Prioritize Residents Over Special Interests, City Council Hopeful Says

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Patch invited all candidates for Annapolis mayor and City Council to complete a candidate questionnaire. We are posting their responses verbatim before the primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

We will share all of our candidate profiles and election news at this link. More election information is posted here.

Name: Katie McDermott

Elected Office Sought: City Council Ward 1

Political Party: Democrat

Profession: Attorney

Age On Election Day: 64

Website: www.katieforward1.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578624553712

What makes you the most qualified candidate for this position?

I came to Annapolis in 1986 to start my legal career and have been in the historic district since 2007, 18 years. Ward One needs a strong advocate who understands the complexity of the Ward and the stress residents have navigating City policies that put them last on many issues, including parking, short term rentals, housing, development and mass tourism. My professional career in public service as a federal prosecutor and as a health law attorney has trained me to ask hard questions especially on behalf of those left out of the process. I want to bring a moderating voice to the City Council so we can address public safety in our vulnerable neighborhoods, inconsistent housing polices that undermine the long-term rental market and affordable neighborhoods, and pursue fiscal responsibility and governance innovation to prepare the City for the future. I will be a strong supporter of our preservation and maritime legacies as these are the soul and economic engines of the City and why many of us choose to live in this great City. I will oppose any marina at the City Dock that destroys our iconic view shed and limits public access to the water.

How will you approach the planned construction of City Dock Park?

I would assess the public contracting for the City Dock Plan amenities to assure we have a realistic strategy to prioritize and meet the resiliency needs in a fiscally sound and expeditious way. I would insist on full cost and status transparency to the public as I have done publicly for a few years now. I will continue to support City compliance with historic preservation guidance for the City Dock area, including the proposed height change for the hotel. I will also work tirelessly to assure our residents and small business community are accommodated during construction activities, so they are not overburdened and unduly impacted.

How will you address crime in Annapolis?

I have been publicly outspoken for a few years now that we have a crime problem in Annapolis, noting that it has been identified as HIGH RISK for homicide by gun violence, yet communities less than 5 miles away are identified as no or low risk. Our most vulnerable neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted by violent crime and that affects us all. We cannot be effective in the public safety mission if that reality is not acknowledged. We need to make greater use of federal and state resources, increase the police presence in areas targeted by criminal actors, and re-assess how our public safety officers are used for downtown late night/early morning bar traffic. Other important efforts are community programs focused on youth engagement and a strong anti-recidivist program focused on returning residents.

How will you address affordable housing and public housing in Annapolis?

If we do not embrace a new direction, I see inconsistent policies that do not deliver good outcomes. On housing, we need to stabilize our neighborhoods and the long-term rental market as these are the issues the City can control, and it would make a big difference. Our public housing community needs critical attention and resolution of the class action litigation in a sensible way to allow the City to move to more innovative approaches. We are locked in the past with old ideas that we need to overbuild and get denser for tax revenue or embrace lower standards of development that undermine our infrastructure capacities. Relevant to housing is transportation and we need to examine the use of local public transportation options and assure they make sense and are fiscally sound. Annapolis is not an island and cannot improve in the areas of housing and transportation with duplicative or uncoordinated policies, so we need to identify Anne Arundel County as the catchment area and explore how to use County, State and federal resources to achieve our goals.

How do you plan to balance development and historic preservation in the city?

I believe we are at risk with a current imbalance between development, mass tourism, resident quality of life and historic preservation, reflecting in part an overemphasis on development of public assets for the benefit of private interests. The proposal on a marina at City Dock with 90+ slips for yachts 50 feet and over, destroying the iconic harbor view and public access, is one recent example of this imbalance. Our historic preservation standards have served Annapolis well for decades now and reflect the soul and economic engine of the City so I will be a strong supporter of maintaining and improving preservation guidance. I also live in a planned community where the developer was required to build Acton’s Cove Park, a jewel all City residents enjoy, and to bury electrical lines and install modern storm water management structures. I do not think that would happen today. We need development practices that are a benefit to our neighborhoods, considering infrastructure capacities, density, and traffic.

How should Annapolis respond to the ongoing cuts to federal jobs and grants to local governments?

Annapolis is overly reliant on grant funding and bond/debt funding which undermines our ability to meet future needs. We need to get our fiscal house in order and re-focus on essential City services for residents and reduce expenses. We need to take care of what we have now including our roads, parks, and neglected infrastructure; it’s just common sense. We are also ground zero for the safety net on food, shelter, and healthcare services impacted by changing national policies and we need to pro-actively develop even stronger public-private partnerships to assure our residents in need do not fall through the cracks, especially our residents facing immigration enforcement activities and who could abruptly lose a family member and have no safety net. We live in Annapolis because it is a City that values and cares about people, so we need to embrace all residents in need and drive effective solutions. There is much of that happening now with our strong and generous volunteer and non-profit communities and we need to organize to do more.

What else should voters know about you and your platform?

Annapolis is at an existential crossroads on whether we stay a town that supports neighborhoods, residents and the small business community in a sensible way or embraces mass tourism and overdevelopment that favors mostly out of town special interests. Ward One is highly impacted by this imbalance but its impacts all City residents. We pay a huge property tax premium to live downtown instead of in the county and we need to pursue resident centric policies where that choice makes sense for our lives, the public interest and future generations. In my legal career and in my community work I have not been afraid to speak truth to power. As a proven advocate who has stood up for the rights of others, I want to put that experience to work in City Hall for my neighbors in Ward One.