Editing College Park, Maryland (section)

==City government==
College Park has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1960. The City Council is the legislative body of the city and makes all city policy. The council has eight members, representing four districts in the city. The council is elected by district every 2 years in non-partisan elections. The Mayor is elected at large on the same election schedule as the City Council. City Council meetings are held weekly at the [[College Park City Hall]]. The mayors of College Park have been:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/college/html/cmayors.html |title=College Park Mayors |access-date=May 15, 2017 |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=Maryland State Archives |date=December 7, 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:College Park City Hall ribbon cutting.jpg|thumb|College Park City Hall ribbon cutting by city government officials]]

{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*William A. Duvall (1945–1951)
*Charles R. Davis (1951–1963)
*[[William W. Gullett]] (1963–1969)
*William R. Reading (1969–1973)
*Dervey A. Lomax (1973–1975)
*St. Clair Reeves (1975–1981)
*Alvin J. Kushner (1981–1987)
*Anna Latta Owens (1987–1993)
*Joseph E. Page (1993–1997)
*Michael J. Jacobs (1997–2001)
*Stephen A. Brayman (2001–2009)
*Andrew M. Fellows (2009–2015)
*Patrick L. Wojahn (2015–2023)
* Denise C. Mitchell, ''Acting'' (2023)
* S.M. Fazlul Kabir (2023–present)}}

The Council appoints the City Manager, who manages all city services, implements the policy established by the City Council, and appoints and supervises the heads of the various city department. The City Manager also serves as an adviser to the City Council. The manager's office manages the day-to-day activities and financial affairs of the city, and oversees communications and IT for the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of the City Manager |url=https://www.collegeparkmd.gov/156/City-Managers-Office |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=City of College Park, Maryland}}</ref>

The government of College Park has five operating functions:<ref name="FinancialCP2022">{{Cite web |date=2023-01-06 |title=Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2022 |url=https://www.collegeparkmd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5441/Attachment-4--ACFR---City-of-College-Park---06-30-22--for-Finance-Website |website=City of College Park}}</ref> General Government and Administration; Public Services, Planning and Community Development; Youth, Family and Senior Services; and Public Works. In addition to the Finance Department, the General Government and Administration function includes the offices/departments of the City Manager, Economic Development, City Clerk, Human Resources, City Attorney, Communications and Information Technology.

[[File:College Park Volunteer Fire Department.jpg|thumb|The College Park Volunteer Fire Department base of operations]]

The [[Prince George's County Police Department]] District 1 Station in [[Hyattsville, Maryland|Hyattsville]] serves College Park.<ref>"[https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/District-1-Station-Hyattsville-1 District 1 Station – Hyattsville] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909112749/https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/District-1-Station-Hyattsville-1 |date=September 9, 2018 }}. [[Prince George's County Police Department]]. Retrieved on September 9, 2018. [https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2650/District-1-Beat-Map--PDF?bidId= Beat map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909055502/https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2650/District-1-Beat-Map--PDF?bidId= |date=September 9, 2018 }}.</ref> The [[U.S. Postal Service]] operates the College Park Post Office and the North College Park Post Office.<ref>"[https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=College+Park%2C+MD&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1358657&locationName=COLLEGE+PARK&address2=&address1=4815+CALVERT+RD&city=COLLEGE+PARK&state=MD&zip5=20740&zip4=9997&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=38.978254&longitude=-76.929495&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&& COLLEGE PARK]." [[U.S. Postal Service]]. Retrieved on September 11, 2018. "4815 CALVERT RD COLLEGE PARK, MD 20740-9997"</ref><ref>"[https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=Adelphi%2C+MD&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1375290&locationName=NORTH+COLLEGE+PARK&address2=&address1=9591+BALTIMORE+AVE&city=COLLEGE+PARK&state=MD&zip5=20740&zip4=9996&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=301-345-0036&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=39.010996&longitude=-76.9278719&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&& NORTH COLLEGE PARK]." [[U.S. Postal Service]]. Retrieved on September 11, 2018. "9591 BALTIMORE AVE COLLEGE PARK, MD 20740-9996"</ref> The College Park Volunteer Fire Department responds to emergencies in the University of Maryland, City of College Park and northern Prince George's County areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About College Park VFD |url=https://www.cpvfd.org/about/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=College Park Volunteer Fire Department Co. 12 |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{as of|2023|March}}, College Park belongs to [[Maryland's 4th congressional district]].

===City-student politics===
University of Maryland students make up about 55% of the population of College Park, but their involvement in the city government is limited. Their turnout in city elections varies between 2% and 15%, compared to the 40% average of the rest of the College Park residents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rowlands |first=D.W. |date=June 9, 2022 |title=Redistricting Overview and Status Update |url=https://www.collegeparkmd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3682 |website=City of College Park}}</ref> There are efforts to increase this participation both from the university's student liaison to the council and council members themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-20 |title=College Park City Council aims to increase student engagement in city affairs |url=https://dbknews.com/2023/04/19/college-park-city-council-increase-student-engagement/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=The Diamondback |language=en-US}}</ref>

Students living within the city are eligible to run for city elections<ref>{{cite web |author=Maryland State Board of Elections |title=Voter Registration Introduction |url=http://www.elections.state.md.us/voter_registration/index.html}}</ref> and in 2009 Marcus Afzali, a 24-year-old doctoral student in the Department of Government and Politics, was elected to the city council.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holt |first=Brady |date=November 4, 2009 |title=Both incumbents tossed out in District 4 |url=https://dbknews.com/0999/12/31/arc-s6rqwhlcuvawzmemsiblxpus2u/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227005220/http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/both-incumbents-tossed-out-in-district-4-1.859870#.T0rT-yrP1qY |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=The Diamondback |language=en-US}}</ref>