Meet the Candidate: Judith "J" Davis

Judith F. “J” Davis is in her ninth term on the Greenbelt City Council. Currently, Davis serves as Mayor, a position she has held since 1997. Prior to her election to the City Council in 1993, she was appointed to the city’s Advisory Planning Board (APB) for ten years and was elected chair by its members from 1988 to 1992. Davis is the council liaison to the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum and to the Forest Preserve Advisory Board and represents the council on the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area Board of Directors.

Davis moved to Greenbelt in 1975 and soon became active in local affairs. A condominium owner in Greenbriar, she was elected to the Greenbriar Phase 1 Board of Directors, serving for 14 years. She was carnival chair for the Labor Day Festival Committee for 18 years. In 1995, Mayor Davis was on the Project Design Committee that led to the formation of GIVES, the Greenbelt Intergenerational Volunteer Exchange Service, of which she is a charter member. Davis was re-elected to the GIVES Board of Directors for an eighth term as vice president in June 2010.

Davis has honed her leadership skills and expanded her experience and effectiveness by serving tirelessly in many roles. As Mayor, Davis is the Council’s representative to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Board of Directors. In 2005, she was elected chair of the COG Board for a one-year term. In 2010, she also served as its corporate president. Davis is a member of COG’s Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee and its Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, both of which she has served on since their inception. In the past, she served on COG’s Budget/Finance Committee, Ad Hoc Elected Officials’ Green Building Committee, and Climate Change Steering Committee.

Davis is a member of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Advocacy Steering Committee for the National League of Cities (NLC), having first been appointed in 2005. Due to her focus on environmental issues, Davishas brought back innovative ideas and best practices to be incorporated by the City. She successfully urged Greenbelt’s registration in the Sustainable Maryland Certified Program and serves on its Mayors’ Advisory Council as a Founding Mayor.

In addition, Davis is a past president of both the Prince George’s County Municipal Association (PGCMA) and the Prince George’s Elected Municipal Women. Davis served nine years on PGCMA’s Board of Directors advocating Greenbelt’s positions at the county level. This past June, Davis was elected President Elect of the Maryland Municipal League after serving eleven terms on its Board of Directors. She is the immediate Past President of the Maryland Mayors Association. She is a member of Women in Government Service and the NLC's Women in Municipal Government. In 2002, Davis became a Graduate Fellow of the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance established by the Institute for Government Service and Research.

Appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley, Davis represents the Maryland Municipal League on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Maryland Transportation Funding. She is seeking full reinstatement of our much-needed highway user funds.

For her environmental work, J was given the Greenbelt Green Man Award in 2010. Davis was selected Woman of the Year 2000-2001 by the Business and Professional Women/USA. She is also a recipient of an award for Outstanding Leadership and Service in Politics by the Minority Affairs Committee of Prince George’s County Educators Association (PGCEA).

Davis retired in 1999 after thirty years as a sixth grade teacher at Gaywood Elementary School in Seabrook, Md. An educator for 35 years, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Chester University in West Chester, Pa. She served PGCEA as board member and treasurer.

Davis is an active member of many civic organizations, including Greenbelt Arts Center, Friends of the Greenbelt Museum, Greenbelt Golden Age Club and Greenbelt Lions Club. She is also a member of the Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt Democratic Club, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Friends of the National Zoo, Sierra Club, and Purple Line NOW!

In her spare time, Davis enjoys skiing with her significant other, Neil, attending Washington National Opera performances and walking on the beach with her two nieces, Jessica and Felice.

Bio Provided by the Candidate