Our third trailblazer is Chair Jolene Ivey. Council Member Ivey is Chair of the Prince George’s
County Council. At a committee hearing on October 29th , she commented that she was a care
giver to her father and understands the struggle of caring for aging parents. The discussion
providing relief for caregivers refers to initiatives aimed at providing tangible benefits or
support for individuals who have been caregivers, particularly those who may have left the
workforce to care for family members. This could involve creating systems to support
caregivers and recognizing their critical role in the community.
Jolene Ivey is the chair of the Prince George’s County Council. As Chair, Jolene successfully
closed a $171 million budget deficit, and passed rent stabilization legislation to keep seniors
and fixed income residents in their homes.
Jolene Ivey was elected to her second four-year term on the Prince George’s County Council in
November 2022 representing Council District 5. For the legislative year 2024, she was elected
Chair of the Prince George’s County Council.
In her past term, she served on the Planning, Housing & Economic Development Committee,
the General Assembly Committee, and the Mental Health Advisory Board. During her first year
on the Council, she also served as Vice-Chair of the Health, Human Services and Public Safety
Committee.
We asked Chair Jolene Ivey what were some of her priorities. She said, “In a year when we
faced a $171 million budget deficit and a state-mandated increase in education spending, a
mandate growing every year, I am proud that we stayed true to our values: prioritizing schools
and public safety without raising taxes on our residents. My top four priorities for the county
are as follows:
- Families. My goal is to ensure that families in our County are supported from birth
through high school. I have advocated for a program called Family Resource Connects
that ensures that every baby birthed in our county can have these services, regardless of
background or income, to be assisted with in-home visits from nurses who can help to
find resources as needed for these young children and their families. I believe that when
we have a strong home environment, the rippling effects and impacts are felt
throughout the community. - Public Safety. Increasing positions for public safety and working with our first
responders is important to ensure that our county works towards making sure every
Prince Georgian feels safe. Public safety includes not only crime but traffic safety. We
need to make our roads safer for pedestrians and bikers. We need to have cleaner roads
with less dumping and litter. We need to enhance and work on many different aspects
of public safety and work with the agencies in charge collaboratively to get to a safer
and cleaner Prince George’s. - Economic Development. Diversifying and growing our revenue is critical to being able to
resource the essential services and needs of our county and relieving the burden off our
residents. Smart and intentional growth using our resources and the investments that
are coming into the county from our federal partners and state is an opportunity that
we must seize. Growth in community-focused development will bring jobs, diversify
opportunities for our residents, and bring in the much-needed revenue to offset the
demands of the county. With huge deficits forecasted by the County and the State, we
must be laser focused on short and long-term strategy. - Education: Working with PGCPS is critical in improving and resourcing our school
system. We have some phenomenal educators and must ensure that we keep them in
our county to provide the education our children deserve. It is so important that we
work together to ensure the needs of our students and families are being met.”
These three trail blazers should be lauded for their efforts and dedication to influence not only
policy but also the lives of million who rely on its protections and benefits.
This article was written by the staff of The Blue View.
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