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Politics & Government

City of Bowie Elections 2011: District 4 Candidate Profile: Carl E. Brown Jr.

Plain speaking Brown lets it be known what he is thinking.

Editor’s Note: In Tuesday’s Bowie city elections, there are four contested races – , , and . Continuing today and through the weekend, Patch is running profiles on the nine candidates in the four contested races. For mayor and District 1, the incumbents are running unopposed. Today, Saturday: The two District 4 candidates.

When District 4 city council candidate Carl E. Brown Jr. has something on his mind, he apparently doesn’t hesitate to make it clear exactly what that is.

  • During an election forum, when asked about the future of the mostly vacant and potentially deteriorating Marketplace shopping center, Brown gave perhaps the bluntest answer of all the candidates.

“I believe any business owner should be a partner not only with the citizens of Bowie but also with the government of Bowie,” said Brown. “This would be no exception. If we find him non-responsive, what I would do is make the site improvements, and then charge him for those. If I don’t cut my grass, and the city cuts my grass, they send me a bill. This would be no different.”

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  • In announcing his candidacy, Brown went with a strong frontal attack, charging that incumbent Isaac “Ike” Trouth doesn’t reach out to the community (which Trouth ).

“I have a lot personally at stake in all this,” said Brown earlier in an interview. “My wife and two children are here. We’ve got to make Bowie the best we can make it. The current council doesn’t do nearly enough to engage and catch the interest of residents.”

Brown, 51, is executive director of the Center for Minority Business Development at Prince George’s Community College. While this is his first time in running for elective office, he said his accomplishments in economics and contacts in business and government would allow him to proverbially hit the ground running if he were elected.

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He is president of the PTA. In addition to economic development, he said the most important issue facing the city is education. Brown said more needs to be done to ensure that city schools meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards and that Bowie schools receive an equitable amount of county resources.

“There is no reason why Bowie shouldn’t have the best schools in the county,” said Brown. “We pay more than our fair share in taxes.”

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