In Prince George’s, a mandate emerges in county government. Will anyone stand in the way?

With many votes still to be counted in Prince George’s County, some races have yet to come into focus. But in key areas, the impact couldn’t be clearer.

Incumbent County Executive Aisha Braveboy cruised to an easy victory in her primary election, and two of her closest allies on the council, Ed Burroughs and chair Krystal Oriadha, ran unopposed. With their victories, the apex of the power structure in county government has been cemented for the next four years.

During her campaign, and culminating in her victory speech, Braveboy focused on an emerging mandate: to bolster the county’s commercial tax base in the face of uncertainty about the size of the federal workforce under President Donald Trump’s administration. That vision, Burroughs said, is in line with the county executive’s biggest strength.

“When you look at the projects she’s brought in in less than a year, and what’s to come in her portfolio, that is one of her greatest successes,” he said Wednesday, referencing the yet-to-be-built Sphere and other projects.

Burroughs said that the shift was significant, “because we cannot continue to run the government on the backs of homeowners via property taxes.”

Niambi Carter, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland in College Park, believes county residents are in a “wait-and-see moment.”

“How this new County Council responds to what I think are real complaints: We pay some of the highest property taxes, but I don’t think people feel they are paid attention to,” she said.

Carter, who grew up in Prince George’s County and is a current resident, said she is unsure whether it’s this election or one in the near future that will be the “difference-maker” in bringing about the change Braveboy and her cohorts are seeking.

“As these communities mature, you do have, I think, more of the sort of Daniel Armando Jones and Burroughs who come up as insurgent young people who want a different vision of Prince George’s County,” she said.

Jones, a candidate for the District 2 seat on the County Council, was trailing opponent Victor Ramirez on Wednesday. But with only 7% of precincts reporting, it was far too early to call.

A widening split on the council

Although Braveboy’s vision for restoring fiscal health to the county by widening the tax base has been largely uncontroversial, the council leadership has drawn considerable criticism in recent months.

Oriadha and Burroughs have been at the helm of a tug-of-war over a $30 million transfer from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s budget — much of it heading to closely allied organizations or county government administrative functions. The commission is currently challenging the transfer in court, and state lawmakers have taken notice.

On Tuesday, the council’s two most vocal critics on that issue likely solidified their holds on the body’s two at-large seats, which are potentially on the chopping block for future elections. Council members Jolene Ivey and Sydney Harrison will serve at least one four-year term each, but the council passed a bill this week that would allow voters to decide whether those two seats should be eliminated completely.

In an interview Wednesday, Ivey said that her constituents are uneasy about the way the council is directing parks commission funding. She said that informs her focus on “making sure people trust our government.”

But Ivey’s concerns with how the council is being run go beyond the spat with the commission. She referenced complaints from her constituents about receiving official mailers from council members that appear to be election-oriented in the run-up to Primary Day.

“To have tax dollars pay for what appears to many to be campaigning is not good,” said Ivey, adding that she is working on a bill to address the issue.

Ivey said she believes that the effort to remove the at-large seats amounts to a direct attack on her and Harrison.

“We’re the ones most likely to speak up and challenge what’s going on on the council, so to me, that’s what it is,” Ivey said of the bill that would put the question to voters in November.

Carter questioned that reasoning.

“Part of the concern about these seats is about who has them and how these seats are treated,” she said. Harrison, for example, is essentially nullifying the two-term limit for his District 9 seat by capturing an at-large chair.

“What are we doing? Cycling through the different positions?” Carter said. “I hear Ivey’s point, but I don’t know if the larger populace feels represented. Ivey has been a political juggernaut in the county for a while.”

Burroughs, for his part, responded to the criticism from Ivey and Harrison on the attempted transfer of the commission’s funds, saying he will “continue to deliver for our residents.”

In District 8, he said that means “expanding our youth programs and being unapologetic about our youth programs.”

At the victory party for Braveboy on Tuesday night, Oriadha, too, brought up the criticism from her fellow council members. Why did they vote for the budget if they took issue with the funding? she wonders.

Still up in the air

Although Braveboy and a handful of council members can rest easy that their jobs are safe, several other races are yet to be officially decided — and some could add some new faces to the county’s elected leadership.

In District 1, Michelle García is leading the race to replace Thomas Dernoga. And in District 6, incumbent Danielle Hunter holds a 1,000-vote lead over Joel Peebles Jr. In District 9 (where Harrison is term-limited out), Tamara Davis Brown has a healthy lead in a nine-person field with almost 52% of the vote.

The race for clerk of the court, however, appears up for grabs. Incumbent Mahasin El Amin trails Qiana Johnson by less than 3,000 votes.

Burroughs said he backs Johnson in that race, and though the race had yet to be decided, he said “she did very well. Very proud of her.”

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