Photo by Burnt Pixel.

Prince George’s County is often referred to as Ward 9, but that may be no more true than with Peter Shapiro, a former member of the County’s council who has decided to try his hand at D.C. politics with a run for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council.

Shapiro, who’s a D.C. local and has been back for two years after serving six years on the Prince George’s County Council, tells DCist that he has “something to give back to the city I grew up in.” Citing what he called a “broken political culture” and the need for change in the District, Shapiro said that he could bring his experience from Prince George’s County into D.C. politics.

When he was on the county council, Shapiro represented District 2, which includes Brentwood, Hyattsville and Mount Rainier. One of his key achievements that could inform his own focus on jobs in the District was the Hyattsville Arts District, which saw redevelopment “without displacement” along segments of the Route 1 corridor.

Given his focus on jobs, Shapiro echoed concerns about Walmart’s six planned locations in the District, saying, “This is not the solution to the jobs problem. It’s not even close.”

Shapiro also wants to focus in on ethics reform, and even though Prince George’s County isn’t a hotbed of honest leadership, he said that this could help him improve the quality of the District’s leaders. “I legislated through some difficult times,” Shapiro said, additionally noting that he recently served on County Executive Rushern Baker’s Accountability, Compliance and Integrity Advisory Board.

As for being an outsider, Shapiro argued that Mayor Anthony Williams himself had served outside of the District before coming to the city and being drafted to run. Shapiro currently lives on the Ward 4 side of Chevy Chase.

Shapiro’s announcement, which will be made formal tomorrow on WPFW’s D.C. Politics Hour, is music to Councilmember Vincent Orange’s (D-At-Large) ears. Orange won the April 26 Special Election in large part because he ran against a divided field; current challenger Sekou Biddle was probably hoping not to have to contend with a progressive upstart like Shapiro.

Bryan Weaver, who ran in the special election against Orange and now supports Biddle, doesn’t see Shapiro’s outsider narrative as being particularly workable. Williams, he noted, was the District’s Chief Financial Officer before being drafted to run, after all.

“Maybe there is a great constituency asking him to run, but I haven’t seen it,” said Weaver.