Bill Hall Switches Back to Democrat, May Run for City of Frederick, MD Alderman

George Wenschhof Bio

A source who is close to Bill Hall informed me Mr. Hall filed paperwork on Tuesday to change his party affiliation to Democrat. Many recall the popular Bill Hall as a two term Alderman for the City of Frederick. His brother Jim Hall is a member of the Frederick County State Democratic Central Committee.

He was elected in 1997 as a Democrat and served under Mayor James Grimes (R) and in 2001 he was reelected, receiving the most votes of any Alderman. If memory serves, he also received more votes than the elected first term Mayor, Jennifer Dougherty (D).

His relationship with Democrat Mayor Dougherty deteriorated rapidly after the election in 2001. One of the early disappointments was when Hall was not appointed as Liaison to the City Planning Commission by Mayor Dougherty. The constant squabbling with Mayor Dougherty led him to switch political affiliation to the Republican party. City of Frederick voters remember many of the contentious Mayor and Board meetings which typically involved Republican Aldermen David Lenhart and Bill Hall who disagreed often with Democratic Mayor Jennifer Dougherty.

Mr. Hall choose not to run for reelection in 2005 and Ms. Dougherty was defeated in the Democratic primary by former four term Mayor Ron Young. In the general election, Ron Young lost to current Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger. After a unsuccessful run for Congress in Maryland's sixth district last year, Ms. Dougherty is seriously considering running for Mayor of the City of Frederick this year and will soon announce her decision.

The word is Mr. Hall who indicated to my source, was always more comfortable as a Democrat, will file to run for Aldermen. He is well liked by city voters from both sides of the political aisle and would immediately be a favorite to be elected as Alderman. The City of Frederick elects five Aldermen whose role is similar to members of a city council.

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