The three candidates, including two incumbents, who are vying for two available seats in Bowie's at-large City Council race have different priority lists.

While council members Dennis Brady and Geraldine Valentino-Smith stress that shielding the city from any major cuts in service during tough economic times will be the city's most pressing issue in the next two years, challenger Anthony Kennedy said problems with Bowie's youth need to be the focus.

Brady and Valentino-Smith agree the city should not take on any new projects that would increase the city budget until the economy rebounds.

After a rebound, Brady, an electrical engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Center for Neutron Research, suggests a new gymnasium should be the next project to receive consideration. The current Bowie Gymnasium receives about 250,000 visitors annually and is stretched thin in terms of accommodating those visitors, according to manager Donna Hooper.

Valentino-Smith, a former attorney and nurse who is now a stay-at-home mother, suggests the city review services offered, such as those in the Youth and Family Services Department, to assess cost-benefit and determine whether the city is duplicating services offered by the county government or nonprofit organizations. She said she would also advocate for developing a siren system for citywide emergency alerts.

Kennedy, CEO and founder of Extra Point, a nonprofit organization that mentors students, says the city should be more proactive in addressing youth crime and should improve enforcement of truancy and curfew laws by police. He also is in favor of adding more activities for young people. He supports building a new sports facility in Jericho Park through combined city and private funding. He said the facility should be larger than the county's 285,000-square-foot Sports and Learning Complex in Largo.

Kennedy believes he could have the most profound impact on city government by bringing a fresh perspective to discussions with the county government. He believes animosity between city and county officials has kept the city from obtaining goals, such as building a second high school in Bowie or gaining zoning authority. Laurel is the only municipality in Prince George's County to have control over zoning.

"If [council members] have been there that long, why have they not mended fences with the county?" Kennedy asked.

He also sees a racial divide within the city, with the northern part of the city being deemed primarily white and the south being deemed primarily black. He suggests uniting the city by combining the north and south Bowie boys and girls clubs.

At a time when city services could face cuts to accommodate the budget, Valentino-Smith said it needs to be easier for citizens to be engaged in the city government and for the government to be more transparent in its actions. She suggested council members work with homeowners associations and citizens groups to facilitate communication about government initiatives.

To improve communication with county agencies, Valentino-Smith suggests that City Council members attend hearings in Upper Marlboro more often to make their stance known on issues, such as the need for a second high school.

In addition, to decrease crime in Bowie, she believes the city should hold discussions with the state's attorney's office to ensure when police make arrests, the criminals responsible are being successfully prosecuted.

Brady believes the city needs to continue forward with its plans to increase the police department to 57 officers. If finances become a problem, he suggested that services in other areas could be cut back, but he would not support any service being done away with in order to fund another.

"I don't think any services are expendable," Brady said. "Bowie taxes are reasonably fair based on the quality of services."

However, Brady says the city does not receive its fair share of services from the county based on the amount of county taxes coming from the city. If re-elected, one area where he said he would work to increase services to Bowie residents is in expansion of the county's public transportation system, TheBus.

E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.

Ballot at a glance

Mayoral race

-Samuel Graham

-*G. Frederick Robinson

District 1

-*James Marcos, unopposed

District 2

-Piero "Pete" Mellits

-*Diane Polangin

District 3

-*Todd Turner, unopposed

District 4

-*Isaac Trouth, unopposed

At-large City Council

-*Dennis Brady

-Anthony Kennedy

-*Geraldine Valentino-Smith

*denotes encumbent