*Trailer* On the Record: Charles County w/ Lenny Proctor

This is the trailer for the full episode that will be posted on 4/15!

In this conversation, host Carlos Childs and candidate Lenny Proctor discusses his journey from the Central Committee to running for Commissioner of District 2 in Charles County. Lenny emphasizes the importance of community engagement, addressing healthcare disparities, and improving infrastructure, particularly in the 210 corridor. He shares his vision for economic growth, including expanding the local MD airport and supporting small businesses. He also tackles pressing issues like affordable housing, traffic solutions, and the implications of data centers in the area. 

Lenny Proctor:

• Campaign website

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What do you kind of see as a as a solution to kind of having affordable housing in somewhere that the the people who work in Charles County actually afford to live in Charles County?

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Okay. Ooh. All right. So this is the problem again. There are affordable houses. They're just limited. That's the problem. Um again, I'm gonna say I I hate to keep me that record to say.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Do you want to expand it? Do you want to expand affordable housing or are you comfortable with the numbers that we're gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

I want to expand affordable housing. I um I think I wish there's a way that we can control the rent. Rent is ridiculous. Because here you got your par you got your child growing up, and they cannot move out on their own in Charles County or in Maryland, period. But let's talk about Charles County. Why don't these folks going ridiculous with these rents? With the rent is like, like really$2,000 starting off for a seven apartment. Yeah, yeah, you know. So I would love to find some kind of way of making this thing adjustable if we can. Again, the one of the biggest problems is, and I'm gonna piggyback on something else too. Going back to Bronze Road, we was talking about um people telling me about the strip. I call it it, uh the little strip, uh, mall strip, and whatever they want to call it. It's privately owned. So it's not much we can do about it. You know, or well, let's take it back. That's what I've been told there's not much we can do about it. But when I get in, I'm definitely gonna try to see what we can do about it. Because I know, number one, that's part of cleaning up. I don't want a mall that's empty, that's vacant. You have businesses going in and out, and it's ridiculous. And you only have one, well, I'll take it back. Well, one shopping center, which I'll say it, Food Line and Bronze Row, then have Oasis in Indian Hand, another small growing business that I would love to support as well. All right. Um I wanna I want to look at some things. I need to look at some things because I really not talking bad about nobody, I really want to see some things happen, and I know it can be. And and I think that, and not saying they that they didn't, but sometimes when you have a different voice, different ideas, fresh face, it can make a change. And that's what I'm saying. And so on that, yes, and then the same token is with when it comes to these properties, these builders, I want to see, like I said, I think it's ridiculous for if I come in, I can't even my doors are slant, slant it. You know, I'm like, what the heck is slanting for, you know? Uh even though they got that little warranty, I don't care. I don't want no, I don't want to use that warranty until 10 years. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

You don't want to move, move, move into a house and then say, okay, where's the warranty phone number already?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

You know what I mean? I don't want to we don't want to do that. We don't want to do that. So, and that's what I say, we don't want to do it, and that's what I we would not accept. So, and like I said, and that's one of the things. So, when it comes to affordable housing, um, they are in the rule book, for my understanding, don't quote me, I don't know if it's 20 or 30 percent that when a builder builds into a developer, they must see if some kind of affordable housing. My understanding, again, is that they don't want to make a builder go broke because he's in there for make a profit. All right, but there's some ways that I need to see how we can work together to offset some things or something to have that affordable housing, you know? So I think that would be great if we can do that.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Okay. And then kind of king on, so you are a a supporter of rent stabilization within the county, because we've seen Prince George's County put in rent stabilization to cap rent um increases for certain uh properties at 3%. Montgomery County also did it, I think, uh, between uh three and six as well. Do you believe that should be done here in Charles County, or do you have a different kind of kind of model for rent stabilization?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

I believe something should be done. Oh, you really gonna get to me, all right? I'm gonna tell you right now, because go ahead. Hey. Me as being an agent, okay? And folks that know me as being an agent, all right? No, no, go ahead, Lenny. No, go ahead, Lenny. Hey, I'm gonna keep it real. I'm gonna keep it real, folks. I'm gonna tell you. I don't think it's right for me to buy, you got a house that's 70 years old, 30 years old, right? It's going for the same price as a brand new house. Come on. I ain't buying it. You know what I mean? But that's what they're doing. I'm like, hell no, but that's what you want. Guild for it. I'm not that person. So I feel like when it comes to the rent, these houses, some of these houses are not worth what they're saying. And I understand to capitalize. Capital society, they want to be. It's ridiculous. It's really, really ridiculous. My opinion on this thing. Uh yes, I believe something should be done uh with it. Uh, what we can do, I don't know. Again, I do not know exactly what we can do, but for the simple fact, it hasn't been done yet. So I want to know why.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Rent stabilization has been done in other counties.