About our process for endorsement in the 2025 Prince George’s County Special Elections

During every election cycle, the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO considers endorsements of candidates for office. We consider these endorsements seriously, as they have the potential to influence the policies that affect hundreds of thousands of working people and families in our region.

As the chair of the Council’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) and co-leader of our endorsement considerations for the special election in Prince George's County this March, I wanted to share the details of how we arrived at our most recent decisions for endorsement.

On December 23, 2024, our COPE committee sent written questionnaires to all candidates in the race for Prince George’s County Executive and County Council District 5 with an invitation to complete the questionnaire and send it back to us. We informed candidates at that time that completed questionnaires were due by January 2, 2025.

All candidates who returned a questionnaire were invited to participate in candidate interviews with our COPE members. Representatives of all Affiliated unions were invited to participate in these interviews, which took place on Thursday, January 9 at IBEW Local 26. COPE members met to review the questionnaires, conduct interviews, and discuss our options for endorsement. Committee members then reconvened on January 23 and arrived at a recommendation for endorsement. The committee presented its recommendation to the Council’s Executive Board and rank and file Delegates at the standing meeting of each body on Monday, January 27, 2025. The Executive Board and Delegates voted to accept the COPE Committee recommendation to endorse our recommended candidates.

As Chair of the COPE committee, I have every confidence in the fidelity of this process. The labor movement is built on democratic principles, and our process for this endorsement was clear and accountable every step of the way.

We thank all the candidates who participated in this process, and appreciate our conversations about the ways the Prince George’s County Executive and County Council District 5 offices can support workers and working families in our region. We look forward to working with all candidates to advance that work.

In solidarity,

Tom Clark
COPE Chair, Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO and
Executive Board Member, IBEW Local 26