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Incumbents swept to victory in Bowie's nonpartisan elections Nov. 3, as Mayor G. Frederick Robinson and three sitting city council members — one from District 2 and two At-large — defeated challengers.
Robinson, 65, who has served as mayor for 11 years, was re-elected to another two-year term, besting challenger Samuel Graham.
Robinson collected 4,589 votes, while Graham, 56, a retired iron worker and current Bowie Boys and Girls Club president, polled 651 votes, according to unofficial results. The totals do not include absentee ballots or write-in votes.
In the race for the city council seat in District 2, incumbent Diane Polangin, 61, a tax specialist, won a 1,213-741 vote victory over challenger Piero "Pete" Mellits, 45, a former volunteer fire chief.
"I'm very happy because this was a hard-fought race," Polangin said.
In the race for two At-large seats on the council, incumbents Dennis Brady, 55, an electrical engineer, and Geraldine Valentino-Smith, 45, defeated challenger Anthony Kennedy, 39, the CEO of a nonprofit organization that mentors students.
Valentino-Smith was the high vote-getter in the contest, collecting 4,572 votes. Brady collected 4,006 votes, while Kennedy garnered 1,032 votes.
The incumbents said during the campaign that they would not recommend the city take on any new projects while trying to weather the uncertain economy.
"I actually think getting elected may be easier than being elected, because the decisions we will have to make will be difficult," Valentino-Smith said.
Incumbent City Council members James Marcos (Dist. 1), Todd Turner (Dist. 3) and Isaac Trouth (Dist. 4) ran unopposed.
In challenging Robinson in the mayoral race, Graham charged that the city had wasted money by spending $23.7 million on construction of a new city hall, while Robinson countered that he had done a good job keeping the city's financial situation healthy in a down economy.
Robinson said his top priorities in the coming term are to continue providing money for expansion of the city's police force, which was started in 2006, and ensuring that residents continue to receive a high level of city services in an uncertain economy.
"I'm pleased that the whole council is coming back," Robinson said Tuesday night. "I think we've worked well together over the last two years."
At the polls Tuesday, voter Margaret Tukkos said she voted for Robinson, adding that he has known her family for years.
"He seems to have done a decent enough job," she said.
The winning council members will be sworn into office on Nov. 16 at City Hall. The results are not considered official until confirmed by the Bowie Board of Elections.
For more information on the election, see the city's Web site, www.cityofbowie.org.
Winners and losers
Here are the unofficial vote results of the three contested races in Bowie's city elections Nov. 3.
Mayor:
*G. Frederick Robinson — 4,589
Samuel Graham — 651
City Council District 2:
*Diane Polangin — 1,213
Piero "Pete" Mellits — 741
City Council At-large (two seats available):
*Geraldine Valentino-Smith — 4,572
*Dennis Brady — 4,006
Anthony Kennedy — 1,032
* Denotes incumbent
Source: City of Bowie
Staff Writer Daniel Valentine contributed to this report.
E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.
