This has to be an exhausting job, why would you want to continue to do it?

The last two and a half years have been a whirlwind of activity – council meetings, committee meetings, community meetings, conference calls on rent stabilization, hours researching and (re)writing legislation, countless emails between residents and staff… But through it all I have felt a profound sense of privilege, felt energized by successes, and most of all felt called to continue the progress that has been started.

Two areas that I am equipped to carry on progress with are creating more transparent, efficient, and responsible finances for the city of Hyattsville and creating opportunities for economic growth and affordability in Hyattsville.

After pushing for a clearer, more resident-friendly budget book like neighboring municipalities who have award-winning budget books, staff have finally made updates to the FY26 budget book design. I hopeful that with feedback from council and the newly formed audit committee, that document will improve every year I am on council. The budget is the single most important legislation the council passes every year and it deserves to be clear and accessible for residents.

For the moment, I think it is wise for the city council to pause on a city-based rent stabilization ordinance. With the county program yet to get off the ground, we have the chance to see the impacts of that program and the opportunity to lobby our county council to enact changes to that law to better serve residents, without Hyattsville taking on the immense cost of standing up and running a side-by-side program, and without the confusion of two competing sets of regulations for landlords to navigate at once. This approach doesn’t leave Hyattsville without rent stabilization – it just allows us to more deliberately plan a course of action and deal with the costs of running a rent stabilization or other affordable housing program to the greatest benefit to those in need, while maintaining a balanced budget without raising taxes.

Now is the moment that Hyattsville needs to invest in its homeowners via the Homestead and Homeowners Property Tax credits. These programs are underutilized in Hyattsville and we need to expand their reach to those eligible. We should lower the Homestead cap to 5%, while raising the home value, net worth, and income caps on the Homeowner’s credit in a way that makes the credit viable over the next several years.

Another key to affordability is housing stock, with the remanded Queens Chapel Sector plan and missing middle housing study, I am hopeful that we will see more sustainable development near our metro stations. However, ultimately, I would like to see a coalition of municipalities on the Route One corridor lobby the county for more zoning authority so that we can use inclusionary zoning to create opportunities for submarket housing units in large development projects, and alleviate the crunch on the middle class.

My experience on council the last two years has taught me much about these issues and has sparked a passion for working toward their solutions. I hope I have the support of ward 2 residents to tackle them for four more. Re-elect Emily May 13 or before!