Adrion Howell

The Prince George’s County Board of Elections has yet to certify the results or declare a winner in Tuesday’s Democratic special primary election to fill the open District 5 seat on the county council.

The trend, however, favors Andrea Fletcher Harrison (D-Springdale), the deputy chief of staff for the District 5 council office, who leads Mayor Adam Ortiz (D-Edmonston) by 137 votes, 37.42% to 33.09%, with 25 of 28 precincts reporting.

According to Alisha Alexander, the county’s elections administrator, absentee ballots, provisional ballots, and overseas/military ballots have yet to be included in the official results. These ballots count as precincts, Alexander said, making up the remaining total.

HARRISON LEADS BY 137 OF 3,167 VOTES CAST

Results for the special primary election for the vacant Prince George's County Council seats are coming in live. With 25 of the 28 precincts (89%) reporting:

DEMOCRATS

Harrison, Andrea 37.42% (1185 votes)
Ortiz, Adam 33.09% (1048 votes)
Dudely,Theresa 14.15%
Howell, Adrion 12.79%
Johnson, Melvin 0.88%
James-Strother Sherr 0.85%
Parks, Derrick A. 0.82%

REPUBLICANS

Steven W. Johnson is running unopposed in this heavily Democratic district.

Theresa Dudley (D-Kentland) has been a social studies teacher for 11 years. She has served on the board of directors of the teacher’s union for the past three years. Now, Dudley is seeking to fill the open District 5 position on the Prince George’s County Council, which she has unsuccessfully sought three times before.

“It feels different,” Dudley said about this election. “People are really looking at this race.”

Dudley will be one of seven Democrats competing in next Tuesday’s special primary election. Her opponents include Mayor Adam Ortiz of Edmonston, Adrion Howell, a Glenn Dale resident and former liaison to Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson, and Andrea Fletcher Harrison, the deputy chief of staff for the District 5 council office.

Mayor Adam Ortiz (D-Edmonston) is the only elected official seeking to fill the open District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County Council. With that line on his resume, the two-term Democratic mayor from Edmonston is running on his record against six Democratic opponents, as the April 1 primary election approaches.

“I think I have a record of proven experience of delivering for regular people,” Ortiz told PolitickerMD.com.

Elected in 2005, Ortiz said crime has dropped 24 percent in Edmonston since he became mayor. He also said he helped stem flooding issues in the city, saying his administration pumped $6 million into flood prevention methods.

Derrick Parks (D-Lanham) believes he has the “talent and skills” to revitalize the business community in Prince George’s County. The owner of the Metropolitan Protective Services security firm, which provides uniform guard services, Parks told PolitickerMD.com that his experience “running a company” sets him apart from his seven opponents in the race to fill the open District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County Council.

While saying there were “land developers who would like to come” to Prince George’s, Parks said crime had to be addressed first.

The candidate said he would look to open an organization of “volunteer reserve police officers,” saying he would set a goal of having a 2 percent volunteer police force in the county, or roughly 250 additional unpaid officers.

Reducing crime is one of the most important issues facing Prince George’s County today, according to Adrion Howell (D-Glenn Dale), a local lobbyist and former liaison to Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson.

Howell vowed to work to “increase the size of the police force” in the county, if he is elected to fill the open District 5 county council seat vacated by state Sen. David Harrington (D-Cheverly), who was promoted to the General Assembly following the death of Gwendolyn Britt.

Andrea Fletcher Harrison (D-Prince George’s County) cited her experience working closely with members of the Prince George’s County Council as her edge against the eight others vying to fill the open District 5 council seat vacated by David Harrington (D-Cheverly), who replaced the deceased Sen. Gwendolyn Britt in the General Assembly. 

“I have been serving the residents of Prince George’s County for the past six years,” Harrison told PolitickerMD.com.  

Harrison has served the past five years as the deputy chief of staff for the District 5 council office. She previously served one year as a constituent services liaison.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, Maryland Division, has endorsed Mayor Adam Ortiz (D-Edmonston) in his bid to fill the open District 5 Prince George's County Council seat vacated by David Harrington, who replaced the deceased Sen. Gwendolyn Britt in the General Assembly.

The union also endorsed Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington) in her successful Democratic primary campaign in Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District.

“Like Donna Edwards, Adam Ortiz is a new kind of leader in Prince George’s County,” John Reid, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Maryland Division, said in a statement. “By putting people before politics, Adam Ortiz will be a fresh voice and a force for change on the county council.”

Adam Ortiz, the two-term Democratic mayor from Edmonston, has received the endorsement of the organization Progressive Cheverly in his bid to fill the open District 5 Prince George's County Council seat vacated by David Harrington, who replaced the deceased Gwendolyn Britt in the state Senate. 

According to their website, www.pipeline.com/~progchev/index.htm, Progressive Cheverly serves to promote "economic fairness, social justice, basic human rights, a sustainable environment, a tolerant society and world peace through a more informed political dialogue and active participation in civil society and the democratic political process." 

Terry Doyle, a spokesperson for the organization, told PolitickerMD.com that the group endorsed Ortiz because of his “environmental concerns” and “long-term concern about Prince George's Hospital.”

Several candidates have already declared their intentions to fill the open District 5 Prince George’s County Council seat, vacated by David Harrington, who replaced the deceased Gwendolyn Britt in the state Senate.

Andrea Fletcher Harrison, a longtime aide to Harrington, has announced her candidacy to fill the seat. Harrison is the daughter of former council member James C. Fletcher, Jr. In 2002, she ran for a House Delegate position in District 24, but did not make it past the Democratic primary.

While Harrington’s support for Harrison may help her bid, Adrion Howell, another candidate, has the backing of Kweisi Mfume, the former president of the NAACP and Maryland congressman.

Howell, a Democratic strategist, is also reported to be actively seeking the endorsement of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson. The two men are close, and Howell used to serve as Johnson’s liaison to the county council.