Three candidates are competing for two open seats in District 2 in the upcoming general election for the College Park City Council. Another candidate is running unopposed for an open seat in District 3.
The District 2 seats became open after current council members Llatetra Brown Esters and Susan Whitney announced they would not seek reelection. District 3 council member John Rigg also chose not to run for another term, leaving his seat vacant.
All City Council seats are up for election every two years. This year, with the exception of the District 2 election, all races are uncontested.
District 2 includes Lakeland — a historically Black community in College Park — which was devastated by urban renewal efforts from the 1960s to 1980s. All three of the district’s candidates expressed support for ongoing restorative justice efforts and stressed the need to act quickly on the city’s Restorative Justice Commission’s recent recommendations.
Here are the new candidates running for a seat on the council. Candidates are listed alphabetically by last name in order of district.
Christopher Gill
District 2 candidate Christopher Gill moved to College Park 16 years ago and has lived in different neighborhoods across the city as both a renter and homeowner.
His civic experience includes involvement with the College Park Community Foundation, the city’s Vacant and Blighted Property Tax Committee and the Advisory Planning Commission.
As a council member, Gill would prioritize addressing housing affordability by supporting the expansion of small, secondary homes on the same lot as a primary residence called accessory dwelling units.
While acknowledging concerns that the small dwellings can be misused, Gill said the units would “provide additional rental housing stock without significant construction [and] without massively changing the footprint of the city.”
[These 3 College Park City Council members are not seeking reelection]
He’s also in favor of building new sidewalks and expanding protected bike lanes to promote walkability, and investing in road infrastructure to manage traffic.
Gill unsuccessfully ran to be a District 1 council member in 2017. He moved with his wife and their twins to District 2 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Gill earned a master’s degree in public policy and currently works as an IT project manager for the National Institutes of Health.
Kelly Jordan
Berwyn resident Kelly Jordan is running to represent District 2 to help College Park build on its strengths.
She has served as a board member and co-president of the Berwyn District Civic Association, where she spearheaded the Spanish translation of the association’s newsletter, she said. Jordan’s four children each attended Paint Branch Elementary School, where she was on the board of directors of its parent-teacher association.
To tackle housing affordability, Jordan said the city should bring in more developments to increase the number of available units.
She also pointed to programs such as the city’s pilot student housing subsidy program, which gave one-time stipends to support housing costs for eligible students.
While younger children have playgrounds, Jordan said she sees a gap in city amenities for older children and teenagers and believes more could be tailored to them.
Jordan believes she would bring valuable skills and experience to the council, while also appreciating the work the city has already done.
“I’m not interested in coming in and changing lots of things. I think that College Park is amazing,” she said. “I just want it to do the things it does better.”
Holly Simmons
Holly Simmons, an urban planner who has lived in the Berwyn neighborhood since 2022, is running for one of District 2’s vacant seats.
Simmons moved to College Park in 2016 to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland, where she earned a master’s degree in community planning. She has served on the city’s Committee for a Better Environment and Old Town Historic District Committee, and is currently the Berwyn District Civic Association’s acting treasurer.
Affordable housing, Simmons acknowledged, is a top concern among residents.
She said the city must leverage county resources to ensure that new housing developments have an “affordable component” and to bolster tenants’ rights.
Simmons also said she could utilize her connections on campus to encourage student engagement with the city government.
[College Park City Council hopes new tax credit incentivizes affordable housing, entertainment]
Professionally, Simmons is a deputy zoning manager in Rockville. She previously served as Hyattsville’s acting director of community and economic development and has worked on urban planning and policy across Prince George’s County.
“My strength lies in the near decade of experience that I have developing and implementing policy,” she said.
Daniel Oates
District 3 resident Daniel Oates is running unopposed to fill Rigg’s seat on the council after his term concludes.
He has been president of the Calvert Hills Citizens Association for the past four years, where he said he focused on building community through events.
Oates moved to College Park in 2010 to study engineering and public policy as a master’s student at this university. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C., but returned to College Park in 2018 to raise a family with his wife, whom he met in graduate school.
For the past 15 years, Oates has worked in international technology policy for the U.S. Department of State.
Oates said his top issues include fostering community and engaging residents with the city, smart infrastructure growth and government transparency.
“The city council hasn’t posted minutes to any city council meeting since September of 2024,” he said. “I would like to see minutes after every council meeting posted.”
Oates said affordable housing is a critical issue, and that he’s interested in talking to the university about plans to address not just immediate, but future student housing issues.
To learn more about the election and how to vote, click here.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated that District 2 candidate Christopher Gill has two daughters. He has a son and a daughter. This story has been updated.
