PG County Executive Alsobrooks Running for Senate. Deserves Election? (sales, appliances)

[DCBornAndRaised]

So PG County Executive Alsobrooks is campaigning for US Senator from Maryland to fill the seat currently held by Ben Cardin who will not seek another term. I am a many-decades Prince George's County resident and frankly I don't think she has done enough for the county - especially communities inside the beltway - to be elected a US senator from MD. On her watch the quality of life in this county has seriously declined. Yes, she can point to shiny things that give her "high visibility" but many in the county - IMO - have not been served well during her administration. In my opinion there are current US representatives from MD more worthy to be senator than Alsobrooks. Can you say Jamie Raskin? No comparison! What say you? Is she worthy to be Maryland's next US senator?

[Mista Jones]

Two words: HELL. NO.

[North Beach Person]

Right now Alsobrooks is the Establishment's favorite. That may change when/if Raskin decides to run (I personally think he will, he's such an attention ***** he won't be able to help himself).

[skeddy]

Raskin has cancer. I'm surprised he would run for a 6 year term position.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by skeddy

Raskin has cancer. I'm surprised he would run for a 6 year term position.

He's now been released from that-cured. Or in remission, whatever it's called.

[908Boi]

Originally Posted by DCBornAndRaised

So PG County Executive Alsobrooks is campaigning for US Senator from Maryland to fill the seat currently held by Ben Cardin who will not seek another term. I am a many-decades Prince George's County resident and frankly I don't think she has done enough for the county - especially communities inside the beltway - to be elected a US senator from MD. On her watch the quality of life in this county has seriously declined. Yes, she can point to shiny things that give her "high visibility" but many in the county - IMO - have not been served well during her administration. In my opinion there are current US representatives from MD more worthy to be senator than Alsobrooks. Can you say Jamie Raskin? No comparison! What say you? Is she worthy to be Maryland's next US senator?

I disagree with the bold. Do you really think Prince George'sis worse off now than 2018?

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by 908Boi

I disagree with the bold. Do you really think Prince George'sis worse off now than 2018?

A lot of what you see now was already put into place by Rashurn Baker. It takes some time for work done by the new CE to show results.

Having said that, I think she has done a good job of not stalling or reversing a good trend. Even during a national pandemic. Miracle workers are few and far between. And I think it would be unfair to place such expectations on a successor.

If she does win the seat, I hope the person that replaces her is someone that can hit the ground running and push things continually forward.

[DCBornAndRaised]

Originally Posted by 908Boi

I disagree with the bold. Do you really think Prince George'sis worse off now than 2018?

OP here. Yes, the quality of life in the county has declined especially for many who reside inside the beltway and are in unincorporated parts of the county, where we have no municipal government to seek for help. We are completely dependent on the county.

Waste management services have continued to decline. I and others do not understand how the current company continues to receive the county contract for recycling and trash pick-up. They drop trash and glass in the street and make no effort to pick it up. They leave trash in the bottom of the can where it will sit and stink for another week because we are now down to 1 pick-up a week. They throw the bins around and break them and thrust them into parked cars. We've embraced composting now. The problem is the same company picks up composting - or not. Missed collections abound weekly for compost, trash and/or recycling. That compost will now sit until the collection next week - unless they miss that one too.

When Alsobrooks took office she promised that she was going to get more inspectors to address all the issues in our communities with regard to code enforcement and property standards. It did not happen. Quality of life was already diminished because of the few number of inspectors. Her budget did not provide for more inspectors. There were 7 for the entire county and it stayed that way throughout her term. Only now I hear that the budget now includes more inspector positions.

DPIE is just about "useless". There is limited code enforcement of property standards. We've got violations that are not addressed and service requests to 311 are closed without action and without explanation as to what conclusion was drawn in order to close it out. We've got citizens submitting the same requests over many years because absolutely nothing is done to address them. We've got people constructing additions to homes with no permits. We've got people tearing up their yards/lawns, and putting concrete across the front of their houses, of course no permit. We've got swimming pools filled with stagnate water - for years - attracting mosquitoes and frogs who croak through the night.

We've got very overcrowded houses with so much trash that the bin cannot be closed, every week. Birds pick at the plastic bags not in the can and garbage and trash is strewn across yards and streets. We've got people entertaining in the yards as if they have no neighbors and the loud music and other noise is of no consequence to anyone. We cannot get the noise ordinance enforced. The police department "just got" 8 noise meters at a cost of $126 per meter and has given ONE meter to each of the EIGHT police districts.

We've got single-family homes being used as multi-family homes and boarding houses with transitory residents. We've got 10-15 cars of tenants in these illegal multi-family homes - that are at most 4-bedroom single-family homes - that take up all the street parking so homeowners compete for parking near the homes they own. We've got folks piled into basements that are "not habitable" per standards for ventilation, cooking, light and egress.

We've got cars blocking driveways. We've got people running car repair businesses out of their homes and parking their customers cars on the street waiting to be serviced. We've got people selling food on the sidewalk. We've got people selling food out of their homes without any license to do so. We've got residential properties with tall grass, weeds, abandoned cars, furniture in the yard, chickens, goats, old rusted appliances. We've got tractor trailers parked on residential streets.

When she was running for re-election for county executive, she did not speak on these issues. I asked her campaign several times what she would do to address these concerns. Never heard a word.

So yes, the quality of life is in serious decline and I have been here 40 years and can tell the difference. Maybe this is why the county is losing citizens to Charles County which is now the wealthiest Black county in the country. For high taxes what are we getting?

[North Beach Person]

Just a note, the food sales aren't a County thing really (except for the business license piece) but a Health Department issue. I know it says County Health Department but it's actually a state agency.

That's who you'd call. Hell, the one down here shuts down kids' lemonade stands.

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by skeddy

Raskin has cancer. I'm surprised he would run for a 6 year term position.

Two US Senators from Montgomery County is a bit too much. I'm surprised Rushern Baker hasn't announced his run to replace Ben Cardin. He did a pretty good job governinig PG County.