Karma O’Neill
Candidate in Nov. 4 general election Democratic Admiral Heights
Age: 55 on day of General Election (Nov. 4)
Occupation: Event Planner
Education: BA – Roanoke College
Previous political experience: Served first term as Alderwoman 2021-present
Why are you running for office?
I love Annapolis and have learned so much in the past 3.5 years. I have more plans that I want to see come to fruition, such as completing the sidewalk on Cedar Park Road, finishing the public park on Rowe Blvd near the National Archives, working to streamline the City Budget and create more affordable housing options.
What issues are important to your ward? How do you plan on addressing them?
Pedestrian Safety: I plan to continue to work on adding crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes. I want to see the implementation of speed cameras and pedestrian activated crossing lights.
Rental Issues: mold is a huge issue that we need to address. Not only fixing units that are covered in mold, but finding ways to keep mold from spreading in units. I am working with a local non-profit to develop a workshop series for rental rights, financial literacy and home maintenance.
Public Safety: everyone should feel safe in their neighborhood – work on getting violent criminals off the streets and out of public housing.
Streets and sidewalks: Annapolis needs to do a better job of updating streets and sidewalks. I want to work on ways to get more streets paved, more sidewalks updated and help make our city look and feel welcoming to residents, visitors and tourists.
How do you see housing and public transportation development progressing in the next four years?
The City needs to address public transportation, make it easier, faster and more efficient for everyone to use.
Housing: We need to address the shortage of housing but also Public housing – Public housing was never meant to be permanent, long term but it has turned into that. The City needs to focus on addressing failing public housing policies, increase housing stock and find ways to work with landlords to make sure rental properties are up to code, inspected and licensed.
Are there decisions/legislation from the previous council that you want to readdress?
Short Term Rentals need a better solution. We need to find ways to make STRs work better in our established neighborhoods.
Budget – we need to take a different approach to creating the City’s budget by talking more with residents, streamlining the budget process to ensure that tax payer funds are used in the most efficient manor.
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