Springdale

State Sen. David Harrington with Andrea Harrison, the likely Democratic nominee to fill his vacant PG County Council seatNew numbers just released by the Prince George's County Board of Elections show Andrea Fletcher Harrison (D-Springdale) with a lead of more than five percentage points over Mayor Adam Ortiz (D-Edmonston) in the race to fill the open District 5 seat on the Prince George's County Council.

Harrison's lead increased from 137 to 171 votes after absentee ballots were counted.

Only provisional and military/overseas ballots remain.

The board plans to certify the results next Friday, April 11.

Mayor Adam Ortiz (D-Edmonston) is the only elected official seeking to fill the open District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County Council. With that line on his resume, the two-term Democratic mayor from Edmonston is running on his record against six Democratic opponents, as the April 1 primary election approaches.

“I think I have a record of proven experience of delivering for regular people,” Ortiz told PolitickerMD.com.

Elected in 2005, Ortiz said crime has dropped 24 percent in Edmonston since he became mayor. He also said he helped stem flooding issues in the city, saying his administration pumped $6 million into flood prevention methods.

Derrick Parks (D-Lanham) believes he has the “talent and skills” to revitalize the business community in Prince George’s County. The owner of the Metropolitan Protective Services security firm, which provides uniform guard services, Parks told PolitickerMD.com that his experience “running a company” sets him apart from his seven opponents in the race to fill the open District 5 seat on the Prince George’s County Council.

While saying there were “land developers who would like to come” to Prince George’s, Parks said crime had to be addressed first.

The candidate said he would look to open an organization of “volunteer reserve police officers,” saying he would set a goal of having a 2 percent volunteer police force in the county, or roughly 250 additional unpaid officers.