Jamaica-born Phelicia Nembhard re-elected as mayor in Maryland
Published:Tuesday | May 13, 2025 | 12:06 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Phelicia Nembhard, who started off her life in Whitfield Town in St Andrew, Jamaica, is back as mayor of New Carrollton in Maryland.
Nembhard will be serving a second term as mayor after losing her re-election bid in 2023.
She was first elected mayor in June 2020 and served for three years before her defeat in 2023.
She had been caught up in allegations that she made homophobic remarks and that she fired the then police chief without cause, charges that she vigorously denied.
This time around, she won in a field of four candidates, including the sitting mayor.
When elected in 2020, Nembhard was the youngest person to serve as New Carrollton’s mayor in a city that’s around 60 per cent black.
She was also the first Caribbean-American and first woman to serve as mayor of New Carrollton, Maryland, at the time.
She won her first election to serve on the city council in 2018, where she was written in by parents in the schools where she previously volunteered.
They then voiced their support for her should she consider running for mayor, an opportunity Nembhard said represented a unique chance to serve.
CONTINUE CREATING DIALOGUE
In 1998, when she moved to the area, Nembhard had been working to address hunger in schools.
“I took it with grace and I went and just hit the ground running, just doing all that needed to be done,” Nembhard said.
She also focused on supporting the youth and creating a space for them to learn and gather, she added.
Overall, Nembhard said her goal is to continue creating dialogue within the community, while encouraging everyone to work together and to support equity.
“I believe in my capacity; I can make a change,” Nembhard said.
“I can create awareness about the climate that we’re in; to talk about police brutality, excessive force and that kind of thing. I’m in a position to make a difference.”
The new mayor, attended The University of the West Indies (UWI), earning a degree in management and accounting.
She was recognised as Student of the Year at the UWI in 1996. Shortly after graduating, Nembhard migrated to the United States and took a position at Citizen Bank, which is now known as Sun Trust Bank. From there, she worked as regional manager at Presidential Bank.
Some of her priorities as mayor included providing resources for seniors, boys’ and girls’ clubs, improving infrastructure, updating the city’s vehicles, and police reform.
In 2020, during her first campaign for mayor, Nembhard said she had no plans to defund the police and would be working closely with the police department to launch a community resource officer programme. She also said, at the time, that she planned to enlist officials trained in mental health to work with the police when such social intervention in required.