Dennis Callahan

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Dennis Callahan is an American politician from Annapolis, Maryland, and the former director of the Recreation and Parks Department of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. As a Democrat he has announced he is running for Anne Arundel County Executive in the 2006 election.

During his tenure as director of the Recreation and Parks Department, Callahan was at the center of two controversial park developments. One of the park developments involved the Smith Farm on the Broadneck Peninsula. The plan called for tearing down most of a horse farm and building ball fields over the land, leaving limited space for a community equestrian center. Citizens organized against this proposal, and groups such as WHOA (We Hold Officials Accountable), SACReD (South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development), and the Anne Arundel Green Party literally stood in front of the bulldozers to stop the farm from being torn down. Eventually the farm was preserved and is now the Andy Smith Equestrian Center.

The other park development involved converting a substantial portion of wetlands on Franklin Point into ballfields and parking lots for those fields. Once again, citizens in the community organized to oppose this destruction of wetlands. They offered alternate sites for the ballfields. However, it was only after the Critical Area Commission ruled that plans for the park would have to be severely curtailed that Anne Arundel County backed out of the proposed development.

Callahan is a former Mayor of Annapolis, serving from 1985-1989. He was originally a Republican before serving as Mayor. He was defeated in the 1989 primary. He ran again in 1993 as an Independent, placing second in the General Election. Callahan was again the Democratic nominee for Mayor in 1997.

Callahan was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Anne Arundel County Executive in 1990.