Annapolis mayoral candidates hold cordial debate on environment, housing, other topics

Rhonda Pindell Charles and Jared Littmann cordially debated, and mostly agreed, Tuesday on how they would improve Annapolis if they were elected the next mayor of the capital city.

Both would form partnerships with community and nonprofit organizations. Both would work to eliminate environmental hazards in some of the city’s underserved communities. And both Democrats bestowed high praise on current Mayor Gavin Buckley (D), who is term-limited from serving a third, four-year term.

“I think he’s one of the best mayors we’ve had … and I’ve been here my entire life,” said Pindell Charles, who has served as an alderwoman on the city council since 2009.

Littman, a former alderman who served five years on the council before his term ended in 2017, noted that he and Buckley have a number of similarities, including both having two children, but added that “my demeanor’s a bit different” than the outgoing Buckley’s personality.

Buckley was one of dozens on hand for Tuesday’s nearly 90-minute debate hosted by the Caucus of African American Leaders at the Wiley H. Bates Legacy Center.

Some sported blue Littmann T-shirts and others wore red or white shirts supporting Pindell Charles. There was at least one difference between the two besides their supporters’ T-shirts: Pindell Charles and Littman outlined different approaches to hiring city personnel.

“I have committed to keeping all staff. I have never heard any other mayor say that,” Pindell Charles said. “I’ve worked with these folks on a regular basis. I see how they operate [and] how they get things done.”

Although Littman commended city staff, he said he would interview each of the city’s directors and chiefs to assess their priorities, any expectations and how they would measure themselves against those expectations.

Anyone who may scores themselves a “10 out of 10 of everything always makes me skeptical,” he said. “I look for people who identify where there’s room for improvement.”

“I do not promise anybody a job. Everybody’s got to work for their job,” he said.

Littman has been working for the mayor’s job for 18 months already, declaring his candidacy in January 2024. Pindell Charles announced her candidacy in September.

As of Tuesday, they were the only two candidates seeking to be mayor, although others have until July 28 to file.

The Sept. 16 primary looms large in the city, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a ratio of 2.5-to-1. The Anne Arundel County Board of Elections said that as of Tuesday, about 13,881 Democrats were registered in Annapolis, compared to 5,518 Republicans and 6,006. unaffiliated voters.

If no other candidates emerge, the primary winner could have a free pass to the mayor’s office.

Pindell Charles received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Morgan State University, before earning a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

The retired prosecutor, a native of the city she hopes to lead, seeks to make history as the city’s first elected Black mayor. Alderman John Thomas Chambers Jr. (R), who was Black, served on an interim basis for two months in 1981 after the suicide of Mayor Gustav Akerland (R).

Her time on council included a brief stint as acting mayor, when Buckley appointed her in 2o20 to serve while he traveled home to his native Australia to care for his ailing mother.

Littman received a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He has worked as an associate county attorney in Montgomery County and is currently a small business owner with his wife, running K&B Ace Hardware in the city.

During Littman’s time on council, he sponsored several pieces of legislation that included a forest conservation law that’s a model for local and state leaders throughout Maryland.

On Tuesday, the candidates were asked about a dozen questions, including their plans to redevelop the City Dock, how they would account for financial gaps created by federal government cuts and ideas on how to improve public transportation in the next four years.

Philip Ateto, who lives in the city’s Ward 3, said after the debate he didn’t hear the candidates provide specifics on housing. In addition, he said they didn’t answer a question on how would they respond to a crisis like the current protests in Los Angeles.

“I was disappointed neither one of them really answered the question about what’s going on in L.A. and if it happened here,” Ateto said. “The community needs to know what we can expect from our law enforcement.”

Carl Snowden, convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders that hosted the debate, had a message for voters.

“Any citizen who has a candidate knocking on their door should ask one question: ‘If I elect you as a member of city council or mayor, how will the quality of life change for me and my family?’” Snowden said. “And if that person is not able to speak in specificity, then you be minded.”