Mayor, All Council Seats Up for Grabs, Only One Challenger So Far

This may be election season in Bowie, but with just one exception the mayor and city council are running unopposed.

Councilwoman Diane Polangin, running for re-election in District 2, is being challenged by Piero “Pete” Mellits. Mellits ran for the seat in 2009. Polangin received about 60 percent of District 2 votes cast, Mellits about 40 percent.

“Being able to run for the first time and receive 40 percent of the vote shows there is support,” said Mellits, a civil engineer manager and former Bowie volunteer fire chief.

As a councilman, he said he would bring to the table a much applicable public safety and infrastructure background.

“I grew up in Bowie, participating in what goes on here,” he said. “I want to continue to be able to make Bowie a better place as a member of the city council.”

Polangin has 37 years experience in numerous business roles and business management. She moved to Bowie in 1962, the first days of Bowie at Belair. Polangin was first elected to the council in 2007.

She said her knowledge of the city is long-term and in-depth, which allows her to excel at constituent services.

“I know how to reach out and connect with constituents,” said Polangin. “If someone calls, they tend to be a little frazzled, and I’m available to help them take care of whatever their problem is. That is what I do.”

With the current slate of candidates running, unless another challenger emerges to run, Councilmember Todd Turner (District 3) and Henri Gardner (At Large) will end up switching council seats with each other.

Last year, Turner, Gardner and 21 other residents to be appointed to the At-Large seat which was vacant because Geraldine Valentino-Smith was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.  Gardner was chosen by the council for the At-Large slot.

Now that Gardner’s appointed At-Large term is up, Turner, first elected to District 3 in 2005, is for the seat.

Turner, legislative officer for the Prince George’s County Council, said it’s time to move on to a different experience.

“I don’t believe in simply doing something over and over again because it’s the easy thing to do,” said Turner. “At-Large is an additional challenge to do things city wide. You’re representing the entire city.”

Gardner, who owns a project management and technology consulting firm, filed Monday for the District 3 seat that Turner is vacating. His election web page is up and running.

Both Turner and Gardner said they did not discuss switching seats. Gardner conceded it’s easier to seek the open District 3 seat Turner is leaving vacant than to run a contested, citywide race against Turner and incumbent At-Large Councilman Dennis Brady for the two At-Large seats.  But politics is not the motivating factor, he said.

It’s only been eight months, Gardner said, that’s he’s been on a council, and he noted that he ran for the District 3 in 2007. “I can continue to serve the entire city and focus on the District 3 residents,” he said.

Here are all the announced candidates for the Nov. 8 election:

• Mayor
  Mayor G. Frederick Robinson – unopposed. Elected 1998, re-elected 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
• District 1
  Mayor Pro Tem/Councilman James Marcos – unopposed. Appointed to vacant seat in 2007, elected later that year and re-elected 2009.
• District 2
  Councilwoman Diane Polangin – Elected 2007, re-elected 2009.
  Challenger Piero “Pete” Mellits ran in 2009.
• District 3
  Councilman Henri Gardner – Appointed to At-Large seat in Jan. 2011.
• District 4
  Isaac “Ike” Trouth – elected 2007, re-elected 2009.
• At Large (two citywide seats)
  Councilman Dennis Brady – unopposed. Elected 1994, re-elected in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
  Councilman Todd M. Turner – unopposed. Elected to District 3 seat in 2005, re-elected in 2007 and 2009.

Qualifications and instructions for filing for office can be found on the City of Bowie's website.