Meet Dufour Woolfley, Candidate For Bowie City Council

BOWIE, MD — The office of mayor and six councilmembers for Bowie will be on the ballot Nov. 7. There are at least two or more candidates running for Districts 1-4 and the two at-large seats, including Dufour Woolfley. Two candidates are vying for the office of mayor.

Woolfley shared information with Patch about himself and his interest in running for office.

What ways can people contact you with questions?
Dwoolfley@gmail.com

Campaign website?
Woolfley.com

Place of residence?
Long Ridge Neighborhood

Family members?
Wife Karen Meenahan Woolfley; children Elizabeth, Mark and John

Education?
Marketing Management, Virginia Tech

Occupation?
Marketing manager

Previously held elected or appointed political positions?
Incumbent, Councilmember District 2

Why are you running for office?
To continue serving my community.

The single most pressing issue facing voters is ______, and this is what I intend to do about it.
I have and will continue to prioritize public safety.

I fully support our volunteer firefighters – I worked to deliver funding for new fire suppression tools, renovate our volunteers’ living space and will continue to deliver the resources our firefighters need to keep us safe.

I am tackling speeding and traffic safety. My district leads the way with traffic calming, including speed humps on Belair, new multi-way stop signs, and speed camera enforcement. But I’m not done fighting for traffic safety–I’m still leading the effort to deploy new speed cameras and make traffic calming readily available.

I have and will continue to ensure highly trained, community-oriented law enforcement for Bowie. Law enforcement agencies across the region are struggling to hire, so I worked to improve officer training, recruitment, and retention. Bowie now boasts a nationally accredited, community-oriented police department, a robust emergency management team and our own dedicated 24/7 emergency dispatch center.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
Proven experience.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I have proven results while on the Council. I have championed fiscal responsibility and ensured great city services. In fact, I led the effort to deliver a balanced budget with no tax increases while maintaining exceptional city services and accelerating the water pipe replacement program.

I have been a leader for responsible growth. I successfully fought against excessive development at Market Place and the Jesuit property and supported mixed use at the Bowie Town Center. I have voted against the storage facility and car wash at Marketplace Shopping center as well as against providing tax breaks for the development across from Walmart.

I’ve increased public safety. I have been the chief advocate for traffic control, including speed cameras, reducing traffic and speeding on city streets, and fully supported our community policing program.

And I support my residents with constituent service. I work proactively to help solve constituents’ problems and keep residents informed with newsletter updates.

Experience and results matter.

The best advice ever shared with me was:
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I was unanimously appointed to the Bowie City Council in January 2015 to replace Todd Turner as an at-large member of the Council. In 2018, with the support of the Bowie Citizens for Accountable Government, Councilman Woolfley won the special election for District Two and continues to hold the seat. I am a 30-plus year resident of Bowie, including time spent living in both Districts One and Two.

I have long been active in city affairs, having served on the Bowie Financial Advisory Committee, the city’s Strategic Planning Initiative and the Elections Task Force. He has also been actively engaged in the community as an advocate for citizen interests and has been a member of the board of directors of Sport4All and Belair Bath and Tennis Club.

I live in the Long Ridge neighborhood of Bowie with his wife where they raised their three children and is a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus and the Bowie-Crofton Garden Club.