Federalsburg celebrating its most historic election
FEDERALSBURG, Md. – In Federalsburg, Tuesday marked the most historic election in the town’s history.
“Since Federalsburg’s founding 200 years ago, there’s never been a black person or any person of color elected to office and finally that legacy has ended,” Staff Attorney, Nick Steiner of the ACLU said.
Brandy James and Darlene Hammond were announced as the newly elected Town Council representatives of District 1. This happened after a recent lawsuit changed the town’s voting districts. “There’s two separate districts in Federalsburg, one district that is majority black in population and one that is majority white in population, so each of the 2 districts have 2 representatives,” Steiner explained.
Following the lawsuit, a plaintiff in the case, the Caroline County NAACP says this is a win. “There were some wrinkles and flaws in our history and so any type of progress shows hope for the future, shows hope for the future of our community, of our town, of our families,” said First Vice President of the Caroline County NAACP, Sherone Lewis.
Brandy James says throwing her hat in the ring was a no-brainer. “Am I going to sit here for another 25 years and complain or am I gonna get up and be a part of the change that I wanna see in Federalsburg going forward? I want to be a part of the change in Federalsburg, so yes I’ll do it, so I did what I had to do, and I filed those papers,” she said.
James says she’s just excited to be a part of history. “Town hall is in an old segregated movie theater building, blacks had to enter through the back door and go up the steps to watch the movies, so for me to have the ability to walk through that door, and go and get an application and say I want to run and come back and file it that’s huge for me to be able to walk in that door and place my vote, and hit that green vote button without being arrested, hung, or spat on or anything challenged or tested that speaks volumes. It pays homage to the people who paved the way for me and every person of color or ethnicity to want to vote. It’s long overdue this town council has needed diversity for years it’s finally getting diverse and I’m hoping with everybody on the town council, we can do big things for Federalsburg moving forward” said James.
James makes it her promise to collaborate with the Federalsburg community. “It’s about the people in the community, so why shouldn’t we collaborate with them, why shouldn’t we engage them and bring them in on what’s going on? We shouldn’t have to have a degree in politics or a master’s degree or doctorate degree to understand what the town is talking about. It should be made plain and simple. I want to make sure our Haitian community is included in what we’re doing, they live here, they work here, they pay taxes they’re involved in our economic growth here in Federalsburg we need to include them. I’m excited about collaborating with everybody in Federalsburg not just my district, but every district. I just want to collaborate and make sure we are all operating together,” James explained.
James encourages the community to their part: “I want the people of Federalsburg to hold me accountable make sure I’m addressing your issues make sure I’m listening because that’s what I wanted living here for 25 years,” she said.
Tuesday’s election marked the highest voter turnout the town has ever seen.
Once in office, Brandy James wants to hit the ground running. She does not feel the voting system is where it should be, so she plans to look into that.
The NAACP hopes that this move, will get more people involved in their local government.
