Washingtonian Magazine honored its 2014 “Washingtonians of the Year,” and celebrated the service and accomplishments of Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III.
Prince George’s county Executive Rushern Baker III is aiming high. Since he took office four years ago, more than $6 billion in development has begun, including an MGM casino, Tanger Outlets at National Harbor, and a planned regional medical center in Largo. Baker meets weekly with the police, sheriff’s, and corrections departments and the state’s attorney to strategize about crime reduction—and cites a crime rate that’s the lowest in almost 30 years. He appointed a new school superintendent and helped restructure the school board. The county is revitalizing blighted neighborhoods—removing abandoned buildings, repaving streets, encouraging citizen involvement. “I want to bring back what I felt when I moved to Prince George’s in the late ’80s,” Baker says. “That this was a place on the rise.”
