Annapolis mayoral candidates talk parking, safety and small businesses (Capital Gazette)
- friendsofrhondapin
- Aug 26
- 3 min read
The Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce held the second Annapolis mayoral debate Thursday at Annapolis Library. The two Democrats — Rhonda Pindell Charles and Jared Littmann — and one Republican, Bob O’Shea, took questions ahead of the September primary.
“It’s the mayors who make things happen,” said moderator and chamber president Mark Kleinschmidt, before the event. “Many of the issues we’re facing here in Annapolis are being faced by other cities and towns.”
Development was the focus of the forum, starting with how the city can support minority-owned businesses.
Littmann said he wants to hold focus groups and networking events to help owners learn about available resources, and he proposed creating a “business navigator” position to help small businesses.
“Let’s look at other jurisdictions that do this much better. We don’t need to re-create the wheel,” Littmann said. Some counties in Maryland, such as Montgomery and Harford, have business navigators.
Littmann grew up in New Jersey and has lived in Annapolis since 2010. He won a seat representing Ward 5 in 2013 and served one term. He and his wife own K&B Ace Hardware on Forest Drive, and he argues that experience will help him support small businesses and run the city.
“We know that managing people is a lot of effort and takes a lot of hard work, and I have the experience doing that, bringing your people along with you, motivating them, encouraging them, retaining the good ones,” Littmann said in his opening statement.
O’Shea said permitting is too difficult in Annapolis
Pindell Charles said she wants to prioritize supporting descendants of the people displaced in the Old Fourth Ward and celebrate, as well as learn, from existing minority-owned businesses.
Pindell Charles traces her Annapolis roots back to 1704 and grew up helping in her family’s small business, Pindell & Pindell Carpentry and Painting. She has represented Ward 3 on the City Council since 2013 and previously worked as a community outreach specialist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools and as an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore.
“Under Pindell Charles’ administration, number one: continuity of government,” she said in her closing statement.
In contrast, O’Shea called for extensive change.
“Please don’t vote for me if you want more of the same,” O’Shea said in his closing statement.
O’Shea grew up in Pennsylvania and New York and has lived in Annapolis since 2000. Most of his career has been advising manufacturing firms on defense, medical and government contracts. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013 and for a delegate seat in 2018.
O’Shea was critical of downtown construction and the city’s bureaucracy. Answering a question about public safety, he claimed that two weeks ago 300 semiautomatic shots were fired in Eastport, according to residents, and that crime is up 50%. Annapolis’ crime dashboard shows there have been 20 confirmed shots fired and four homicides in Annapolis this year. Last year, there were 18 shots fired and three homicides, and the year before, 2023, there were 36 shots fired and nine homicides.
Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson, who attended the debate, said O’Shea’s claims were “completely false.”
Pindell Charles also rebutted O’Shea’s claims citing the city’s crime dashboard, which shows the overall crime rate going down. To improve public safety, she said her priority is ensuring residents are healthy, informed and educated.
“When we look at public safety, it’s a holistic approach,” she said. “These individual incidents are, yes, very disturbing, but let’s look at the overall picture.”
All three agreed that Annapolis parking needs to be easier and more user-friendly. Littmann suggested condensing the three apps currently in use. Pindell Charles said the City Council has subpoenaed the company, Premium Parking, that operates parking to demand answers. O’Shea said parking must be improved or tourists will not want to come back.
Littmann and Pindell Charles will face off in the Democratic primary Sept. 16. O’Shea, who is unopposed for the Republican nomination, automatically advances to the general election.
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