A Unique Opportunity
Three Reasons Why Prince Georgians Should Unite in The Alsobrooks Campaign For U.S. Senate
By The Prince George’s Suite Magazine Editorial Board // PHOTOS BY AMIR STOUDAMIRE
It’s not every day that Prince George’s gets the chance to send a daughter of the county to the United States Senate.
Prince George’s Suite Magazine doesn’t endorse political candidates. However, the editorial board reserves the right to maintain a position in support of the best opportunities for the county to succeed. It is part of our mission.
Although electing current County Executive Angela Alsobrooks would make history, the more critical argument for standing with the campaign is the good it would do for Prince George’s in sending a worthy young leader to the United States Senate.
Three reasons why county residents should unite in support of the Alsobrooks campaign.
Goods And Services
The first rule of politics is the delivery of goods and services to a set constituency. Alsobrooks has a proven and direct track record in delivering for the county and the state. Violent crime remained low and employment remained the highest in the state under her watch. Further, Alsobrooks launched 10 new schools while raising the budget allocation to education each year of her terms. But more importantly here is character. The county executive has a fierce loyalty to her place of origin and her roots. Alsobrooks still joins high school friends regularly – over thirty years since graduation – an example of her loyalty and commitment to her family and home. Alsobrooks won’t just deliver for Maryland and the county because it’s an election promise. She will do it because it’s her nature.
A United Prince George’s
Prince Georgians are proud of their standing as one of the most affluent African American communities in the world. As a majority minority community, the county continues to push forward in economic development and shout its increasing value as a destination. However, one knock against the county has been its history of small ball politics that leads to cliquish silos and grudges which slows long term gain. Of this, no one is innocent. But this can be altered and now is the time to do it. In order for Prince George’s to unravel its massive potential and reach a destiny that truly shows the world a new model of success, residents and leaders must shed shallow divisions and unite around the larger goals of a promising future. Alsobrooks’ run creates an opportunity for a start toward such comprehensive unity.
The Potential for Getting Congress Back to Work
The 118th Congress has been one of the worst in U.S. history by admission of many of the members who served within it. Mired in disruptive agendas and infighting, this congress has done little by way of writing new law or bringing substantive gains back to their constituents (there was a time when constituent services meant something). Congress has moved closer toward dysfunction. As a result, national issues such as homelessness, immigration, better care for our veterans, renewable energy, childhood poverty/hunger and FEMA/climate crisis response have gone under addressed or unanswered entirely. Our national future depends on a functioning, working Congress. Young leaders with vision of a post-tribal Congress who look to America’s future must be elected to office in order for that change to begin to phase in.
It's Not About Hogan, It’s The Timing
It should be noted that former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is not an enemy of Maryland’s best opportunities. He exemplified center aisle politics as a Republican governor. He maintained a reputation as a country over party Republican. Further, many will remember in 2020 when the federal government insisted that states find their own way in getting needed COVID supplies, the former governor came through for Maryland. When it was his time to step down, he endorsed Democrat Wes Moore as the best candidate for the state’s future.
But at a time when Capitol Hill is so thoroughly polarized and issues such as abortion, immigration and book banning are topics, even Hogan will find it difficult to maintain his cooperative style in such a highly-charged environment. He will be expected to vote against the interests of his center left supporters - even as he now says he will stand pro-choice. And in this winner-take-all political climate, Marylanders can’t afford to gamble on Hogan’s fortitude.
