An Unlikely Candidate
Tekesha Martinez left Hagerstown hoping to never return; now not only is she back but she’s fighting hard for the city
By Jennifer Mellace
In 2004, Tekesha Martinez left Hagerstown and swore she would never come back. Growing up as a foster child, being bounced from place to place, she found herself alone as a teenaged mom and angry at the community that had raised her. She returned in 2010, now a mother of five, and had every intention of leaving again. But fate had other plans.
Today, 14 years later, Martinez is the mayor of Hagerstown and is running for the Maryland 6th Congressional District—a fight in a crowded Democratic field to replace David Trone, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
So, how did a young woman who was so embittered with the city she grew up in end up its first black mayor and a possible congresswoman to a district that includes rural Maryland? To know her story we need to go back to her return to Washington County.
The Fight Begins
Martinez’s Hagerstown homecoming wasn’t what she had hoped for. After several unfortunate events—including a man from church exposing himself to her young daughter—Martinez was expected to stay silent. But that was the last thing she was going to do. Instead, she found herself staying in town to fight the community that had previously let her down.
“When I first came back to Hagerstown, I was known as troublemaker because I wasn’t allowing people to rest on their disfunction,” says Martinez. “When some man exposed himself to my daughter, I wasn’t supposed to say anything. But I had to protect her. I was frustrated in a community that didn’t believe me because of how emotional I was.”
Martinez found her voice through her love of poetry and started performing and hosting open mic poetry readings. “I felt stuck and uninspired, so I began Spit UR Peace at the Georgia Boys Café.”
During this time, her kids started going to the community center that Martinez had once attended. “I hated that community center. I don’t know why. I can’t tell you. But at that time, I hated it, and I told my kids to stay out of there. My kids—especially my youngest—didn’t understand, and I couldn’t keep them from it. So, I started going and volunteering my time.”
Martinez started doing after-school poetry workshops. “I was there so much that when a program director position opened, I applied. I started working with a group of boys who were labeled ‘out of control.’ It was very easy for me to connect and create a safe space for these kids.”
Making $9 an hour, Martinez found herself with a slew of volunteers and an after-school program that grew from 25 kids to 90 kids within a year. “I did that for a few years and with a very strong team, we doubled the numbers within a few months.”
Healing Through Mediation
While offering poetry workshops at the community center, Martinez met former Hagerstown mayor David Gysberts and discovered community mediation. While mediation was happening for 25 years in Hagerstown, Martinez says the black communities didn’t even know it existed.
“Mediators will show up anywhere, but no one knew that it was a free resource. Dave was a part of the mediation board of directors and came into the community center a lot when I worked there. He was very instrumental in connecting me and played a huge role in me becoming a trained mediator.”
After basic mediation training, Gysberts opened city hall to Martinez and allowed her to bring kids every week for a conflict resolution day—a day that included reading and writing poetry. From there, she began helping to resolve all sorts of disagreements, from landlord-tenant disputes to relationship troubles to neighborly quarrels.
Hagerstown mayor Tekesha Martinez during an interview with News Talk 103.7 FM radio.
“I became a mediator, which led me to the training and tools that allow me to stand in state of conflict and lets people know that I’m going to spend time with them and hear and understand and listen to how I can help,” she says.
Martinez believes leaders need to figure out ways to bring people together. Part of this process included Martinez’ poetry. On several occasions, she was commissioned to speak at the Washington County Community Mediation Center events, which eventually led to her next career path.
“Every time I got ready to leave Hagerstown, another door would open that gave me another level of access,” she says. “The bigger picture became clear. I knew I was called to serve this area and leaving was not an option.”
Mediation Leads to Politics
As her work with the youth and as a mediator continued, people took notice and her name started to appear on ballots. This continued for years and eventually reached a point where Martinez was no longer willing to “shirk a chance to remind her local government who they serve.”
It was then that Martinez put her name on the ballot citywide for Hagerstown City Council. With a youth-led team, she won a seat, as did one of her former mentees, making them the second and third Black councilmembers in the city’s history.
Her mentee, councilwoman Tiara Burnett, has now known Martinez for more than 20 years.
“I met her at the boys and girls club when she was there as a teen counselor,” says Burnett. “She started Teens with Priorities that I participated in while I was in high school, and our paths continued to cross throughout the years.”
Burnett remembers Martinez referring to her as councilwoman years before she even considered the role. “I was always aware of what was going on in politics,” says Burnett. “Years ago, in front of the community center, Tekesha told me I would run for council and win. She put that in the universe, and I will forever be grateful that she believed in me.”
Burnett is also grateful that Martinez believes in Hagerstown. “Tekesha is Hagerstown. She fights for the city to make sure the county will work with us. She makes sure that children and members of the community have what they need. She doesn’t just speak the words, she is there to help.”
While Martinez never intended to be the mayor of Hagerstown, the early resignation of former mayor Emily Keller—who left to join Gov. Wes Moore’s administration—opened the seat and Martinez was unanimously appointed to the position.
“I never felt called to be the mayor, but when mayor Keller resigned, I put my name on the table because I had the time,” Martinez says.
Martinez came out of foster care, no finances, no political backing. “I came in to this role like a bull in a China shop. I learned that people hold grudges for years. How are they supposed to get anything done because they won’t talk? I want to understand how we can work together.
“We care about the same things, but we have a different experience. I have the power because I don’t hold grudges or offenses. It makes people uncomfortable when I ask questions, but we can’t move forward without that.
“Since I’ve been mayor, the economy and businesses have grown. Because if you support people, they will support each other and then the community can grow. People support people, not businesses.”
The Fight Continues
As “CEO of this city,” Martinez believes she has been called to do more for the entire region. “Running for major would have been easy. What I learned is that when you’re supposed to do something, do it and get out of the way.”
Now the goal is to move on to congress so she can build on the work she’s done locally.
“I don’t have to do this for me and mine. It’s not about my family and generational curses being broken. That’s been done. This is so much bigger,” she says. “Imagine me with a team and the ability to put the people around me who can make things happen?
“I don’t have an ego, but at the same time, I know the work that I’ve done and how much it requires for me to show up. Now, I think to myself ‘if I can be elected as a congresswoman with a team and delegate to the right people, I’m not going in to hold things up. I want to get in, get it done, and get out.’ ”
Martinez plans to work closely with mayors and local governments and hopes to see more elected officials paying closer attention to rural areas. “As a black woman in a conservative community, I didn’t care about elections and climate. I was just trying to survive. More attention needs to be paid in an intentional way to counties and what they can and can’t do.”
Burnett believes that Martinez in congress would be a huge benefit for Western Maryland. “She will stand out and make sure everyone knows Hagerstown. People need to know us, and she will keep Western Maryland in the forefront of everyone’s mind.”
Martinez wants people to remember how much work she has done and done consistently for Hagerstown. She wants people to know that this is not about political gain. And from two decades ago when she thought she had sworn off Hagerstown, she has come full circle.
“I love Washington County, and I’m doing this for all of us. I’m not going anywhere. I am not going to change who I am. I want to give back and empower people. Everything attached to me is about being healed and whole as a district.”