This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

The Candidates' Forum: District 3 Bowie City Council

Alegbeleye and Gardner debate speed cameras and attracting new families to Bowie.

Editor’s note: As a reader service, Bowie Patch is providing excerpts from Thursday’s City Council candidate forum sponsored by the Greater Bowie Democratic Club at the Kenhill Center. Below are parts of the discussions between the two District 3 candidates. Excerpts for the other contested races, District 4 and At Large, will be published shortly. . District 1 and the mayor’s race are uncontested in the Nov. 8 city elections.

DISTRICT 3

First time candidate Babatunde Alegbeleye, 54, has lived in Bowie with his wife and seven children for 16 years. A triage nurse at the national Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he is in his second two-year appointment to the city council’s diversity advisory committee.

Find out what's happening in Bowiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He said: “I am an American of Nigerian descent. I am very proud of my heritage. We all have many backgrounds, and many stories, and we have one American spirit. Our strength is in our diversity and our inclusion. …If you elect me, you will never regret having me on the council, because I will fight each and every day for your issues, because your issues will be my issues.”

At Large Councilman Henri Gardner, 43, was appointed in January to fill a vacancy on the council. The owner of a program management and technology consulting firm, he has a background in human resources, information and telecommunication technology and business development. He is running for the District 3 seat.

Find out what's happening in Bowiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He said: “I am a doer. …I have gotten 73 Bowie residents jobs due to a job fair that my colleague Diane Polangin and I hosted in this room. We also, Diane Polangin and I, hosted the Bowie Get Fitness program promoting wellness. …I am not someone who is going to tell you what I am going to do and just give you promises. I have done things, and I want your support so I can continue to do things.”

Moderator: The owner of the Marketplace says they need approval for a senior apartment complex on site to stimulate the retail center. How big of a senior living complex would you approve and what would you do to accommodate the extra traffic?

Alegbeleye: “I do support, if I am elected, putting senior housing in the Marketplace area. …It’s OK to have the development built in that area. But we have figure out a way to ease traffic because once it’s built, definitely, there will be a bunch of stuff going on over there. And also, we should not just give carte blanche to the developers. We should hold them to their word.”

Gardner: He said he is a strong supporter of additional senior housing, as long as support services are in place. “Basically, let’s be real here, if we were to give the developer the opportunity to do what they want, they would build thousands of units there. But the reality here is that we must have an infrastructure that can support it. Our roads, our highways, traffic signals, all of this, as well as our police department have to be able to support this. …We need to provide shuttle services, to make certain that we have these services of transportation so seniors get to and from doctors’ appointments and to health centers.”

Moderator: What suggestions or recommendations do you have to attract young families to Bowie and make Bowie more pedestrian and more bike friendly?

Alegbeleye: “When I moved to Bowie in 1995, our family was young at that time, and we loved it here.  My children grew up here. Yes, we should continue to provide the many amenities to bring young families in and embrace our city. That’s we love about the city of Bowie. I do believe Bowie has so much to offer young families to raise their children here.”

Gardner: He noted that three of his younger friends recently moved to Bowie after purchasing townhouses here for under $250,000 each. “Because we have great bike trails, we have great shopping and we are just minutes from downtown D.C., Bowie’s a great location. We have lots of services here in the city. We’ve done a great job, and I don’t think we need to change the formula at all. …I like to think that Bowie is the diamond of Prince George’s County.”

Moderator: The speed limit in Bowie is 25 mph. It is obvious to many people this is an inconvenience. What are your feelings/stands on speed cameras, traffic bumps and other means to slow people down?

Alegbeleye: “In my neighborhood, very close to my street, especially during the summertime, this is what people complain about. You have people going downhill, they just fly down there. We should place safety bumps. The places I am talking about, I assure you more than 60 percent of the residents would sign a petition (for safety bumps). If we need to put them, we should put them, and not wait until somebody dies. We need to take action.”

Gardner: “A lot of people in the city look at the speed camera program as revenue enhancement, but it’s not. It’s a safety program that is designed to slow down speeders. …You find so many cars just speeding, and it’s out of control. I am in favor of the speed program. I am in favor of keeping the speed limit at 25 mph. If you happen to find yourself doing a little bit faster than that, then maybe you should get a ticket because you are speeding. You get a ticket, that’s what the laws are here for…”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?