Recall Election Set For Bowie Councilmember Diane Polangin

BOWIE, MD — The City of Bowie will hold a special recall election for voters of District 2 to determine if Councilmember Diane Polangin should be recalled from office Dec. 19, according to a press release.

The city will hold a recall election for an elected official if 25 percent of the registered voters in a particular district sign a petition calling for one. A petition organized by a group called Bowie Citizens for Accountable Government containing 3,032 signatures was presented to the City Clerk on Nov. 6.

Only registered voters of District 2 (A & B) are eligible to vote in this recall election on Dec. 19. The recall ballot will contain a single “yes or no” question: “Do you vote to recall from her City elective office District 2 Councilmember Diane Polangin?”

If a majority of the voters vote yes on the recall question, Polangin will be removed from office and another special election will be held within 60-90 days to fill the vacant position, the press release states.

According to the Capital Gazette, Bowie Citizens for Accountable Government believe Polangin “voted in the past year to bring more traffic to already overloaded residential streets of her district, with no regard for the impact that traffic will have on her constituents.”

The group is referring to Polangin's vote in favor of building a new apartment complex at the Marketplace shopping center, located in her district. The complex was approved with four affirmative votes out of the seven council members.

Many residents think the 225-unit apartment complex is too large and are concerned about traffic and crime. Residents are also worried about how the apartments will affect the value of nearby homes, the Capital Gazette reports.

“I’ve done my job and done it well,” Polangin said, according to the Capital Gazette. “It is what it is and everyone has the right to be unhappy. But now every time somebody makes a vote that people don’t like, they can say ‘Let’s recall them.’ That’s not good.”

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters may also cast their vote by absentee ballot if they cannot vote in person on Dec. 19.

District 2A voters will vote at Community Christian Presbyterian Church on Belair Drive. District 2A includes the following neighborhoods: Belair Town, Bowie Forest, Fairview, Glenridge, Grady’s Walk, Highbridge Park, Meadowbrook (only the streets south and west of Millstream Drive), Somerset, Stewart’s Landing, and Tulip Grove.

District 2B voters will vote at the Kenhill Center on Kenhill Drive. The neighborhoods include Buckingham, Derbyshire, Forest Hills, Foxhill, Longridge, and Kenilworth.

Patch File Photo