Seven Incumbents Return to City Council

The results are in: Judith Davis received the most votes with 1,383, then Emmett Jordan with 1,367, Rodney Roberts with 1,354, Konrad Herling with 1,266, Edward Putens with 1,243, Leta Mach with 1,238, Silke Pope with 1,205, and Bill Orleans with 412.

Long-standing Greenbelt tradition is that the City Council candidate receiving the most votes is elected mayor and the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes becomes mayor pro tem. If this practice is upheld, Davis will be elected mayor by her peers on November 14 at the new council's charter meeting and Jordan will become mayor pro tem.

Post-Election Candidates Remarks

Davis asked all eight candidates to speak in ascending order, based on the voting results:

Bill Orleans: After Judith Davis joked saying, "I'm actually giving you the mic Mr. Orleans," he responded, "I know. I'm stunned."

"From my perspective, I failed and Greenbelt has not won. But I will congratulate the people who did win."

Silke Pope: She talked about her campaign mailing being stuck in the post office and assured everyone—should they get it after election day—that it was not because she didn't know what day it was.

"This is my second term. And I think I'm a little more prepared this time than the first time around. Thank you for your vote, and I'm here for you."

Leta Mach: said that at the start of the campaign, she received a pedometer. "So I put it on, and I did about 200,000 steps. I went to all areas of Greenbelt." She thanked those who voted and took the time to participate in this democracy—even though some citizens thought the election was a shoe-in.

Ed Putens: "The one thing I really noticed more than anything else was how nice everyone was at the polls."

"This is a democratic process. Don't sit home and do nothing. Right, Lincoln?" he asked his young grandson, whom he held while speaking.

Konrad Herling: "One thing I feel is really important to our success and our future that we have to celebrate is our international diversity that we have, and our international cultures in Greenbelt."

He encouraged people to join him in leading the effort for another international culture festival, reinvesting in the arts and in supporting a community outreach program for the people in Greenbelt that are disconnected from the balance of the city.

Rodney Roberts: “I appreciate that Mr. Orleans ran because we need more people to step forward and run for City Council. Can’t just have, you know, seven incumbents running for seven spots. That doesn’t look good.”

“Really all you need to run for city council is an opinion and the willingness to express it. That’s what I’ve done for 20 years, and the citizens of Greenbelt have treated me really well.”

Emmett Jordan: “I think Council’s worked well as a group.”

“So I’d really like to congratulate everyone, Mr. Orleans and all of the candidates.”

“Serving on council, it’s just a real honor and a real pleasure and it’s a big responsibility that I take very, very seriously.”

Judith “J” Davis: “I guess I’m unofficially the next mayor.”

“This has been the most disruptive, confused campaign I’ve ever run,” she said, talking about her father passing away and her significant other becoming ill.

“The numbers were down this year, and I think it’s because people thought that there wasn’t an election. They honestly said to me, ‘Well, there’s no election.’ There was an election. There was an election for the various positions on the council, and I don’t think people realized that. But, hopefully, now they will. Every vote counted, it was that close. Every voter counted. I want to thank them all.”