov. Larry Hogan has been an extraordinary voice of reasoned leadership on this matter. By acting early and decisively, declaring a state of emergency March 5 and then closing Maryland via executive order later that month, the governor not only set the tone for addressing the problem, lives were probably saved. The tone from the governor’s office presented the Alsobrooks administration with a strong partner as opposed to the political tug of war experienced in other parts of the nation.

With all this, like any war, heroes rise from the numerous battles fought. These are courageous and innovative leaders who make things happen at times when things seem shut down, when traditional approaches to winning don’t apply. We commend Prince George’s County Schools CEO Dr. Monica Goldson, Employ Prince George’s Executive Director Walter Simmons, the county’s first responders in health, fire, police and military—and others who are now also running toward the daily threat in order to keep our society moving. We applaud the grocery store managers and clerks, the sanitation and all of the department of public works workers and everyone in Prince George’s who make the decision every day to leave their families and to do their job in spite of these new risks.

There are hundreds of Prince Georgians – from the food and shelter professionals to the faith leaders – who are elevating our communities in the face of this global pandemic knowing that this too shall pass. We would love to be able to name them all. We certainly salute them all.

But at this moment, county residents must take comfort in the leadership it has selected. Angela Alsobrooks and her administration are doing an outstanding job of flying this new plane while being forced to learn the instruction manual at the same time. She truly makes us Prince George’s Proud.