Meet the Candidate: Edward Putens

Edward Putens is completing his 15th term on the Greenbelt City Council. Putens has been a resident of Greenbelt for 44 years, starting in Springhill Lake. He has also lived in Charlestowne North, Windsor Green, and most recently Greenbrook Estates.

Putens has been employed by the federal government for 39 years and has received many awards and commendations. He has worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the past 24 years, mostly in high management positions. He previously served in management positions at three other federal agencies.

Putens has taken a leading role in improving police protection and crime prevention. He has for many years advocated the revitalization of Springhill Lake, now called Franklin Park, and other property west of Kenilworth Avenue, in part to improve public safety. The council earlier supported his initiative to use video cameras in strategic areas in the city and to place two School Resource Officers in Greenbelt schools for security, and he has successfully proposed traffic safety improvements.

Putens has taken a leading role on senior citizen concerns and initiated a Senior Task Force, which led to establishment of the permanent Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. He proposed the city's Public Safety Advisory Committee, as well as the Advisory Committee on Education (ACE). Putens also successfully initiated the Four Cities Coalition among Greenbelt, College Park, New Carrollton, and Berwyn Heights, to expand inter-city cooperation on issues and projects of common concern.   

Putens was the first resident of Greenbelt East elected to the City Council, and has worked actively with the Greenbelt East Advisory Committee (GEAC), of which he was a co-founder. He was an original member of the Windsor Green Board of Directors, and served on its board for eight years. He has been the president of Greenbrook Estates for the past eleven years.

While on the City Council, Putens has served on numerous county, state and national committees to represent Greenbelt’s interests. He is the past chair of the Small Cities Council of the National League of Cities (NLC), and has also served on numerous other NLC committees. He is also a member of the regional Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments (COG), Prince George's County Municipal Association, and the Maryland Municipal League.

Putens is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where he earned his degree in microbiology and was a member of the university's lacrosse team. After college, he was employed in various research capacities for medical and research development companies and co-authored several patents dealing with minimizing air pollutants.

Bio provided by the candidate