Eric Hartley: Can Cordle bring 'one Annapolis'?

At a brief campaign rally in a gym recently, Dave Cordle talked about the support he's getting from minorities.

"This campaign is not just about this color skin," he said, tapping his own arm, "or this socioeconomic (status)."

The event showed both the sincerity of Cordle's goal of "One Annapolis," a slogan he uses in his run for mayor, and the challenge of making it a reality.

While Cordle held his event at a Boys & Girls Club surrounded by a few African-American and Hispanic people, Democratic candidate Josh Cohen was on the other side of the same building (the old Bates High School) speaking at a lunch attended by dozens of black residents.

Cordle, who is white, is on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, and speaks convincingly of the need to build bridges between races and between rich and poor. He said he has been determined not to campaign only in more affluent (and whiter) areas like West Annapolis, downtown and Eastport.

"The thing I really want to do is break down these walls," Cordle said.

His heart's in the right place, but it's not clear that Cordle, a Republican, actually has the support of large numbers of black residents, who historically vote overwhelmingly Democratic. Before his event in the gym, Cordle had been working the phones, worried not enough minorities would show up. The result was a brief, slightly awkward photo op.

Cordle grew up in Annapolis. As the chief investigator in the State's Attorney's Office, he has seen firsthand the devastating effects on families when kids lose their way, the cycle of broken homes and crime that can last generations. His day job has made him a believer in drug treatment courts as well as community programs like the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Reginald Broddie, chief professional officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs, said 97 percent of the kids the organization serves in Annapolis are black. He said Cordle has done "a yeoman's job" creating programs to help young people.

"Let's look at the person, not his party," Broddie said. "He's playing a role that's saving lives."

Cordle, a former Democrat, switched parties to run against sitting Alderman Carl Snowden in 1993 (a race he ultimately decided against). He said party politics are all but irrelevant in local government.

"I'm running as an Annapolitan with a vision for our city," he said.

Knocking on doors downtown last week, Cordle ran into several Democrats who said he had their votes. Nevertheless, as a Republican, he faces an uphill battle in a city with about twice as many Democrats as Republicans. Unlike Cohen, Cordle has to get votes from members of both parties to win.

And like a 30-year senator running for president to bring change to Washington, the two-term alderman has a challenge running as a change agent.

Cordle was an alderman while the city budget almost doubled. But he notes that as an outnumbered Republican, he was in the minority on many votes. He's the only mayoral candidate who supports a property tax cap.

Cordle has spent 29 years in law enforcement and 23 years in the military (numbers he recites often), and that career that has left him with a sometimes overly serious demeanor.

"People are always trying to get me to lighten up and smile more," he admitted. "I'm a fun-loving person. I work hard; I play hard."

Cordle, 51, plays his age as a positive, suggesting experience brings him a certain gravitas.

"I'm not 35 years old," he said at one gathering, a gentle dig at Cohen and independent candidate Chris Fox, both 36, who were born two months apart.

Cordle is hoping voters - black and white, Republican, Democrat and independent - will reject the "Democratic machine" that has dominated city politics for years but failed to make real changes.

"I think they've seen that failure too long now," Cordle said.