Welcome to our next installment of focused conversations with community personalities as we approach the third decade of the 21st century. Here, we speak with Sheila Finlayson, an Annapolis alderwoman, a chairperson of the city’s public safety committee, a member of the economic matters and rules committees, and liaison to the education commission.
Your official bio outlines your long and distinguished career in teaching. What made you run for the Fourth Ward City Council seat?
I left South River High School after 25 years only because I was elected president of the teacher’s association of Anne Arundel County. I did that for four years, during which I worked closely with community leaders, parents, as well as the educators I represented, to make sure teachers had all the rights and resources they needed to be successful in their classrooms. I negotiated the largest pay raise teachers had received since the 1980s. We got “three sixes”—a six percent increase three years in a row. When the superintendent, at the time, tried to change our healthcare without negotiating it with the union, I was able to get support from parents and community leaders.
Did you have constituents suggesting that you run for the position you’re in now?
Absolutely, even though I had not been that familiar with City Council business. I received several phone calls from elders in the community. My mom had gone to the March on Washington, and a group of community leaders like [civil rights activist] Marita Carroll had watched me over the years and nurtured me. So, when I was told the vacancy was there, I felt I had a responsibility to the community to step up. I talked to my dad and he said, “Obviously they need you. You’ve got to do this.” So, over Thanksgiving break [in 2006] we talked about it as a family, I said yes, and I ran. The primary was January 2nd [2007], and the general election was January 31st. It was the best campaign ever. Two months and done. That was a snowy January, I might add. I did a lot of door-knocking in the snow.
Now that you’re established as a force in the city, what is your vision for the future of Annapolis?
The mayor [Gavin Buckley] has the theme of “One Annapolis,” which I whole-heartedly agree with. How we get there is the big question, because Annapolis is still very divided between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” We don’t do an adequate job—much of a job at all, really—to make sure we have affordable housing in Annapolis. And I mean housing that the police force and teachers and nurses and our firefighters can afford. Our home ownership has gone down instead of up.
Another piece of that is transportation, which is totally inadequate. Residents can’t count on [public] transportation to get them to a job elsewhere. Our job market is tight and limited in the city. There are job opportunities around the city and the county, but residents can’t get to them. We’ve got to do everything we can to make Annapolis a community for everyone—not just folks who live in certain wards—so that our communities connect with one another.
As a single council member, are you a consensus builder?
I like to think of myself as a consensus builder. I’m always willing to compromise. I have very strong opinions, but I’ve lived through the pitfalls and the high points, and I have some history of how we get things done. I have been able to bring people together. We have a city manager form of government. There was a community initiative to change us to a council manager form of government that would have reduced the mayor to a figurehead. The mayor would have been a part-time person who would have done only ceremonial duties.
[Ward 7] Alderman Ian Pfeiffer and I compromised on a plan and created a pseudo city manager form of government that would still leave the mayor as the chief officer of the city. But it also created a city manager who has the professional knowledge and skills to run it. That brought us to where we are today. Some will say we didn’t go far enough. Others will say we shouldn’t have done it at all. But I believe it was a good move to give our city professional management, regardless of who’s in the mayor’s office or who’s sitting in the City Council seats.
I am working with community leaders now on Airbnb legislation. I’m dealing with bed and breakfast folks who want to protect their businesses, as they should, and people who use their homes or their rentals as Airbnbs, for additional revenue for themselves. I’m pulling all of the people together, because that’s how I function...to come up with a win-win for everyone.
What specifically needs to be done in and for Ward 4?
First and foremost is redevelopment of Newtowne 20, which is a public-housing facility that has the greatest need. Folks who live there should not live in those conditions. We must get a better handle on crime. I’m not saying that it is Ward 4 residents who are committing the crimes. I’ll just say that people are invited into some communities who have no good intentions.
In Bywater, I told them “these kids are hiding guns in and around your home. We need your help. We need to get these guns out of the hands of these kids.” The communities totally agreed and committed to helping us eradicate this youth violence that we’re seeing on the increase.
And then I met with the Newtowne residents, only to find out it wasn’t the Newtowne community, it was the Woodside community where the gun activity was taking place. I helped those two communities to see that it is their kids in some cases who are shooting at one another, and it needs to be addressed. We found guns in kids’ “Big Wheels” and under air-conditioning units—all kinds of places. The community sees this kind of stuff, and we need them to step up and help us.
What would be your direct message to the youth of the city in this regard?
I believe that many youth who are causing the problems don’t have an alternative. Far too many have nothing to do. They have not been given the skills or the background to do anything. So yes, they might have a high school diploma, but they have no opportunities for the future. I believe our school system needs to make sure every kid who graduates has something viable to do.
My message to the kids would be, “What is it that I can help you do?” I have been speaking informally to people who would be willing to help young people learn a skill, and I believe I could pull together a cadre of skilled professionals who would be willing to take on a group of young people and teach them a skill and get them on a path to a successful career.
You’ve been a supporter of police and other first-responders. What more should be done to help them in the city?
I served on the public-safety committee, and I chaired it for most of the 10 years I served. I am a strong proponent of police, fire, and emergency preparedness. I have learned over the years to respect those men and women who don’t run away from danger, but run to it. Everyone knows that when it comes to public safety, I am supporting 100 percent of what they need. All of our officers need the time and the resources to step out of their cars and get to know the community they’re serving. And by doing that, the community will also get to know them.
What would be your most important legacy after you move on from your present position?
I would love to see Newtowne 20 developed into a thriving multi-mixed-use community, including home-ownership opportunities, enough so that we could help some folks own their units—a development that is inclusive and really a community. If I could speak to something else, it would be ridding the crime in the community, helping people feel safe where they live. My ward has million-dollar houses, and it has public housing—and not a lot in between. So, I’m kind of emulating what has been going on in Eastport, in my case bringing all the communities together that touch Newtowne Drive. Some folks from those communities have been coming to meetings, because it’s not just about Newtowne. It’s about the whole community.
Do you have any future political aspirations beyond what you’re doing now?
I threw my hat in the ring to pursue the District 30 House of Delegates seat [left vacant with the death of Maryland Speaker of the House Michael Busch] because I was asked to do it. And after I wasn’t chosen, I had a lot of people reach out to me to say they’re glad I’m staying where I am. They like what I do, and they feel like they have a voice, with me at City Hall.
So, I’m happy where I am right now. I serve the Annapolis community. It’s not about me. It’s about making sure that my community has what it needs. I hear from residents all over the city. I don’t say no, and I don’t pass it on. It’s always “How can I help you? How can we resolve this to make it work for everyone?” And I guess that’s my mantra.
