The City of Bowie 'Blue Bins' vs. Bowie 'Yellow Bins'

This past weekend I was on my way back from Annapolis when I decided to make a stop to Bowie Town Center to pick up lunch.

While standing in line at one place I will not name I wondered, “How many people in this line live in Bowie”? Allow me to rephrase I wondered, “How many people in this line live in the City of Bowie”.

I wasn’t wondering this just because; I was wondering this because I am curious to know for the people that live in the city do they truly know the history of the community they call home. Also how much do they care about their community within the City of Bowie, and how active are they in their community.

Now for anyone reading this, if you think this blog post is not for you because you do not live in The City of Bowie you are absolutely wrong. Why are you wrong? Well keep reading and you can form your opinion on why this is a must read for you, and once you do, please comment on my blog post and tell me what you think.

I should note there is a very elementary way to know if you live in The City of Bowie or if you live in Bowie, though we may share the same 20716 or 20721 (I live in 20715) zip code that does not translate into you living in The City of Bowie. Zip codes are for post offices and that my friend is all.

Here is the magic way to know: If you have a Blue recycle bin you live in the City of Bowie, if your recycle bin is yellow  you do not live in the city of Bowie. I bet someone, somewhere just learned something new today.

You’re very welcome. The point of this blog is not to say you do not know where you live. The point is simple; you just may need to find ways to be more involved in your community no matter where you lay your head to rest. 

I am sure everyone reading this knows that on Tuesday, November 8th the City of Bowie will hold elections for our city offices.  Someone in your district is running for office, and they need your vote. If you do not know what District you reside, you can check it out on the city's website. 

If you want to know who is running for office you can do a few things:
1. Ride around the community and read the yard signs that are all over the place. (I hope the candidates pick these up once the election is over, they become and eye sore after a while)

2. You can check out Bowie Patch's recap from the first round of candidate forums for all the contested races, the District 1 seat, currently held by James Marcos, and the position of Mayor, currently G. Fred Robinson, are running unopposed.

3. Call the City of Bowie’s City Clerk at 301-809-3029 to learn more about the candidates and voting information. Now that you have the information you need to vote.

Who are you voting for? And why are you voting for this person? I live in District 2 where the incumbent City Councilwoman Diane M. Polangin is in a tough battle with Piero V. Mellits. I am undecided on both of them. If it came down to which candidates signs I see the most, Mr. Mellits, you would have my vote. If it came down to experience, Diane, you would have my vote. The thing is I don’t think either one of them really want my vote. This is a small time election that could produce BIG results for our city…you know The City of Bowie…Blue recycle bins, not yellow.

My concern is that I’ve read about the candidates, and they have participated in candidate forums however they have not come to my house, and knocked on my door to ask for my vote or to tell me why I should vote for them. My other issue is that I think our Bowie Politicians think too small. What do I mean by this? I want our politicians to think BIG.

They need to think about what they could do within their position to bring more attention to the city of Bowie. Attention = small businesses, community infrastructure, maybe funding for a new basketball gym, or how about nice smooth roads within our communities, but this is still not BIG enough.

I want our city folk to bring more county and state dollars into Bowie and yes bring in federal dollars that can and should be spent in Bowie. In our lovely, so-called walkable (I’ll admit you can walk) community there is poverty, teachers spending a portion of their salary to fund materials, etc. needed to teach our children, and a lack of sidewalks for our children and families.

We see sidewalks in major areas but not in many of our communities (This is important because the 2010 census tells us that almost ¼ (24.5%) of our community are children, do we want them riding there big wheels in the street or walking all while dodging speeding cars?).

And please councilmembers, think before you act. Yes it may be BIGGER than the city but you do have a say, as do I and the person reading this blog. I see members talking about issues because they think it sounds good. “”, some say. I say think before you act. And be strategic about it. Bringing the metro could potentially bring crime, or maybe you have not seen what has happened at The Boulevard. Okay, Okay, I’m going on a rant and maybe a bit off topic!

All I want you to know is that:
1. You should know your community and one way to do it is to know your neighbors. Another way is to go to www.cityofbowie.org; we have a lot going on here in Bowie. By the way have you been to the Radio Museum?

2. Care about your community. Trash on the ground pick it up, suspicious activity call the Bowie Police; see emergency personnel in the community say, "thank you".

3. Become active in your community. This does not mean you need to join one of the city committee or run for office. It could be volunteering with our seasoned citizens, or just visiting the many places we have in Bowie from the railroad museum, to the Belair Mansion.

4. Vote on November 8th, 2011. If for any reason you’re not registered to vote call the Board of Elections at 301-809-3029. You won’t be able to vote this time but you will be able to vote in 2012. We have a Presidential elections coming up soon. I won’t tell you who to vote for. Go Obama! Oops, did I do that? I sure did!

5. If you want to complain about this post it is welcomed. Please comment. I am open to learn and share with everyone.

6. Follow me on twitter @BDBanks15 (I’ll keep you posted)!