Prince George's County Sheriff Michael Jackson says he has made up his mind on whether he will run for County Executive in 2010, but added that he is not disclosing his decision until he has had a chance to sit down with his deputies and share it with them first.

"I have made a decision," Jackson said Friday. "I want to sit down with [my deputies] to kind of let them know what that decision is before it's printed somewhere. ...It's delicate for me."

Jackson said he could announce a decision sometime next week.

Jackson, 45, a Cheverly native, attended Crossland High School in Temple Hills, Md.; DeVry Institute of Technology; and served in the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves. (Official Bio.)

His political prospects were thought to be damaged after his deputies shot and killed two dogs belonging to the mayor of Berwyn Heights during a drug raid last year. An internal review by Jackson's office found the shootings to be justified, and Jackson said one dog was engaging an officer and that the other was running toward a second officer at the time the black Labs were shot. The mayor, Cheye Calvo, disputed the findings.

Jackson's name has long been on a list of those rumored to be eying the county's top seat. The field also includes Former Del. Rushern L. Baker III, who has run twice before, as well as County Council Member Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville), Council member Tony Knotts (D-Temple Hills) and Del. Gerron S. Levi (D-Prince George's). State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey, Del. Aisha N. Braveboy (D-Prince George's) and Sen. C. Anthony Muse's names have also been floated.

With 2010 around the corner, candidates in Prince George's County at all levels of government are beginning to sculpt their campaign messages. In a semi-weekly series --"Why You?" -- we sit down with the county's political hopefuls to ask about who they are, what they've done and why they're the best ones to lead.

Current Job: Maryland State Delegate; lobbyist/assistant director of the legislative department of the AFL-CIO.
Running For: County Executive
Former Jobs: Intern and legislative correspondent for former Rep. Gus Savage (D-Ill.) and legislative counsel to Sen. Dianne Feinstein. (Levi's Official Bio.)
Age: 41
Residence: Woodmoore, Md.

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I'm originally from Chicago, and I grew up between Chicago, Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles. I lived with several different family members. I went to most of high school in Los Angeles, I went to Berkeley undergrad. I lived with my grandmother for most of my years growing up, and then I lived with my brother. ... I didn't live with my parents growing up. I lived with various relatives. But they were in my life the whole time.

Q: When did you arrive in Maryland?
A: 1991. I came here for law school. I've lived in Prince George's for seven years.

Q: How did you get into politics?
A: I got into politics...during law school. I worked for a member of Congress. ...[Doing] legislative correspondence. ... Then I worked for Sen. [Dianne] Feinstein. ... I was one of her key staff on a couple of her signature bills. That was the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons. We did the actual initial draft of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill.

Q: Tell me about your campaign for state delegate in 2006. What made you want to run?
A: A lot of my motivation comes from watching and studying global trends. I feel somewhat the same way now as I felt then--that we are in the global challenge of a generation. I felt as if, in many respects, our community was not prepared to meet that global challenge.

Q: Was it a tough race?
A: I was running against the incumbents. ... It was an enormous challenge. The Bowie Blade [newspaper] at the time, they called me Gerron "Sore Feet" Levi, because of the number of doors I knocked on. About 8,000 doors. [The biggest hurdle was] getting my name out there, getting known with voters. I was an unknown. Whenever you run against the machine or against the slate, there are a lot of inside politics that really test the mettle of any candidate. ... I was on my own, with my volunteers and the money I could raise.

After Prince George's County came within one day of losing more than $5 million in federal housing funds, a few details on how it plans to spend the money have emerged.

The funds that were at stake come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOME Investment Partnerships Program, known as HOME. The program, begun in 1992, gives states and localities money each year for the development of affordable housing, and the grants come with a 24-month commitment deadline.

About $5.2 million was due to expire in Prince George's at the end of last month, but county officials said they made the deadline and then some, assigning $6.9 million to affordable housing projects. HUD officials are working to verify the projects.

The Washington Post recently reported on the near-loss of the funds, as well as four projects that were intended for the bulk of the money.

The county submitted two additional projects to HUD, The Post has learned.

According to county officials, one project, Marlton Plaza Senior Housing in Upper Marlboro, will receive $200,000. The recipient, Marlton Plaza Senior Housing LP, will use the money to acquire land, construct and operate a new 102-unit, low- to moderate-income senior rental housing project, county officials said. The county has earmarked HOME funds for this project previously, officials said, and the funds will make up about 10 percent of the $20 million project.

Another project, Livingston Forest in Oxon Hill, is slated to get $1.9 million in HOME funds. Those will be used by the developer, Housing Initiative Partnership, to build 72 units of rental housing for seniors, officials said. The total cost of the project is $14,025,605, officials said.

One female Maryland State delegate has decided to join the growing list of candidates for Prince George's County Executive, and another is rumored to be throwing her hat in the ring as well.

The delegates--either of which would be the first female county executive in Prince George's history if elected--are Gerron S. Levi (D-Prince George's) and Aisha N. Braveboy (D-Prince George's).

Levi confirmed yesterday that she plans to run for the seat, to be vacated by County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).

"The reason I'm getting in the race is because I believe the next county executive should have a vision for the economic future of the county," Levi said. "I think we need to be advanced, innovation-oriented and job-creating, and I believe I have the steps that will get us there."

Braveboy did not rule out the bid, but said her mind is not yet made up.

"I'm looking at all of my options at this time," Braveboy said. "I have not officially announced running for any race."

Several sources in the county--one of whom said they spoke with Braveboy directly--said she had decided to run. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because Braveboy has not yet officially announced.

With one day to spare, Prince George's County officials said they managed to submit required data to the federal government Friday on how they plan to spend more than $5 million in affordable housing money.

The funds at stake come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOME Investment Partnerships Program, known as HOME. Prince George's had to let HUD know by the end of the week how it planned to spend $5.17 million in grants, or the money would have been reclaimed and dispursed among about 650 participating jurisdictions.

Reached by phone, James E. Johnson, acting director of the county's department of housing and community development, said Friday that the county had finished updating a HUD database with the required information on planned housing projects.

"We have gotten everything in the system," Johnson said. "We made the deadline."

UPDATE: HUD officials are still working to confirm the agreements the county made with contractors on their end, but HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said no funds would be reclaimed in the meantime.

He said HUD had received assurances from the county that $5.2 million had been committed, and that the county is in the process of committing another $1.7 million, drawing on funds that were not due to expire.

There is no set timeframe for the verification process, HUD officials said.