Prince Georgians voted State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) to serve as the next county executive, after she proved victorious in a crowded Democratic primary in March and Republican candidate Jonathan White, an Air Force veteran in the June 3 general election.
At her victory party at Lanham’s Sobe Lounge, Braveboy heaped appreciation upon her God, her supporters, her family, and her sorority sisters. She pledged to fulfill the “promise of Prince George’s County” and to begin the work of cleaning up the county.
“This is the first time in a very long time that we have had a united executive and legislative branch. We are working in lockstep with our school board, our delegates and senators, our Central Committee members— all of us who have been elected to serve, are promising to serve you and not ourselves,” Braveboy said, celebrating her victory. “We will put your hopes, your dreams, your issues first.”
In the preliminary results released at 9:30 p.m. on June 3, Braveboy received 24,710 votes while White received 2,886 votes.
Interim County Executive Tara Jackson has been serving since December after U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks was elected to the Senate and resigned from her position leading Prince George’s.
Braveboy is entering office amid serious economic concerns for Prince George’s, including the closing of Six Flags and the Trump Administration’s efforts to fire federal workers and shrink the federal government.
However, despite the shifts the county is navigating, the state’s attorney turned county executive-elect is excited about taking on and overcoming challenges with innovative ideas.
“While some might look at it as assets leaving, I look at it as an opportunity to create something bigger and better,” Braveboy, who has served as Prince George’s State’s Attorney since 2018, recently told NBC Washington.
The newly elected county executive also expressed support for community policing, tutoring programs, and partnering with local businesses.
“I am confident but not cocky, that we have done what we needed to do to secure a victory,” she said. “I want to unify the county, focus on cleaning up the county, expanding our commercial tax base, and increasing public safety.”
Braveboy won in a contested Democratic primary against former County Executive Rushern Baker, County Councilmembers Calvin Hawkins (D-At-Large) and Jolene Ivey (D-At-Large), the latter of whom dropped out of the race three weeks before the special primary, state Sen. Alonzo Washington (D- District 22), and several others.
“I called Aisha Braveboy this morning to congratulate her on her victory, and I stand ready to support her in tackling the challenges ahead,” said former Executive Baker in his concession statement in March. He pledged to support her, and continue his service on behalf of Prince George’s.
Hawkins, her county executive race former competitor, also offered kind words and well wishes to the new County Executive.
“Congratulations to Aisha Braveboy on her victory,” the at-large council member said. “I look forward to working alongside her in moving our county forward.”
Activist and former Board of Education Member Belinda Queen cited Braveboy as caring, accessible, and focused on the concerns of her constituents.
“Aisha Braveboy has attended and support more events than most of the leaders. She has done her best to be available and to serve the entire county,” she said.
Shayla Adams-Stafford Wins District 5 Council Race
In addition to the county executive faceoff was the race to fill the District 5 Prince George’s County Council seat, which became available when Councilmember Ivey won a special election to fill a vacant At-Large position.
Former Board of Education member Shayla Adams-Stafford (D) defeated Cheverly activist Fred Price Jr. (R) to fill the vacancy in District 5, which includes Glenn Dale, Glenarden, and Cheverly. Adams-Stafford received 2,230 votes while Price received 171 votes in the Election Night tallies.
“We are so disconnected in our ability to advocate. We can’t properly push developers to bring the type of development we want to see,” she said in an interview shortly after announcing her campaign in December. “We can’t show up to these meetings in mass because you can barely get an understanding of when they are and I just think that that’s unfortunate.”
She originally announced her campaign alongside Braveboy and several County Councilmembers at a union headquarters in Lanham.
In March, Adams-Stafford beat a field of five candidates including CountyStat Director Ryan Middleton, Cheverly Councilmember Christopher Wade, and former County auditor Kendal Wade.
Adams-Stafford plans to improve transportation options and provide affordable healthcare for seniors while lowering county taxes.
“Shayla brings the interest of the people to the table,” said Councilmember Wala Blegay (D-District 6) during Adams-Stafford’s campaign announcement.
