Staff editorial: Needing another Fellow

We could just have the inauguration now. Former District 3 Councilman Andy Fellows is, barring the emergence of a contender by Friday, the next mayor of College Park. He faces no opponent and basically had the position handed down to him from Mayor Stephen Brayman.

On its face, there is nothing wrong with this. Brayman's record as mayor has had its ups and down. Fellows, a former Graduate Student Government president, served six strong years on the council. It would not be a shocker if Fellows earned our endorsement.

But College Park is not a monarchy where power is transferred without conflict, but a democracy. Unfortunately, after District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook decided to run for re-election rather than run for mayor, it means the city will continue a two-decade-long streak of uncontested mayoral races. We understand Cook's reluctance to give up her council seat (and her vote, considering College Park has a weak mayor who can only break council deadlocks), but we are still disappointed. Not in her specifically, but in all of College Park. The city's estimated population is 26,925 and only one person wants to run for mayor?

Historically, there has been a lot of talk about how low student participation is in municipal politics. While this is certainly true and troubling, city residents shouldn't get away scot-free. Only 284 people voted in the November 2007 District 2 race, which ended up being decided by fewer than ten votes. Many of those who aren't participating in city elections are homeowners, not students. Even considering that turnout in municipal elections is traditionally in the single digits in the United States, 284 votes is close to a farce.

This pool of people is where any realistic mayoral candidate would come from. The lack of a challenger to Fellows further reinforces the fact that residents largely share students' apathy in regards to city politics.

Many of these people did step up to run for city council positions, and every incumbent councilmember will be challenged.

While this is a positive sign, the lack of a challenger against Fellows means there will be no real conversation, discussion or debate about the future of the city as a whole.

Even in a city as small as College Park, there are regional differences. In District 1, where few students live, the main concern is how to integrate the burgeoning Hispanic population into the community. Closer to campus, residents have the traditional complaints of loud parties, obnoxious late-night noises and rabble-rousing students. As the election draws closer, the campaigns will surely address these somewhat parochial issues.

But there are shared problems a city-wide leader must deal with. The university casts an incredibly large shadow over the city, and the occasionally strained relationship between the two is absolutely critical. Redeveloping Route 1, building East Campus, adding the Purple Line and potentially forming a city-specific police force all have impacts far beyond downtown.

We expect Fellows to be asked about his positions on all of these issues. But without a real opponent, there is no way the debate needed to determine the future direction of the city will be as thorough as it should be. Someone, anyone (well, not anyone) should step up and give College Park the campaign it deserves.