Early Voting Begins Today in Frederick County Maryland

George Wenschhof

Today, I will venture over to the Frederick Senior Center located at 1440 Taney Avenue in Frederick, Maryland and cast my vote in the primary.

While primary day is September 14, with polls opening at 7:00 AM and closing at 8:00 PM, you can now vote early at designated polling locations throughout the state of Maryland.

Prior to the primary, regardless of where you live in Frederick county, you can go to the Frederick Senior Center to vote from September 3 through September 9. They will be closed on Sunday September 5. The hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Maryland's primary is a closed primary so Democratic and Republican voters will be choosing their candidates who will move on to the General election to be held on November 2.

However, if you are registered "Unaffiliated" or another political party affiliation, make sure you still go vote. In Frederick County, 16 candidates are vying for the nonpartisan Frederick County School Board. Eight of them will move on to the General Election, when voters will elect 4 to serve on the Board.

Regardless of where you live in the state of Maryland, you can find your polling location and a sample ballot here.

In Frederick County, many familiar names are on the ballot for local elected positions including County Commissioner, state delegate, state senate and congress.

In the state of Maryland, Democrats have a 2-1 voter registration edge. However, in Frederick County, the voter registration numbers are as follows: Republicans - 57,254, Democrats - 51,935, Unaffiliated - 26,400, Libertarians - 437, Green Part - 356, Constitution - 30 and Others - 79. Total voter registration is 136,491.

For the primary, only 25% of the registered Republican and Democratic voters are expected to turn out. A higher turnout will take place in the general election on November 2 with 60-63% expected to vote.

So, the candidates who are able to identify/target the most likely voters in the primary and/or motivate additional voters to go to the polls in the primary will benefit from their effort.

Today, I'm going to take a look at the Frederick County commissioner race. On Monday, I'll look at more of the local races.

The County Commissioner race has seven Democrats and twelve Republicans on the ballot with voters in each party determining five who will go on to the General Election.

Recently appointed incumbent Republican Blaine Young should sail through the primary and has the experience, knowledge, and political acumen to be an effective board president.

One of the many recycled candidates, Blaine served one term as City of Frederick alderman, before marrying and moving outside of the city limits led him to not run for another term in the 2005 city election.

Out of all the nineteen candidates running, Mr. Young is on track to receive the highest votes in the general election and become the next president of the board.

If he conducts himself in a similar manner as he exhibited when he appeared on "All Things Political with George Wenschhof" , he would serve the community well.

However, if he reverts to the theatrics often prevalent when he hosted his local radio talk show, he would be a divisive force on the board.

Growth issues and whether or not to build an Incinerator have been the top issues in the primary. How to grapple with reducing and balancing an anticipated reduction in a estimated 650 million budget is the other top issue along with moving to a Charter form of government.

These issues and a candidate's position on them, rather than political party affiliation is more relevant to the voters in this local election.

On the issue of waste disposal, according to a recent email I received, candidates who oppose the building of an incinerator are as follows: Ellis Burruss (D), Robert Craig (R), Kai Hagen (D), Elaine Kessinger (R), Linda Norris (D), Jerry Trout (D), Bob White (R) and Janice Wiles (D).

Of this group, Ellis Burrus (D), Jerry Trout (D), Bob Craig (R) and Bob White are most vulnerable at not moving on to the general election.

Democrat Incumbent Commissioner Kai Hagen, a member of the " Controlled Growth Dream Team" which placed four members (Jan Gardner-D, Kai Hagen-D, David Gray-R and John Thompson-R) on the board in the 2006 election, was the lone opponent of the current board to oppose the building of an Incinerator.

Many detractors have accused him of talking way too much and saying very little while his supporters find he is a commissioner who will fight for what he believes in.

His transition from a community activist to an elected official has received mixed reviews.

Hagen has received endorsements from Board President Jan Gardner and retiring state delegate Sue Hecht (D-district 3-A). However, their support will be marginalized as neither will be appearing on the ballot which would draw their supporters to the polls.

