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A lack of retail along Branch Avenue and inaccessible Metro stations topped the list of concerns Camp Springs residents voiced Monday to candidates vying for the Prince George's County Council District 9 seat.

The Town Center at Camp Springs Homeowners Association invited the four candidates who have declared their intent to run so far — Tamara Davis Brown, Mel Franklin, Juanita Miller and Catharine Taggart-Ross — to share their plans at the association's annual meeting Monday evening.

The general election for all County Council seats is in November 2010. The District 9 seat is currently held by Council Chairwoman Marilynn Bland, who is considering a run for political office at the county or state level when she reaches her term limit next year, according to David Billings, her chief of staff. County Council members are prevented from serving more than two four-year terms.

Taggart-Ross noted that she has filed her candidacy with the Board of Elections, and the other three have said they will file by early next year.

District 9 includes much of the southeastern part of the county.

The candidates all critiqued what they said was a lack of focus by the current county administration on transit and economic development challenges facing south county.

Brown, an attorney who lives in Clinton, presented her plan to turn the Branch Avenue Metro Station area into "our own Federal Triangle" by encouraging federal agencies to relocate to vacant properties.

She said she would use the thousands of new employees moving to Joint Base Andrews through the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure process to attract restaurants and other businesses. Increasing the number of police in south county and raising the high school dropout age from 16 to 18 are also on her agenda.

Franklin, an assistant attorney general for the state who lives in Upper Marlboro, said he would consider new tax incentives to bring more businesses to the county, especially around Metro stations.

"You have been ignored," Franklin said, referring to the Branch Avenue Metro Station area.

Franklin also spoke about bringing "green" jobs that help county businesses and homes become more energy-efficient and better preparing high school students for college.

Miller, a county schools administrator, said she believes the key to bringing in businesses is to first improve school quality. She advocated giving teachers more flexibility to adjust curricula.

"The bottom line is accountability," said Miller, who lives in Clinton and is a former state delegate and commissioner for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

Taggart-Ross, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer who lives in Clinton, said she wants to make the county an attractive destination for visitors and businesses.

Encouraging citizens to learn more about the goings-on in their county and state government is also on her list of priorities.

"You must educate to advocate," Taggart-Ross said.

Despite the detailed presentations, homeowner Paulito Maslog, 36, said he wanted to learn more about the candidates' personalities as opposed to their policies this early in the campaign.

"They did have a lot of ideas, but to be honest, they're all pretty much similar and vague," he said.

Tommie Kelley, 55, also a homeowner, said she liked hearing the candidates' plans for improving schools and bringing in jobs, but also thought there was too much overlap.

"Being repetitive is not always effective," she said, but added, "I was happy to hear from them."