Valerie Cunningham is pursuing her childhood dream of being an elected official in her bid to unseat two-term Mayor Craig Moe in a three-way race in the November city elections.
Former City Council member Michael Sarich is also vying for the position.
Cunningham, a retired federal probation officer and pre-sentence investigator, is making job creation and attracting businesses to the city the top priorities of her campaign.
"In the last two terms of the current mayor, I haven't seen any improvement of our quality of life, so I want to build coalitions of people on the national and local levels who want to bring jobs to the city," Cunningham said. "Under this mayor, we've lost jobs at the mall; on Main Street; and, in various places, businesses have closed, so we have to do something to attract businesses to Laurel."
Cunningham thinks one way to do that is to form and intensify relationships the city has with existing organizations, such as local and state chambers of commerce.
"We need to work closer with established entities, and with state and county officials who know how to attract jobs. We need to get people together with a wide array of skills and knowledge on job creation," Cunningham said. "I had a headquarters on Main Street (during her unsuccessful campaign last year for the District 1 County Council seat), and now, every other building is vacant. It is time to revitalize Main Street and the mall so we can keep our money in Laurel."
The stalled renovation of Laurel Mall is a target for most candidates seeking to unseat incumbent Council member Michael Leszcz and the mayor. Although city officials say they are optimistic that the project's latest developer will start construction before the end of the year, Cunningham described the numerous empty spaces at the mall as a "travesty."
"We need to apply more pressure on the developer to get an adequate mall here, so we won't have to continue traveling outside the city for a mall. I'd threaten to pull the TIF (a $16 million tax increment financing mechanism the city granted the mall's developers), meet more with them, hold them accountable, and let them know we're serious and need to get the project done for our citizens," Cunningham said.
Criminal justice career
As a former administrator with the federal prison system, Cunningham said she is also concerned about the city's youths and wants more programs in place to keep them out of situations that could lead to incarceration.
"We need to do a better job of reaching out to our youths. I've seen our youths go in and out of prison, and we need to provide more activities to help keep youths in constructive activities," she said. "I'm on the board of Transitional Zone Inc., a 501(c ) 3 that helps youths with homework, helps them pass the GED and reduce the rate of recidivism."
According to the latest U.S. Census data, Laurel's population has not only increased to 25,000 residents, but it is also more ethnically diverse. Cunningham said, should she be elected, that increased diversity will have a bearing upon the makeup of her administration.
"We have a minority population of 68 percent, so I'd want to make sure we have an administration that's reflective of that, so that people will be able to trust that decisions are being made to benefit all residents. Everyone would have a seat at the table with my administration," she said.
Cunningham was raised in Birmingham, Ala., where she said she worked on the campaigns of other students and had a strong interest in current events. Her mother was a social worker, and her father had a career in the Army. Her family lived in Oakland, Calif., before moving to Alabama, where Cunningham received a degree in broadcast journalism from Troy State University, with a minor in criminal justice. After she graduated in 1985, she worked for two years as a radio reporter for KOKO in Warrensburg, Mo., covering the political beat and the military, before ending up in the criminal justice field.
"I was always interested in helping people and in criminal justice, people sometimes make mistakes because they don't have good role models and resources, and make bad decisions," Cunningham said. "So I wanted to help motivate people to be the best they could be."
Cunningham, who is now divorced, was married to a missile launch officer and they lived in various cities, where she worked as a federal correctional officer, senior correctional case manager and coordinator, and assistant mid-Atlantic regional inmate designations administrator. She moved to Maryland in 1995 because of her job, and said she chose Laurel because of its small-town feel and location.
"Laurel is a convenient place to be, has a great reputation and is a great place. I liked the city's character; and when I moved here, it had a thriving mall, great eateries and friendly people," she said.
Cunningham has been an active volunteer in the city and around the state. She is a commissioner on Laurel's Ethics Commission; serves on the board of directors for her neighborhood, the Villages at Wellington; is a member of the Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association and the Community Emergency Response Team; and was a volunteer for President Barack Obama's election campaign and Inaugural Committee.
Cunningham described her campaign for mayor, which would be her first elective office, as a "bold step" but one she is confident she is ready to take — adding that she is anxious to take on the job because of her concerns about the state of the city.
"We need a new direction for the city and new leaders," she said. "Why extend Moe's term when after 10 years, there's been no real results for our city. Ten years is too long, and it's time for new leadership, which is why I'm running."