The new "Controlled Growth Dream Team II" consists of Democratic candidates Kai Hagen, Ellis Burrus, Linda Norris and Janice Wiles who are joined by Republican candidates David Gray and Bob White.

These six candidates will receive support from those voters who want growth in the county to be tied to a corresponding build out of needed infrastructure.

Look to see Commissioner David Gray survive the primary, but to finish fourth or fifth. If he does not survive the Republican primary, this will be a good indication that the pendulum swing of the voters has swung in the opposite direction. This would be bad news for those "controlled growth" candidates moving on to the general election.

Out of the four Democrats on the Dream Team II ticket, all should survive the primary with Ellis Burrus being the one who may not survive the primary.

Janice Wiles has the experience of working for "Friends of Frederick County" and should benefit from their numerous supporters if they vote in the primary.

Watch to see where Commissioner Kai Hagen finishes in the primary for like David Gray, if he finishes down on the ticket, it will be an indication "Dream Team II" is in trouble.

Billy Shreve (R), Kirby Delauter (R), and Michael Kurtianyk (D) who are recognized for being more "pro-growth" will all be competitive in the primary. This is the second attempt by Shreve to become a county commissioner and the support he and Delauter receive from Commissioner Blaine Young will help them in the primary.

Kurtianyk received an endorsement from state delegate Galen Clagett (D); who's long term feuds with retiring Board president Jan Gardner (D) are well documented.

The knock on Kurtianyk is he is a Democrat in name only (DINO), spending considerable campaign time appealing to Republicans.

With the county commissioner race not being identified by party affiliation by many voters, this will not make a difference in the general. However, it could impact Kurtianyk's performance with Democratic voters in the primary.

Another familiar name on the ballot is Walkersville Burgess Ralph Whitmore (D). He doesn't seem to fall into any category and that may be a good thing as he battles to move on to the general election.

He is on record supporting the Incinerator and as far as growth issues go, he has always fought for needed infrastructure before supporting any growth in the Town of Walkersville.

In days past, it seemed Frederick County voters would always elect at least one commissioner who was from the farming community. Mr. Whitmore grew up on a farm and has experience in county-city/town relations. This is another area in which improved relations/communication could take place in Frederick County. He faces a tough primary fight to move on to the general election, but could surprise.

Both Republican candidates Paul Smith and Alan Imhoff have the distinction of being thrown out by the voters in last year's City of Frederick election after serving just one term as Aldermen. They have to be hoping that by appealing to a significant larger number of voters, they will fare better.

It may work, as the crowded field of twelve candidates in the Republican primary may work to their advantage as they both have name recognition and are considered moderate in their political views.

While the recent email I received indicated he was opposed to the building of an Incinerator for waste disposal, in a sit down interview with me, Republican Bob Craig told me he had many questions pertaining to the process and associated costs but had not made up his mind on this issue.

In the important area of reducing and balancing the county budget, Mr. Craig has the high level finance experience which would be a benefit during future budget balancing negotiations. However, in spite of how his experience would be helpful as a member of the Board, he will be facing a very tough battle to move on to the general election.

The remaining four Republican candidates on the ballot; Elaine Kessinger, Roy Taylor, Micky Fyock, and Dick Johnson will have a hard time receiving voter recognition. Even though Kessinger and Fyock ran four years ago for this position, expect them to experience the same results.

Regardless of who ultimately is elected, the new board of commissioners should move immediately to appoint a Charter Writing committee.

Voters should have an opportunity to vote in the 2012 presidential election on the question of electing a County Executive and County Council in the 2014 county election.

A salary of $150,000 for a county executive should result in qualified candidates on the ballot. A move to a county council made up of five members representing north, south, east, west geographic locations in Frederick county along with the City of Frederick would ensure a legislative branch truly representative of county residents.

Next, I will discuss the state delegate and state senate races in Frederick County, Maryland.

Remember to Vote!

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