City of Frederick, MD Election Update

George Wenschhof

Many voters in the City of Frederick have not yet tuned in to the election so it is too early to start making projections. However, it is always interesting to see what is transpiring with the announced candidates.

Last week I wrote about Bill Hall making his official announcement that he was running as a Democrat for Alderman on June 20 at Mullinix Park at 3:00 PM during a Juneteenth celebration. I also spoke of what currently appears to be another eight Democratic alderman candidates in the race.

Let's take a look at what has been happening with the mayoral candidates.

The filing deadline is July 7 and the primary is September 15 so in about three months voters will be deciding who will be their candidates from their respective political parties for the general election on November 3.

Incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger's decision to drop out of the race is the most interesting recent development. He would have faced intense scrutiny over his residency and the decision to move forward with the early retirement buy-out plan.

Other issues such as the condemnation of the "Hargett Farm" for a city park, the city budget and the decision to issue millions in city bonds for infrastructure development would have also been fodder for opponents.

While many of the issues will still exist, other candidates will have to alter their campaign strategy as it can no longer be focused on encouraging city voters to vote against Holtzinger because....

On the Republican side, the owner of a Tow Truck business, Clint Hoffman is considered a very long shot. The other Republican who has filed, Randy McClement is well liked by those who know him. The major problem being he is not a long term Frederick resident and outside those who visit his Bagel Shop downtown or have seen him at various city meetings, he is not known by the voters.

In earlier columns, I gave him little chance against Holtzinger in the primary and even reported some Republicans were telling me he would withdraw form the Mayor's race and run for Alderman. McClement have not shown any inclination to withdraw from the race and is, at present, the favorite to win the Republican nomination.

I ran into Randy on the street a few weeks ago, the day before his daughter's wedding. I asked how Dad was holding up and he said fine. He added however, daughter had a long list of "to do" items for Dad. I told him I wished him and the family well as I was sure that would be an exciting moment.

When I spoke to Mayor Holtzinger after he announced his withdraw from the race, he indicated he would be endorsing the Republican candidate for mayor. When I spoke on how few voters know Mr. McClement, Jeff reminded me to think about how much of a chance I was giving him in the 2005 election. I have to admit I did not give Holtzinger much of a chance to win that election.

While much speculation abounds on what other Republican may enter the mayoral race, incumbent alderman Alan Imhoff is not one I would suspect would join the fray. Instead expect Imhoff to file for alderman. There was even some talk from a few about trying to get Bill Hall to switch back to Republican and run for Mayor, but Mr. Hall squashed that rumor.

On the Democratic side, talk continues on the possibility of a third candidate joining former Mayor Jennifer Dougherty and Jason Judd in the race for the Democratic nomination for Mayor.

Fueling the gossip is the fear Mr. Judd is not ready for the position of Mayor, has not lived in Frederick very long and has never worked here. In regard to Ms. Dougherty, one could argue she has the highest negativity rating among city voters of any candidate in the race.

I have personally found in talking with city voters, they have a love her or hate her mentality toward Dougherty and are quick to tell me so. It would appear the persuadable voters in the case of Ms. Dougherty would be a smaller number than in the case of Mr. Judd. As to Mr. Judd, many voters ask me who is he?

If I were to try to objectively handicap the Democratic race at this moment, I would call it even.

Adding to the talk a third candidate may enter the race is Ron Young telling many if he felt Jason Judd would lose to Jennifer Dougherty, he would enter the race.

The problem with Ron's statement is his entry into the race would probably aid a Dougherty victory in the Democratic primary. In 2005, only 3,908 Democrats voted in the primary and Ron easily beat Jennifer 2,218 to 1,690.

In a three way race, with Judd and Young supporters splitting their vote, only 1,400 votes for Dougherty would probably be enough to win. While Dougherty detractors are very vocal, her supporters are very loyal and will stay with her at the voting booth.

So some speculation continues as to who would make a viable third Democratic candidate. One who comes to my mind who would be able to draw voters away from both the Dougherty and Judd supporters as well as have her own following is former alderman Meta Nash.

Ms. Nash ran in the three candidate Democratic primary for Mayor in 2001. The primary fell on 9/11 and Jennifer won by about 30 votes over Meta as I recall. Alan Imhoff, who was a Democrat at that time, was a distant third. Ms. Dougherty went on to win that election against Republican incumbent mayor James Grimes.

Many have speculated to me that if Ms. Nash had won that primary in 2001, she would still be mayor today.

The most interesting aspect of the mayoral race to me so far if that so many voters are talking to me about other candidates who may file in both the Republican and Democratic Parties.

In a short four weeks, that talk will stop as the filing deadline of July 7 will have passed. Expect at that time, for the voters to begin concentrating on the filed candidates and their positions on the issues. Speculation will be over and the field set.

Stay Tuned....

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