Kevin Ward didn’t like to take credit. A firm believer in the importance of building consensus, he preferred during his time as a city council member, interim mayor and mayor of Hyattsville to work as a team, and he often referred to himself simply as a “husband, father, grandfather, and proud resident of Hyattsville.”

As the city mourns his untimely death, the Hyattsville Wire talked with those who worked with him to get a better sense of his goals and accomplishments in office, and the legacy that he leaves behind.

Ward was the city’s first openly gay and second Black mayor, as has been noted, and he advocated for making the city more inclusive, appearing at its first Pride parade in June. But his legacy runs deeper than that.

Stuart Eisenberg, executive director of the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation, told the Wire that Ward once commented to him that “people’s actions, not their words” were the best way to understand their time in office, and he said that was a good way to remember Ward as well.

“What Kevin has done that I think is remarkable is that he’s gotten the Council to work productively and positively and he did that by virtue of his frank, sincere, and clear communication,” he said. “He did inspire folks to work hard and he expected them to work smart.”

In public events and city council meetings, Ward was focused on several issues: promoting community-based policing, strengthening the city’s emergency preparedness, responding to the coronavirus pandemic, increasing affordable housing and improving education and youth services.

Council member Ben Simasek recalled how Ward’s political goals came from a very personal place, noting a moment at a meeting earlier this month to discuss civilian oversight of police.

“He called attention to the artwork behind him with the image of George Floyd and the names of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and too many other Black people shot by police,” Simasek told the Wire. “He mentioned that a family member of his had been shot by police and acknowledged that many issues discussed on the dais, with staff, and with community members are deeply personal and important to him and many of our neighbors.”

At the practical level, that led Ward to co-sponsor a proposal for city police to buy Bolawrap, a lasso-like restraint that can be fired at the legs of suspects to prevent them from running away which has been promoted as a safer alternative than guns and tasers.

The department’s mental health and wellness program even drew national attention after a video went viral of two officers successfully handling a psychologically distressed man.

Ward, who lived in public housing as a child, also cited that experience and his time working in finance when he discussed affordable housing, saying that he wanted to find a way to help developers bridge the gap, especially as the city’s real estate costs continue to rise.

That included proposals to set up an affordable housing fund in Hyattsville, an independent nonprofit that could help developers with low-interest loans, and buying smaller four- and eight-unit buildings to keep them affordable.

He helped lead the push for Prince George’s County to use its right of first refusal last year to steer the Hamilton Manor Apartments from the Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner’s development firm, to a nonprofit that will keep 75 percent of the units as affordable housing in a $40 million deal.

In an interview with the Hyattsville Life & Times, Ward said he wanted the city to be able to meet the housing needs of “all the people we’ve been talking about the last 21 months — nurses, policemen, firemen.”

Ward served as mayor during the coronavirus pandemic, leading efforts to strengthen the city’s emergency preparedness and help struggling local businesses, including a still-ongoing project to determine how to spend $17.9 million in federal funds.

He also served as interim mayor during one of the most-discussed issues in recent memory, when the city decided to rename Magruder Park in light of racist restrictions when it was deeded to the city in the 1920s.

Among the 830 suggestions for a new name submitted by the public was “Scooter Park,” after Ward’s nickname.

Those who worked with him recalled Ward’s infectious enthusiasm and sense of humor. Eisenberg said that whenever someone said it was good to see him, he would respond playfully, “Yes, it certainly is.”

After not being able to get a pair of Air Jordans as a kid, he began collecting sneakers as an adult, wearing them even with formal outfits and keeping more than 800 in a storage locker that he would regularly visit.

“We loved this gregarious, giving guy with all our hearts, minds and souls, and are gonna miss the heck outta him for ever and always,” Council member Joanne Waszczak wrote on Facebook. “Kevin’s impact, reach and network were as outsize as his sneaker collection, and his legacy and laughter will live on in perpetuity.”

At The Spot, a community gathering place that Ward supported, SoHy Co-Op co-founder Krissi Humbard put up a sign this weekend that ready simply, “We ♥ You Mayor Ward,” and invited the community to share their own signs in memory of Ward.

Ward, who could often be found around town at Maryland Meadworks, Vigilante Coffee, Streetcar 82 and Franklins, didn’t consider himself unique, telling Route 1 Reporter’s Michael Theis once in an interview, “I’m just as human as everybody else in the city.”

“I am a pretty straightforward person,” he wrote on his campaign website. “I believe in listening more than talking. But when I talk, I am not one to mince words or tell people what they want to hear. I believe in doing the work. I believe that if I can help someone, then I can change her or his life.”

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

Community members in and around the Hyattsville area in need of grief counseling or mental health support are encouraged to contact Community Crisis Services, Inc.: call 800-273-TALK; or the Affiliated Sante Group crisis support line: 301-429-2185.