Statement on Recent Council Action to Allow All Residents to Vote

For Immediate Release on September 14, 2017

Thank you to all the residents who expressed their thoughts regarding the recent council action to allow all College Park residents (including non-citizens) to vote.  I attended multiple public hearings on this issue and I read through the comments officially submitted as well as many made online. After careful thought, I came to support the proposal to allow all residents to vote in local elections. Opponents raised valid concerns about the value of our citizenship, but I feel that including more neighborhood voices makes for a stronger community. I appreciated Fazlul’s amendment to distinguish documented from undocumented immigrants — I think his heart was in the right place — but as a practical matter, I don’t believe it is feasible. The risk of undocumented immigrants coming out of the shadows just to vote in a local election seems low, while the downsides of excluding neighbors who are invested in this community while they complete their path to citizenship are more important to me.

I did not support the amendment to put the issue to a non-binding referendum for two reasons. First, while sitting in the public hearings and monitoring comments online, I was saddened by the negative and personal nature of many comments from both sides. I believe bringing this to a referendum would have exasperated the problem. Ultimately, the decision can be undone if different representatives are elected. (The change won’t take place until 2019.) My second reason: a referendum would have lead to this issue dominating the election. This change is more a symbolic gesture than it is something that will significantly change the results of any election. While the emotions it stirs up are important, we shouldn’t lose sight of substantive issues.

I have been engaged with the community in the years I have lived here, and I want to help grow and improve our neighborhood. I loved the community garden that Fazlul championed, and I helped him start it. I would love to see a free dog park in North College Park and I want to hear from my neighbors about more amenities or community improvements I can bring to District One. I encourage you to stay involved and to take my neighborhood survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclridjlIg0DvLPO-XJZbzckiCkSFNT5lNpr1HLPPj5gvD0mg/viewform

I look forward to meeting as many residents of our community as possible and I look forward to engaging in civil discourse about all the issues important to us.

Update to Statement made on September 17, 2017.

In response to the recent statement from the Mayor and Council, I want to express my regret that the change did pass with the majority needed, but I also support their decision to not pursue the issue any further at this time.  I look forward to working with the Mayor and Council to find ways to promote an inclusive city.