Eric Olson Launches Campaign for Prince George's County Council

Thank all of you, my friends, neighbors, family, and fellow community members for coming out today to support our campaign to create an even better Prince George's County.

There are so many leaders here today – community leaders, elected officials, environmentalists, student leaders, business people – and I appreciate all of your support.

It is a real honor to serve with my colleagues on the city council and I'm thankful they are here with me this afternoon.

This is a group that has done many great things – in conjunction with an amazing group of committed residents – to protect our neighborhoods, preserve our history, fight for an improved, revitalized Route 1 corridor and better transportation choices, promote strong relations with the student body, is taking on the need to tackle crime and increase public safety, and is sparking revitalization of our downtown. These are not always easy issues to tackle, but this is a hard-working group with a vision.

Vision is the reason we're all here today. Because I believe we all have an idea of what greatness we have in our community and what greatness we have yet to realize.

Our County is great because of its wonderful diversity, with a richness of backgrounds in our people who are residents of Prince George's and the world. We all can enjoy the parks, bike trails, recreational facilities, and – particularly on this Earth Day – the natural beauty of our creeks, rivers and rural landscapes. We have access to the rest of the region through a world-class Metro system, the Green line, Orange line, and MARC trains that are within District 3.

We are a county of amazing neighborhoods, many that are close-knit, which is not something that is found too much anymore in our larger society. We have a tremendous resource in the University of Maryland, and some very successful programs in local schools like language programs, Montessori and others. We are in a prime location at the edge of the nation's capital and along major transportation corridors, not far from airports and the rest of the East Coast. These are some of the many reasons that I love this county we call home.

And yet, we also have challenges in our community.

We have teachers and parents and principals who are working hard to create great learning environments, but who too often are facing uphill battles. We need to ensure that school facilities are maintained and that they reflect the importance of the work that should go on inside the buildings – shaping minds, instilling a thirst for knowledge, and molding responsible young people.

We need to be creative by pursuing "lab" schools that help tap into the educators and research mission of the University of Maryland – something that I have worked hard to spark. We need to take the programs and schools that are working well and replicate them, and we need to create well-supervised mentoring programs that help younger children learn with more individual attention while helping instill confidence and responsibility in older children. We need to explore more technical and vocational education for young people who may not take a college course, so that there are good employment options for all our youth.

We have crime rates that are too high, with auto thefts, car-jackings, murders and other problems at unacceptable levels. We need to put more officers on the street, and give them the tools they need to get their job done. Officers now are stretched thin and wish they could do more than run from one call to another. We need to make sure that 911 calls are handled without delay. We, as a community, need to address crime as a social problem by getting to the root of the causes of crime, investing in the youngest children, in supporting families, in job training, and attracting good jobs.

We need more vibrant downtowns, with quality re-development, not poorly planned development or strip malls, pawn shops or sprawling housing or shopping centers eating up our last rural, green space. We need to insist on quality. Walkable downtowns, diverse restaurants, independent stores -- not just chains -- and attractive architecture. Our roads, commercial areas and neighborhoods should be free of blighted property, free of litter, and free of the "We Buy Houses," "Work from Home," and other signs that cast a visual pall on our County.

We need to focus on fixing the roads and infrastructure we have – like Route 1 and Route 450, rather than building new multi-million dollar roads that would compromise existing neighborhoods, would promote sprawl development, and put more strain on emergency services, police, and schools. We need real transportation solutions, like building the Purple Line light rail that would serve our District 3 communities of College Park, Riverdale Park, and New Carrollton. We need to ensure that bus service is convenient and efficient.

Our leaders need to listen to communities and neighborhoods when proposals for new development arise, and frankly, need to keep in close communication with communities even when things are quiet.

In my eight years on the City Council, the most important guiding principle I've held is community involvement and engagement, and I am proud of what has been accomplished;

I am proud that during my time on the City Council, we have enjoyed an increasingly active citizenry. I have tried hard to encourage and foster such community involvement.

I am proud of bringing together students and long-time residents by forging relationships with student leaders, creating a student liaison position on our City Council, and helping focus attention on many of our common concerns: crime, housing conditions, and revitalization.

I am proud of a record that includes cracking down on litter and trash, increasing fines for certain code violations, reining in poor and unsafe rental conditions, and beefing up our code enforcement division.

I am proud of having a role in protecting and enhancing our elementary schools – helping prevent a division of University Park Elementary, supporting Paint Branch Elementary's PTA on initiatives for beautification, safety and other matters, and working with other officials and activists to help re-open Berwyn Heights Elementary.

I am proud to be part of a team that is increasing police presence on College Park's streets, and that is giving police officers grants to live in our neighborhoods.

I am proud of fighting for transportation alternatives – for our work building miles of bike and pedestrian paths, pushing for the rebuilding of Route 1, creating a more walkable community and promoting the Purple Line.

I am proud of my votes to oppose poorly planned development, and of improving the look and feel of other development. I am equally proud of bringing stores like "My Organic Market" to College Park, of fighting to keep REI here, and of working to convert an abandoned gas station into Main Street-style shops.

I am proud of championing the College Park Arts Exchange, with its Youth Choir and Youth Orchestra, and arts and culture programming for kids and adults.

I'm proud of this historic building, which I fought to preserve and make available for public use.

And, I am proud that I have supported the men and women who work hard for our community – drive our trucks, collect our garbage and recycling, and yes, even those who give us a ticket when our meter is expired.

But most of all, I'm proud of a community that shares a vision for an even brighter future and that comes together to fight for the things that matter most – for neighborhoods in which we can raise families, for quality education, and for safe streets.

It is this spirit of community that will help move our County forward. It is grassroots power – many people coming together, knocking on doors, calling voters, doing the important work of campaigning, that will make our community an even greater place.

There are two ways of campaigning – top down and bottom up.

I believe this election is not the time for tired approaches to lingering problems, it is not the time for party machines, and it is not the time for inexperience.

It is a time for hard work. It is a time for fresh, effective leadership. And it is a time for vision.

This is a campaign of all of us, and I am very proud to announce, with you today, that I am a candidate for the Prince George's County Council and I will not let you down on our way to achieving greatness for our County.