$10 Million Up in smoke

Latest reports all but confirm what some of us feared: approximately $10 million of Maryland Stadium Authority dollars were invested in a project that, a year after breaking ground --on County property, by County contractors-- remains completed yet unopened and unavailable for public use.

Residents have every right to ask: Where is the accountability? What obstacles have prevented this project from opening? What is the status of the investment? Most importantly, who is responsible for ensuring that public dollars produce public results?

A traditional analysis should result in answers to these questions being precisely those which our Council Members, regardless of Council District, would normally trample each other to provide to the community. Our District 4 appointed member, Mr. Adams, should be amongst those speaking up in search of answers for the use of his constituents' considerable tax dollars.

Instead, there is only silence.

The Council serves as the legislative branch of County government and is entrusted with safeguarding the County's fiscal health while providing oversight of executive actions. Through the lifetime of this project, members of the County Council participated in the community designing process and remained engaged along the project’s evolution.

This issue extends beyond a single project. It speaks to a broader expectation that government spending must be transparent, accountable, and subject to meaningful oversight. That our County Council should act as bulwarks against waste and inefficiency. When millions of taxpayer dollars are committed to a public initiative, residents deserve regular updates, clear explanations, and measurable outcomes.

Our current County Council is not exercising its oversight authority to demand clear answers from the County Executive. Our current County Council is making no effort to bring the diverse voices of the community together to come to clear explanations and paths forward.

If our current County Council will not adhere to basic administrative norms like checks and balances, we need to elect a new County Council that will.

Prince George's County residents should not need to rely on investigative reporting to learn the status of major publicly funded projects. Transparency should be the rule, not the exception, not just a slogan.

The community deserves answers, and the County Council should do its job by demanding them.

When elected, I will.