Candidate Endorsements
Mayor: Andy Fellows
Andy Fellows
UMD for Clean Energy is very excited that Andy Fellows will be the next Mayor of College Park. His strong background on environmental issues at Clean Water Action, impressive positions on our issues we discerned from three meetings, and the fact that we kept running into him at activist events around Prince Georges County means he has our wholehearted support.
District 1: Patrick Wojahn, Fazlul Kabir
Patrick Wojahn
Fazlul Kabir
UMD for Clean Energy enjoyed meeting with all five candidates for district 1. Challenger Seth Gomoljak was a lot of fun to meet with, and came across as very supportive on all of our issues. We appreciate his “can do” attitude that is far too often lacking in elected officials. However, when he was pressed for further details of how he would carry out our ideas and his, he often admitted he didn’t know enough to take a position beyond saying yes. Challengers Fazlul Kabir, Chris Nagle, and Larry Bleau were very knowledgeable and supportive of most aspects of our platform. Although it was close, we ultimately felt Fazlul Kabir was the most impressive, demonstrating he’s been thinking about these issues for a long time, and at the same time he took firm positions on our ideas. It was clear from his record and perspective that he shared our vision of making College Park a leader. Incumbent Patrick Wojahn brought our priority platform proposal of a revolving energy efficiency loan fund to the City Council over the course of two work sessions, and made the loan fund a priority in his campaign platform. He is working to ensure that the loan fund is a legislative priority at the state level by giving municipalities the authority to collect loan repayments from individual residents (which has been an obstacle). On top of this, we’ve been impressed with Wojahn’s commitment to better biking infrastructure, bike sharing, and a strong climate action plan. He walks the talk, and when it comes to making College Park a leader, he is the surest bet we have.
District 2
Unfortunately, UMD for Clean Energy didn’t get the impression any of the district two candidates would make College Park a leader. Please see our information on their positions, as there were definitely some differences between the three candidates.
District 3: Stephanie Stullich, Mark Cook
Stephanie Stullich
Mark Cook
UMD for Clean Energy found that all three candidates were strong on the issues presented in our platform. Incumbent Stephanie Stullich incorporated some ideas from our platform into hers, and came across as genuinely pro-environment and receptive to new ideas. Of particular importance was her championing our priority policy, the energy efficiency loan fund. Incumbent Mark Cook also indicated clear support for the loan fund, including the willingness to prioritize the estimated $50,000 in seed money needed to jumpstart it. He also gave more than just positions, but sound advice on how to make some of our ideas a reality, demonstrating he truly wanted to work on these with us after the election. Challenger Bob McCenney came across as a skeptical of our specific ideas, but supportive of the general concepts. We found his willingness to be honest and point out possible faults valuable up to a point, but unfounded at times. We were enlightened by some of his approaches to our suggestions, along with his strong positions on development and transportation. However, when faced with the question of which two candidates we trusted most to carry out our platform and make College Park a leader, we answered Stullich and Cook.
District 4: Marcus Afzali, Mary Cook
Marcus Afzali
Mary Cook
Challenger Denise Mitchell came across as pro-environment and supportive of the general concepts we espoused in our platform. Unfortunately, she didn’t appear to have a firm grasp of our issues, and couldn’t give answers on others. Incumbent Karen Hampton also indicated general support on the aspects of our platform, and didn’t give a whole lot of background information beyond voicing her support. Although we had every indication she would be open to listening and implementing our ideas, both Mary Cook and Marcus Afzali went above and beyond. Incumbent Mary Cook was very strong on land use, responsible development, and sustainable transportation, along with being supportive of our loan fund. She also indicated a willingness to seriously partner with our group on issues, asking us for help with preventing irresponsible re-zoning in the Route 1 Sector Plan at our meeting. We could tell she is a dedicated public servant. Challenger Marcus Afzali has a contagious enthusiasm about making College Park a leader that matched up perfectly with ours. What distinguished him from many other candidates was an understanding of why certain policies such as the loan fund and tax cuts for green businesses were crucial to College Park’s economic well being. When we challenged our own ideas in front of Marcus to see how he would react, he had some of the most thoughtful responses of the candidates. This convinced us he could work around obstacles that usually come up in policymaking.