A to-do list for Aisha Braveboy, according to Prince George’s County leaders

Shortly after winning her first full term Tuesday, County Executive Aisha Braveboy made her mandate clear.

“I will be focused on growing Prince George’s County,” she said in her victory speech at a New Carrollton hotel.

County leaders agree: At a time when Prince George’s is struggling with economic headwinds, Braveboy should be laser-focused on reinvigorating the economy.

They also expect her to keep the County Council in check, push for state investments, protect immigrants, improve transparency, support nonprofits providing critical services, spend more on education and follow through on long-promised community investments.

While some believe Braveboy has the mantle at an especially challenging moment for Prince George’s — “I don’t envy her,” said Bowie Mayor Michael Estève — others, like Del. Ashanti Martinez, see a county “primed with promise.”

Based on recent interviews with current and former elected officials, nonprofit leaders, advocates and other civic leaders, The Banner has compiled the most pressing matters Braveboy faces as she prepares for her second term.

Attract big-time development

Rushern Baker, one of Braveboy’s predecessors, said that without a growing economy, “you can’t do the other things that you want to do.”

At a time when mass federal layoffs and other factors are hurting revenue growth, and as the county faces a projected $151 million deficit in next year’s budget, she’ll need to attract projects that can boost the county’s commercial tax base.

Braveboy has shown she can secure big-time projects.

Her mediation preserved plans for Prince George’s County to welcome Sphere, which she has promised will transform National Harbor, pad the county coffers and provide job opportunities to county residents.

Braveboy’s allies say she’s built momentum since 2025, when she first took office following a special election victory.

“She’s really set the tone for how we as a county are going to be open for business,” said Council member Shayla Adams-Stafford.

Many have their eyes on the build out of a large-scale project at the Six Flags America site in Bowie and replacing Northwest Stadium in Landover after the Commanders’ expected departure.

To be successful, Baker said, Braveboy doesn’t have to ensure all of these projects are finished within four years.

She just has to move them forward.

Keep the council in check

Several leaders who spoke with The Banner said the County Council is making Braveboy’s job more difficult.

Estève said the council has been particularly obstructive to the executive’s economic development agenda.

The council has been “going out of its way to create rules, many legally dubious, that everyone knows are going to make it much, much harder for investors to move in here and start and grow businesses,” he said.

The county is being sued over a new $5,000 fee that will be charged to tobacco shops, liquor stores, gun stores and storage facilities beginning in January.

And, despite legal concerns, the council recently passed legislation banning convenience stores from selling tobacco products, which will take effect in July unless Braveboy vetoes it.

Derrick Leon Davis, a former County Council member, said he wants Braveboy to act as more of a check on these legislators.

He said Braveboy should have vetoed the budget the council passed for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which included a $39 million transfer to county coffers. The commission later sued the county, and a judge temporarily halted the transfer.

“Should have been vetoed. You shouldn’t be in court,” he said.

Collaborate with lawmakers

Council Vice Chair Eric Olson, though, said the body has a “very good” relationship with Braveboy.

“I expect it will continue to be a great relationship,” said Olson, who is the frontrunner to replace Krystal Oriadha as council chair next year.

Leaders who spoke to The Banner also expect Braveboy to work closely with lawmakers representing Prince George’s County in the General Assembly, several of whom hold powerful roles in Annapolis.

Martinez, the majority whip in his chamber, said he expects Braveboy and her team to work with state officials to decrease the county economy’s reliance on the federal government.

Maryland officials have for years echoed that need, and mass layoffs and funding cuts by the Trump administration have added urgency.

Martinez said local officials must develop a more cohesive marketing strategy to demonstrate that Prince George’s is a destination for businesses.

“We’re at the cusp of a lot of exciting, innovative things and I just hope that that’s the focus of our county executive in her first full term,” he said.

Support those harmed by ICE

Ninfa Amador-Hernandez, Maryland policy manager for We Are CASA, said her organization wants the county executive’s help in supporting those hurt most by “this Trump terror.”

She wants the county to provide resources for families subjected to federal immigration “abductions” and create employment opportunities for working-class people who’ve lost their jobs, among other priorities.

“We look forward to working with County Exec Braveboy to ensure that every decision that’s made by the county has our members in mind,” she said.

Improve transparency

Jamila Larson, executive director of Greenbelt’s Playtime Project and co-founder of Welcome Home Neighbor in Hyattsville, is hoping the county executive will make herself more available.

Larson said she’s had a hard time reaching Braveboy and other county leaders. One issue is particularly urgent, she said, pointing to a September report from the Capital Area Food Bank stating that more than half of county residents experience food insecurity, the highest rate in the capital region.

“We’ve got to really focus as a county on taking care of each other and making sure that we are prioritizing spending our tax dollars for proven strategies that can help address all of these economic anxieties,” she said.

During her victory speech Tuesday, Braveboy appeared to acknowledge Larson’s concern. This term, she plans to visit communities more frequently and respond to residents’ concerns more quickly.

“Getting government set up my first year, I spent a lot of time in the office,” Braveboy said. “But where I really like to be is amongst the people.”

Stick up for nonprofits

Nonprofit leaders, including those running local organizations focused on healthcare, at-risk youth, seniors and schools, say they’ve been losing trust in the county government for some time.

Tiffany Turner-Allen, executive director of the advocacy and resource organization Nonprofit Prince George’s County, said recent controversies have been the “icing on the cake.”

Turner-Allen specifically referenced the council awarding about $12.8 million over two years to an organization run by the chair’s close friend.

In recent weeks, Braveboy requested the money back and launched an investigation into funding provided to the organization, Community on the Frontline, and its Beverly Hills, California-based fiscal sponsor, the Edward Charles Foundation.

Still, Turner-Allen said she hasn’t seen the county executive properly call out the council for its handling of grant funding.

“For residents and nonprofit organizations, there’s been a lot of trust that has been broken with what we have seen at the council side,” she said. “We would like to, I think, see the county executive really lean into that and work on helping to rebuild it.”

Aimee Olivo, executive director of Art Works Now in Hyattsville, said the County Council’s decisions have hurt local nonprofits.

Some have laid off staff as they’ve struggled to maintain services with a budget that no longer includes government grants.

“We’re more than just organizations that do good,” Olivo said. “We are a sector of the economy.”

Increase investments

Braveboy will have some daunting decisions as the county stares down a projected deficit and a wide range of priorities.

Olivo, who is also a member of the school board, wants to see an increase to the school system’s budget.

“She made this investment in our superintendent, and I would really like to see her pick up the mantle of education funding and support PGCPS at more than the required minimum,” she said.

Brittany Patrick, president of the Suitland Civic Association, said her community has been waiting a long time for promised investments.

Patrick said her association specifically wants Braveboy to secure funding needed to revitalize Suitland’s commercial corridors.

She said Suitland has a rich history, committed residents and a strategic location for developments. Despite promises, she said, the area hasn’t seen follow-through from county leaders.

“I just don’t want to spend another four years talking about what Suitland could become,” she said. “I want us to be able to celebrate what Suitland has become in the next four years.”