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Shanie Shields and Bernadette Kennedy outline outreach and neighborhood priorities for Wicomico County District 1
Summary
On the radio program "Bridging the Gap," incumbent Councilwoman Ushanie “Shanie” Pinkett Shields and challenger Bernadette Kennedy described District 1 as diverse and outlined priorities including neighborhood code enforcement, constituent outreach, and voter education.
Councilwoman Ushanie “Shanie” Pinkett Shields and community leader Bernadette Kennedy, both running for Wicomico County District 1, told listeners they would prioritize direct constituent outreach and attention to neglected neighborhoods if elected.
Shields opened the conversation by recounting decades of community volunteer work and local board service, saying she turned to helping others after personal tragedies. "I started volunteering in organizations like Shore Up, Big Brothers Big Sisters, [and] Damascus Road Ministries," Shields said, and noted she has deep roots in the area, living there on and off since 1981.
Shields emphasized voter-engagement efforts from earlier work: "66% of the 4,400 people that we registered went to the polls and voted," she said, using that figure to underline turnout as a central concern. She also raised practical neighborhood problems, pointing to Westover Hill, the Village Playground and code-enforcement gaps between city and county jurisdictions as issues that require attention.
Bernadette Kennedy, a lifelong resident of Sandtown Winchester and chair of the John Quinton Foundation, echoed the need for outreach. "You got to get out there and talk to the people," she said, arguing that many residents are "depressed" about government and that in-person contact builds trust. Kennedy said elected officials should educate residents on how government functions and ensure basic services — for example snow and road maintenance — reach scattered parts of District 1.
Both candidates said redrawn district lines have increased geographic diversity, combining urban pockets and rural areas. Shields remarked that census coding can obscure mixed-race and Hispanic residents when counts are presented simply as "black and white," a point raised to illustrate representation challenges in the district.
On accessibility, Shields told listeners she keeps a personal phone number on the county website and said town meetings alone do not reach many residents: "If you go to these meetings the people don't go… at least you know you tried." Kennedy and Shields both urged bringing meetings into neighborhoods and using multiple outreach methods to raise turnout.
The exchange covered personal qualifications and constituency service rather than specific new legislation or budgets. When the program paused for a break, both candidates reiterated commitments to visibility, unity with other local officials, and responsiveness to constituent concerns. The program indicated questioning would resume in a later segment.
The radio forum did not record any formal motions, votes or official policy actions during this segment.
