Staff editorial: The map for the mayor

An era in College Park ended Tuesday night as Andy Fellows replaced Steve Brayman as the city's mayor. The change in power could be more stylistic than anything else. While the two agree on most policy issues, Fellows promises to bring a new, more conciliatory and diplomatic approach to governing. He promises to manage the eight members of the council, not dominate them.

We think Fellows' approach may not be as efficient, but it will allow more voices to be heard — both on the council and off it. Brayman wasn't a compromiser, and he let everyone know it. He would twist arms, cajole and pressure in order to get his way, and he showed no regrets about doing so. This led to a dissolution of council unity: District 2 Councilman Jack Perry and District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook could barely hide their disdain.

To a certain extent, it's impossible to expect any mayor to get along perfectly with all eight council members. Personalities will always clash. But consistent hostility is more of a problem when it comes to city businesses.

Recently, Brayman joked that a developer should "drop a crane" on Number 1 Liquors on Route 1. This is not the type of message the city's top official should be sending to local business owners. With the delay of the East Campus development, the city desperately needs new ways to quickly attract businesses — besides sandwich shops — to start reinvigorating Route 1 and the downtown area.

So Fellows should take a more business-friendly approach to negotiations. Instead of attacking business owners, he should work with them. Developments in the Route 1 sector plan are promising, but they can't be achieved by the council alone. The new mayor should lead by example and show local businesses the council's vision for a better city can be achieved with their help.

But there are areas where Fellows should follow his predecessor's lead.

The current council is environmentally friendly, but Fellows, who works for a clean-water lobbying group in Washington, plans to make green issues even more of a priority. The city council owes it to voters to look carefully at environmental issues and to lobby for improvements on a larger stage.

Much of the student voting constituency this year consisted of environmentally-conscious students led by the group UMD for Clean Energy. And a focus on environmental issues would help improve the city. If beautification is what the council wants to achieve in College Park, they must begin by cleaning up the city. And with news that the state and the university system will jointly purchase almost a quarter of their power from green utilities, the university and council could further strengthen their ties based on a common goal.

Fellows will have to continue Brayman's focus on safety. Despite improvements and a drop in crime in recent years, the city still has an image as a dangerous place to live, which will not be broken until students and residents truly feel safe.

As mayor, Brayman oversaw efforts to make the city more financially sound. Fellows, a former Graduate Student Government president, should pick up where Brayman left off but with a new approach in mind. The betterment of the city lies in the ability of its government to act alongside the interests of its citizens — of its citizens, and those citizens include students. While they may not turn out in large droves for city elections, most students still call College Park home during their time at the university. Council members have reached out to students before, and Fellows should do the same. The city is inherently tied to the university and the bonds between the city and the university should be strengthened to achieve their long-term goals.

Fellows now holds the reins. He has the opportunity to lead the council by consensus and we hope he will. But this conciliatory manner should also be applied to the university, not just the council. A strong tie between the university and the council has the potential to truly change College Park for the better.