A sudden leadership shake-up has transformed the Prince George’s County Council, with District 8 Council member Ed Burroughs becoming the youngest council chair ever.
Burroughs, 32, replaces former Chair Jolene Ivey who announced last month she’d be suspending her campaign for the county executive seat, originally citing “personal, financial and practical” reasons.
While the immediate impact won’t be so noticeable, the change in leadership — and eventually the likely addition of Shayla Adams-Stafford to the county council in June — will likely result in a more significant and activist lurch to the left.
The ascension of Burroughs became preordained once Adams-Stafford won a special election for the council’s District 5 earlier this month. Burroughs had been serving as vice chair since December, when no one on the 10-member council could get the six votes needed to become chair, leaving Ivey in place.
“I will be a fair chair,” Burroughs said. “I’m going to be working very hard to generate new revenue sources that does not involve raising property taxes.”
Burroughs said one way to accomplish that is to welcome data centers into the county.
“We know that in Northern Virginia, we’ve seen some counties generate over $700 million a year in tax revenue from them. So that’s what I have my eye on at this point in time,” he said. “With that being said, I’m very sensitive to the environmental risks. I’m very sensitive to ensuring that we have community stakeholders as a part of whatever we do.”
“But at the end of the day, if raising property tax is not an option … we have to generate new revenue,” he added.
Burroughs also hinted that the way the council has operated in the past is likely to change — with a more combative and aggressive approach where he thinks it’s needed.
“Sometimes, in order to do big and meaningful things, you have to stand up for something,” Burroughs said.
It’s also highly likely that Burroughs will be working hand in hand with Aisha Braveboy, a longtime political ally who is expected to become county executive in June.
“The people of Prince George’s County will have advocates in the room fighting for them, and that will deliver tangible, real results,” he said.
“The residents will have their needs put first,” he added. “There are a lot of decisions that are made in government. Some of those decisions make sense for the residents, and some don’t. But I can tell you that under our leadership team, every single day, we’ll be fighting for what’s in the best interest of the residents of Prince George’s County.”
The council’s new vice chair, formerly the representative for District 7, Krystal Oriadha, echoed those sentiments.
“We’re really committed to centering the voices of the residents, centering issues that are important and benefit the community,” she said.
But while Oriadha also talked about the need to expand economic development, she has been a large proponent of rental caps, which has slowed construction of multifamily housing in the region. And she vowed the county wouldn’t be willing to take just any new development — specifically mentioning her belief that there’s been an oversaturation of storage units around the county.
“What we’re saying is we want quality industry that creates revenue but also creates quality jobs in the county. And I think that’s the complete shift we hope to see,” she said.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Burroughs and Oriadha said they “will focus on expanding economic opportunities, improving public safety, and ensuring every resident can access quality services.”
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