Supporting Latoya Nkongolo during difficult time

I’m truly sorry to hear about the difficult situation Latoya Nkongolo is going through. I understand her emotions might be overwhelming right now, and I want to express my concerns and experiences with Nkongolo.

The Capital and The Baltimore Banner both reported that the candidate was cited for suspicion of driving under the influence.

I’ve been friends with Nkongolo for some years now and she has come to Baltimore several times to help out our most-vulnerable and less-fortunate residents. God knows we need her expertise here and across the state.

I’m in District 7 in Baltimore and my district has a high rate of addiction and mental health issues. Professionally, I have worked to help addicts recover. With my shared experiences with Nkongolo and political aspirations, I have never seen Nkongolo take a drink, let alone be drunk.

But a few weeks ago I did notice something changed with her campaign. She slowed down and stopped campaigning a bit. I thought she was just tired from all the hard work she does in the community.

It wasn’t until I saw a social media posting that shed light on what happened. She posted a picture on Facebook with no caption of her holding an elderly woman’s hand in the hospital. She was crying and I was worried about what was going on.

A few days later another post came through but it was only words that read, “Please, I’m not handling this very well.” That’s it. What the Capital Gazette and Sun paper do not know and I found out was that Nkongolo was overwrought with grief by the passing of her grandmother.

Nkongolo is a very family oriented woman, she leads a private life and said nothing about this to the press to excuse her unfortunate incident.

Then she went right back out campaigning like nothing else was going on in her life! I can only imagine what she was going through as she went back into the community. I lost my mother as I was campaigning for my first campaign for Congress in Baltimore. It’s not easy getting off and coming back on the campaign trail, but that’s the job we signed up for.

I felt compelled to call Nkongolo after the news of her arrest and when she answered my call she was very humble and said, “Pray for me, I can’t talk right now or respond to this, give me some time.”

Clearly, she was still in mourning and now, dealing with the stress of this incident at the same time. I knew it was too much for her and that I had to write this response for my friend.

To me, in spite of this incident, Nkongolo is still the best candidate in her race. Although I don’t live in Anne Arundel County, I’ve seen firsthand her compassion and dedication to the residents of her county.

Nkongolo is a clinician with 25 years of experience treating substance abuse and mental health issues. Her priorities have always been enhancing student success, fostering community engagement and supporting educators.

She is the owner of Work Life Behavioral Health and Professional Training in Glen Burnie and also an adjunct professor.

I believe the residents of Anne Arundel County see her compassion and professionalism, and they should get behind and support her in her time of need. It’s time we recognize who’s really fighting for the citizens of her community and fight for her like never before.

Nkongolo is running against an incumbent who does not have the 17-year track record of serving her community that Nkongolo has. I do not doubt that she will be just as successful on the Board of Education as she has been in her work as a community advocate.