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Following in the footsteps of her late father, James C. Fletcher Jr., in her role as a District 5 County Council member, Andrea Fletcher Harrison hopes to continue that journey in November as she seeks re-election.

Harrison, 46, of Springdale, the council's current vice chairwoman, is an incumbent running against challengers Nakia Ngwala and Pat Thornton in November. District 5 covers areas such as Bladensburg, Edmonston, Fairmount Heights, Landover and Springdale.

In a 2008 special election, Harrison won the County Council seat vacated by Sen. David Harrington (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly, who left the council to fill the seat of late Sen. Gwendolyn Britt after she died of heart failure in January 2008. James C. Fletcher Jr. served on the County Council from 1990 until his death in 1994.

Harrison said her goals include resident education on what the County Council is and is not responsible for when it comes to county government and showing that Prince George's County is ready for economic development. She will continue to hold informational meetings every three months — at sites such as the Vista Gardens Marketplace community room in Lanham and Landover's Prince George's Ballroom — during which residents can say what the District 5 office can do for them.

"We don't necessarily run the county," Harrison said. "Our job is to legislate, sit as a judge on land use and zoning matters and sit as a board of health as needed."

Harrison said her role as vice chairwoman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, also known as COG, allows her to "bring light to Prince George's County" as a place for state and federal agencies to locate and allow residents to work in the county they live in instead of commuting over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Virginia. COG is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit network of 21 local governments in the Washington metropolitan area.

Harrison said she plans to market the county to COG members as having the most available and least expensive land with an existing infrastructure and close proximity to Metrobus and Metrorail lines.

Springdale resident Jennifer Jenkins, a childhood friend of Harrison's, said Harrison is able to explain how local government works without being condescending when faced with residents upset with projects, citing as an example the Bellehaven Plaza Shopping Center.

The center is planned for St. Josephs Drive on land that has been zoned commercial for more than a decade next to Springdale's Charles H. Flowers High School.

"A lot of folks don't understand that these were decisions that were made maybe two terms ago, perhaps 10 years ago," Jenkins said. "A large part of it is informing your constituency."

Linda Marshall of Mitchellville said Harrison is a "down-to-earth" person who gets around to various neighborhoods and clubs such as the Glenarden-Ardmore-Springdale Boys and Girls Club, which is one of a few organizations they met through 10 years ago.

"People trust her," Marshall said. "They believe in her, and she keeps her word. If she can do something, she can, and if she can't, she's very honest with you. She's very in tune to [the] needs of people she represents."

nmcgill@gazette.net

Andrea Fletcher Harrison

Position sought, party affiliation: County Council, District 5; Democrat

Place of residence: Springdale

How long she has lived in county: 46 years

Age: 46

Place of birth: Washington, D.C.

Current occupation: Vice chairwoman of the Prince George's County Council

Education: Bachelor of Science in public policy, Bowie State University; associate's degree in microcomputer systems, Prince George's Community College; fellow, University of Maryland Academy for Excellence in Local Governance; Leadership Prince George's, Class XX

Family: Married; three children ages 32, 23 and 16

Campaign telephone number and website: 301-789-5505; www.andreaharrison.org