Council veteran, community advocate face off in rematch
Finlayson vs. Strong Pratt, as was the case in ’17
On a broiling Tuesday afternoon, Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson climbs out of her black Mercedes in Ward 4’s Annapolis Walk community to visit the Wellmobile.
“The Bus” as it’s called, is a health treatment clinic on wheels funded by the Anne Arundel County Health Department. Finlayson and other city officials hope to use it’s resources to combat an ongoing wave of drug addiction in the city and a resultant increase in overdoses and deaths. The ward has had 145 overdoses since 2015, the third-highest in the city.
It’s one of the top campaign priorities for the 69-year-old running for a fifth term on the Annapolis City Council.
“It took a long time to get us here,” she said. “We’re not just giving people Narcan. We’re helping them get off of drugs permanently.”
A few days prior, Toni Strong Pratt sat in the living room of a home in the neighborhood of Kingsport surrounded by a half dozen people peppering her with questions about policing, community engagement, her relationship with the mayor and more.
For the second straight cycle, Strong Pratt, 52, will take on Finlayson in a Democratic primary on Sept. 21.
In 2017, Strong Pratt, a local activist and public housing advocate, came within 17 votes of defeating Finlayson, who has represented the ward in southwestern Annapolis since 2007.
For years, Strong Pratt, a former public housing resident, has advo
cated for others in the Annapolis public housing communities to find the resources they need in areas like mental health and addiction, transportation, immigration and more.
Relationship-building is in Strong Pratt’s DNA, she said, aided in part from her time as a former co-chair and current member of Anne Arundel Connecting Together, the non-partisan community outreach organization. Her campaign will focus on affordable and accessible housing but she has sought to broaden her coalition to prove that she will fight for the needs of all residents.
“I think we’re more of a powerful force when we come together, instead of being siloed,” Strong Pratt said. “Because people listen when you see a diverse, unified group coming together for a common goal.”
Over the summer, both candidates have knocked hundreds of doors in communities like Annapolis Walk, Kingsport, Bywater, Woodside Gardens, Westwinds, Whiton Court, Berkshire and others to reach Democrats who outnumber Republicans by about 4 to 1, county voter data shows.
There isn’t a Republican candidate in the race. Whoever wins the primary will likely win the council seat barring an upset by a third-party or write-in candidate.
“People see me as in the underserved communities, and I’m actually not one dimensional as people may think I am,” Strong Pratt said. “I’m actually going abroad, touching a mass of people.”
Priorities
As the Rules and City Government standing committee chair and a member of the Finance Committee, Finlayson has had a hand in shaping both how the city is run and how it spends its money over the last 14 years.
She’s helped guide money toward projects that improve the quality of life for her Ward 4 constituents and all city residents, such as the $5 million renovation to Truxtun Park pool. At a city-owned park next door to the Wellmobile construction is underway to build a new playground. Renovated athletic courts will follow.
It’s efforts like these she would like to continue for another four years if she wins reelection. In addition to overseeing the implementation of a community policing model and creating a career development program for young people, she hopes to shepherd two initiatives she successfully obtained funding for in this year’s budget: administering a professional survey on the public’s priorities for city services and convening a task force to combine city and county services.
A task force could finally get a “definitive answer” on the feasibility of merging services like public safety and recreation and parks after years of discussion with few concrete answers or solutions, she said.
Finlayson, one of the staunchest labor advocates on the council is known to warn her colleagues that any reduction of services comes with a reduction in staff. But with the survey, there could finally be some answers from the community on its priorities.
“The survey is meant to give the community an opportunity to weigh in on what they value the most as far as our services are concerned,” Finlayson said at a recent Finance Committee meeting. “And then, in turn, figuring out how to pay for it.”
Like Finlayson, Strong Pratt’s top priority is public safety, including improving policing, reducing gun violence and addressing drug addiction. But where Finlayson can rely on her track record on the council, Strong Pratt offers different ideas on how to make the ward safer and more inclusive for residents.
For instance, she would like to see a dedicated community policing division within the Annapolis Police Department. She envisions officers with dedicated beats in certain communities who can first build a reputation through outreach events and then gain trust by addressing residents’ concerns.
The tactic is supposed to be happening now, but there aren’t enough cops, she said.
On fighting drug addiction in the ward, Strong Pratt agrees the Wellmobile is a great idea and a much-needed resource, but the health department should reach out to communities before they arrive to inform who they are and what resources they are offering, she said. They could go even further and hire a community advocate who can vouch for the program.
“I think it’s a good thing but it can always be better,” she said.
If elected, Strong Pratt said she will share regular updates through newsletters and town hall meetings and encourage people to speak out if they have a problem or advocate for issues they support.
“Let’s be honest, a lot of people don’t understand the democratic process … And it’s time to get back to educating people,” she said. “If you support something come and speak out on it. That’s the way things get changed.”
Contentious relationship
While they are seeking to unite Ward 4 voters behind their respective causes, the relationship between the candidates is frosty. When asked why they don’t get along, neither can say why or where the animosity originated.
Finlayson recalled seeing Strong Pratt at community meetings over the years. “But other than that, I have never had any dealings with her,” she said.
Strong Pratt believes it may have been four years ago when she stormed onto the Annapolis political scene to challenge Finlayson, an entrenched incumbent who hadn’t previously faced a primary challenge.
“We really don’t have a relationship, which is sad because we could benefit from each other. We could do some amazing things together in the ward and the city,” she said. “I don’t know why. I just focus on what I need to do.”
During the last primary, a fellow political newcomer in Gavin Buckley threw his support behind Strong Pratt potentially souring the relationship between the Ward 4 candidates. This time around, Buckley has switched his support to Finlayson. Strong Pratt isn’t bothered by the change.
“I have no ill feelings toward Gavin,” Strong Pratt tells them. “Maybe we might be on separate pages at certain times. But hey, all good things come from other people having differences.”
Voting by mail
With about a week until Election Day, just under 2,000 Democratic voters in Ward 4 have received ballots in the mail, part of a new vote by mail option enacted by the city earlier this spring.
Both candidates say they have begun informing voters that they will be receiving a ballot in the mail.
Finlayson has recording robocalls to voters advising them of the new voting system and encouraging them to vote.
While door-knocking, Strong Pratt said she has told voters to decide for themselves whether to return the ballot by mail or at a dropbox or vote in-person.
“Whatever is more safe and comfortable for you. I would encourage you to do just that,” she said.