Election Season: Change in Hyattsville Leadership

The city government of Hyattsville is about to have some transitions of its own.

As has been well reported here on Patch, in the and the Gazette, and discussed at length on the , Hyattsville

At the minimum, we are getting a new mayor, as outgoing . (Thanks to Bill and best wishes for your new adventures!) With contested seats in

I watched the candidates’ forum on Hyattsville CTV. I was sorry to miss the live experience but really grateful I had the option to watch it on our own government access cable channel.

What struck me tfamily status as well as race and gender. The energy demonstrated by all the candidates was impressive as was the commitment to making Hyattsville an even better place to live and work.

Years ago for the first time I attended the annual conference of the a gathering of local government officials and staff from across the state. At the time I was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm attendees brought with them to this conference, learning new strategies and sharing solutions to common problems of local government.

Hyattsville residents are lucky to have such a similar group of folks who are willing to put themselves “out there” to be juI hope those who are unsuccessful in their bids for public office will stay involved and keep active in the community.

But what I really hope is that Hyattsville residents GET OUT AND VOTE. Voter turnout in all —usually less than 20 percent of eligible voters, with a typical range of 12 – 15 percent.

Truly we have no right to grouse and grumble about city policies unless we have taken our responsibilities seriously, best demonstrated by our vote on May 3. The municipality this year—what better birthday present than your participation in the voting process?