More speculation surrounds Fannie Lou Hamer Award Pierres campaign

By Zaina Adamu Just two days after Democratic mayoral candidate Zina Pierre won the primary election on September 15, 2009 old records surfaced exposing her financial history and past residency. Despite the damage it may have done to her campaign, she is still in the race to become Annapolis new mayor. Court records show that a home Pierre once owned in Bowie, Maryland is facing foreclosure. She purchased the house in 2005, but Prince Georges County Circuit Court documented she has not made a payment since late 2008. Motor Vehicle Administration court filings also reveal her past financial difficulties. According to the administration, she failed to pay her car insurance bills on time for a 1995 Toyota and a 2003 Range Rover. When the state tried to obtain her unpaid bills from her government relations firm, Washington Linkage Group, she eventually paid $3500 in fines. Last year Pierre paid an Annapolis mechanic $1498.83 for repairs on her Range Rover from her corporate checking account, but the check bounced. As a result a lawsuit was filed but later setled when she paid the outstanding bill plus additional costs which totaled an estimated $2500. In 1990, the state placed a tax lien against Pierre for $257. Another lien was filed for $653 in 2004. Less than 24 hours after Pierres financial background leaked, new allegations arose citing she lived outside of Annapolis within the past three years. According to the City Code, candidates who run for mayor must be an Annapolis resident for at least two years prior to the day of general election. However, in order to be a voter, the resident must have lived in Annapolis for one year making the qualifications a three-year residency to become mayor. Move-in dates for her residence at 1901 West in Annapolis did not begin until December 2006 one month short of making the cut-off date to be mayor in the 2009 election. State property records show she owns and resides in a house in Mitchellville in Prince Georges County. She also received a homestead tax credit for the house. Voter registration documents indicate she was an Annapolis voter as well as a Mitchellville voter at the same time in March 2004. Michael Matthews, Pierres thenspokeswoman, stated the democratic nominee was an Annapolis resident for the past three years. She also said on September 18, that Pierre dropped from the race due to personal reasons. Pierre immediately retracted the statement saying she would resume running for mayor. Matthews has since resigned from her position. Pierres new spokeswoman, Wanda Stansbury is unaware of new reports which show Pierre paid a total of $11,255 to IQ Associates, an unknown company in the state of Maryland. Her most recent campaign report shows she paid more than 50 percent of her campaign funds to the company. At press time, neither Pierre nor her spokeswoman have made any comments to the media. By Zaina Adamu

Recipient: Alice K. Wright

Alice K. Wright, RN will be recognized on October 4, 2009 as a recipient at the Fannie Lou Hamer Awards at St. Johns College in Annapolis. The mother of two is being honored as a woman who set the standard in professional and personal achievement in the community. Wright, who has been a nurse for over 40 years, began in the health field immediately after high school. She attended Anne Arundel Community College and Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. She worked as a nurses aide in Crownsville State Hospital as a health assistant in 1956. She says her passion to be in the medical field goes back many years. When I was a child I would always pretend I was a nurse, she said. It has always been a desire in my heart to help others. Its been an inspiration for me since childhood. She continued her education in nursing and went from a nurses aide to a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Finally she was certified as a Registered Nurse (RN) until she retired in 1997. She still manages to re-certify her license every year so she can work in hospitals voluntarily. My career will always be a part of me, she said. Wright admitted she was surprised when she received the phone call to become an honoree at the Fannie Lou Hamer Awards. In fact, she did not know she would ever be acknowledged for something she loved. I cant describe how I feel. I am so grateful because I enjoy what I do and for someone to recognize it and say thank you is truly an honor, she said. Wright is currently the President of the Parole Community Health Center in Anne Arundel County, the only AfricanAmerican owned center in the city. She helped set up a $650,000 project to ren-

Fannie Lou Hamer Award recipient Alice K. Wright Courtesy Photo ovate and expand the center since its establishment in 1949. She received the Governors Citation and was a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Pathfinder Award for community service at a local Black History month event. She was recently recognized for her volunteer efforts at Community Service Nurse Week by Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. Gamma chapter. Healthcare is my bag and I love carrying it, said Wright. I just want to continue doing what I do in this field.

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