Acting Prince George’s County executive vows ‘to keep the trains running’

In her third day on the job as acting Prince George’s County Executive, Tara H. Jackson said Wednesday that her main goal is to “maintain the stability of the government” after former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) resigned Monday so she can take a seat in the U.S. Senate.

“I believe in keeping the trains running,” Jackson said. “That means trash is still picked up. If we get snow on Thursday, then snow is removed quickly. I pledge to do that for whatever time I have in this office.”

That time will not extend past the special election to select a permanent replacement for Alsobrooks: Jackson said she does not intend to run for the seat, a race that has already drawn a crowded field of candidates.

Jackson was the county’s chief administrative officer until Monday. Under the county charter, the chief administrative officer is appointed to serve as county executive in the interim between a vacancy in the executive’s office and the election of a replacement.

She has served as chief administrative officer since December 2020, but has a history in the county that spans almost 30 years, including time as a line prosecutor in the county State’s Attorney’s Office, where Alsobrooks also worked as the first full-time assistant state’s attorney to handle domestic violence cases.

Jackson, 54, worked in a private law practice for eight years, before returning to the county as principal deputy state’s attorney and then deputy county attorney.

When Alsobrooks was first elected county executive in 2018, Jackson moved over to the executive’s office as a deputy chief administrative officer for government operations, later becoming the CAO.

Alsobrooks resigns as Prince George’s County executive, sparking a scramble to replace her

Jackson said the County Council must meet by Dec. 12 to discuss dates and a process for the special primary and general elections that need to be called to replace Alsobrooks.

At least three leading Democrats have already formally announced plans to run for the seat: Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, at-large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins and County Council Chair Jolene Ivey, who was recently elected to the other countywide at-large seat.

Former County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) has also been urged by residents to run for his old job, a spokesperson said Monday, and planned to speak with family and community leaders before making a decision within the next few days.

Jackson will have to work with a divided county council, which failed to elect a new chair during the normally ceremonial annual gavel exchange Tuesday. Ivey ended up retaining the chair by default, after three rounds of voting failed to elect a new chair, because no member could get the six votes needed.

The council could call for another vote for chair if one member can gather six votes from the current 10 members on the council. The council normally has 11 members, but has been down by one since this summer, when former At-large Councilmember Jamel “Mel” Franklin resigned in the face of criminal charges to which he later pleaded guilty.

In addition to the special election for executive, the county needs to hold another special election to fill Ivey’s current seat of District 5, which includes Bladensburg, Cheverly and Glenarden.

When asked about the council dynamics and streamlining the special election process, Jackson said, “I know that our local Board of Elections, our state are collaborating and working through whatever process that they believe will be most efficient. They certainly will be having conversations with council and recommending a process.”

In addition to “keeping the trains running,” Jackson said her job in the next several months will include speaking with state lawmakers to request funding, specifically for the county’s health care infrastructure.

“I believe that Prince George’s in the past has been underfunded as it relates to health care,” she said. “Our residents deserve primary care, to be able to go see a doctor that is in Prince George’s County, and to not have to travel to other counties to have their needs serviced and their needs met.”