One of the youngest members in the history of the Prince George's County Council was sworn in Tuesday.
Since he was a student at Crossland High School, Edward Burroughs III has been a public servant, rising from the student member on the Prince George’s County Board of Education to its youngest elected member when he was 18. Now at 29, he's a County Council member.
“If you would have asked me a year ago, six months ago, where would I be, it would not be on the Prince George’s County Council,” he said. “For those of you who have known my story and know what we’ve been through, this is the last place that I ever thought I would be.”
When former District 8 Council member Monique Anderson-Walker stepped down to be running mate for gubernatorial candidate Peter Franchot, Burroughs won the special election with more than 70% of the vote in the primary, beating former Council member and state Del. Tony Knotts.
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On the school board, Burroughs helped elect progressive candidates, causing a shift in the power of the board. That shift led to frequent clashes with school system leadership, and Burrough's fight against former PGCPS CEO Kevin Maxwell went all the way to the governor. Maxwell later resigned.
Political leaders spoke in support of Burroughs Tuesday, including U.S. House Majority Leader and Prince George's County native Rep. Steny Hoyer.
“There's been controversy on the Board of Education, but you have tried to be a steady, focused voice,” he said.
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“I'm here today to celebrate Ed, to celebrate his perseverance, his passion, and to remind each and every one of you that he is someone who is an example of the ultimate measure of a man,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said.
Burroughs' campaign was not supported by everyone on the board. Some Council members were missing from his swearing-in.
“I'm going to fight to do what's right on behalf of the people of Prince George’s County, and often that gets me into some good trouble, but I feel comfortable in that space at this point, and I look forward to contributing and supporting and working together as best we can,” Burroughs said.
After winning his seat, Burroughs resigned from his job overseeing the Teen Court Program within the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office. State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said Burroughs helped grow the program and wrote legislation expanding the state's definition of child abuse.
The regular primary election will happen in June. Burroughs and Knotts have both filed to run, and Burroughs will need to win to keep his seat on the Prince George's County Council.
