In deep-blue Prince George’s County, running as a Republican is tough. Michael Riker is trying anyway. 

BY ROBERT STEWART
Capital News Service

ACCOKEEK — When discussions finished at a local town hall, Michael Riker, 61, grabbed his home-designed palm cards and hustled to the door.

Dressed in an oversized gray suit and sporting a yellow tie with “We the People” printed on it, Riker stumped for votes mainly by commiserating with disgruntled attendees.

“There’s just a lot of corruption,” said Riker, “and nobody’s listening to what the people have to say.”

Riker wants to change all that as a member of the Prince George’s County Council. He’s attempting a feat no Republican has accomplished in the 21st century – getting elected to it.

Riker faces a giant numerical challenge. Democratic voters vastly outnumber Republicans in the county. His competition – Jolene Ivey, a Democrat – is a household name here.

If successful, Riker would break the iron-clad grip Democrats have had in county politics for decades.

But with the odds against you, what’s the point of being a Republican in Prince George’s County?

If you don’t play, you can’t win

Riker has mostly been a Republican here since the 1980s.

Not growing up Republican, Riker first realized he had conservative values while watching TV in the early 1980s. Michael J. Fox played the sole Republican in his family in the sitcom Family Ties.

“Oh my God, I got the same values as he does,” Riker says he realized. “I’m a Republican.”

Around the same time, he joined the U.S. Capitol Police, in 1984. Then, he moved to the Prince George’s County Police Department in 1988 and served there until 2010.

According to Riker, after retiring, he engaged in some private investigative work and met residents by traveling the county teaching seniors how to avoid scams. But Riker also said he had heart troubles and that he escaped an early death, twice.

So when former At-large Council Member Mel Franklin resigned from his position in June in advance of pleading guilty to felony theft and perjury charges, Riker arrived at a crossroads.

He said he believed God had more in store for him. He saw the single-party dominated legislature and thought to himself, “Why am I here? Why didn’t I die or anything else,” he said, referring to his health scares.

So, he went to work, attending events and planning outreach.

Riker says he wants more funds for the police and fire department, community service opportunities for high schoolers to help tackle litter problems, and road improvements in the county. He’s also opposed to tax increases.

“You know, it’s the kind of common-sense type stuff that’s not really being looked at,” he said.

Among Riker’s supporters are fellow Republicans who have endeavored unsuccessfully to beat Democrats.

Jesse Peed, 65, is the chair of the Republican Central Committee for the county. He has run for office several times.

“Even though the odds are against it and you figure you’re gonna lose, you still gotta fight,” he said. “If you don’t play,” he said, “you can’t win.”

Peed bemoaned the idea among county Republicans that their votes don’t count.

The GOP might not win local seats, he said, but they could boost former Republican governor Larry Hogan in his run for the U.S. Senate.

Lee Havis, 80, also ran for public office several times. Havis said that Riker’s platform is why he’ll be voting for the candidate.

Concerned about a lack of accountability and an upcoming abortion referendum, Havis plans on knocking on doors this fall for GOP candidates.

“The future won’t change unless we do something now,” he said. “So, we’re doing what we can now to build hope for the future.”

Tough, but not impossible

Audrey E. Scott won a council seat as a Republican in 1994 and 1998.

“I didn’t think I would be the last one,” she said in a phone interview.

Scott was the first female mayor of Bowie. She served three terms, left to work in the federal government, and returned to county politics in the early 1990s.

“People knew me,” she said. “They knew that I didn’t have horns or that I wasn’t some weirdo because I was a Republican.”

For Scott, the persistence of a Republican like Riker ultimately means a healthier government.

“It would be a tragedy for the party to disappear,” she said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a two-party system, of the importance of debating the issues, of having honest debate with different opinions.

“To have a monopoly,” she said, “is just not healthy.”

Riker’s Democratic rival, Jolene Ivey, says even if the council is run by Democrats they do not all march in lockstep with one another and the members have healthy debates.

“If you watch our council,” said Ivey, “you will see that we’re not all in agreement on many things.”

If Riker is not successful in November, he says, he’s not going anywhere.

“They’ll be having this campaign again, and if they have it again, I’m keeping my signs,” said Riker, who believes voting for a Democrat amounts to more of the same.

“I’ll be ready for it.”