Will Democrats Regain Control of City Hall?

George Wenschhof

The City of Frederick, Maryland general election is now only days away. Voters will be electing their mayor and five member board of alderman on Tuesday, November 3. Along with answering who the new elected officials will be, voters will determine if a Democrat replaces the Republican mayor and if the board maintains the current 3-2 Democratic advantage.

The campaign, on the most part, has been devoid of any strong positions taken by candidates on the issues that would result in awakening a sleeping electorate. Which begs the question "what if they held an election and no one showed up?". In a recent column I predicted the voter turnout to be no higher than 33% or 10,000 of the approximately 32,000 registered voters in the city. Other local pundits have told me they thought I was being generous in my prediction. I hope the voters prove me wrong and they turn out in record numbers on Tuesday.

If not, it is time for the incoming mayor and board to move the city election date to coincide with the presidential election cycle. Democratic candidate for mayor; Jason Judd has consistently supported my suggestion to move the election date from the day I first meet him in November 2008. I asked him then if he would support my proposal, which would also result in a shortened three year term for the incoming mayor and board. He has maintained his position on the issue when he offered his support in my online interview with him on 6-29-2009 and again in the last mayoral forum last Tuesday.

Representative Democracy works best when people vote and Jason's support to more than double voter turnout and reducing the cost of separate elections while shortening the length of one's own elected term in office, is just one of the reasons to vote for him on November 3.

Under the City of Frederick Charter, the mayor is what is known as a "strong mayor" who is the day to day administrator who also controls the gavel and agenda in the mayor and board meetings. As a result, the mayor is considered the prize in the election each political party strives to win.

A young man of thirty-seven, Jason exhibited poise throughout the campaign and has not been drawn into debate on issues not of his choosing. Jason had indicated throughout his campaign, he will lead by developing consensus on the issues. Often consensus is best formed from the bottom up, similar to the experience he gained in "grass roots" development as a community organizer.

This will be important as the new mayor will be overseeing a transformational city grappling with many issues while facing what will surely be a shortage of funds. In addition, the incoming mayor will be working with what promises to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, board of aldermen to ever hold office in the City of Frederick.

The board of aldermen are the legislative branch under the City of Frederick charter and as such act as a check and balance to the mayor. The aldermen candidates in this election are very strong and it would appear the five chosen by the voters will not be a "rubber stamp" for the mayor.

While the overall election has been quiet, the alderman candidates have been busy with their individual campaigns. As I have stated in previous columns, the incumbent aldermen typically have an advantage in reelection with low voter turnout. The one exception to that notion might be Republican Alan Imhoff, who appears to be in danger of losing his seat. Look to see Republican Paul Smith and Donna Kuzemchak win reelection, with Donna falling back somewhat from the close second she finished in the Democratic primary. This due to her being in office for twelve years. For as much as Donna's experience will be needed in the next board, over twelve years every politician does make some enemies and Donna is no exception.

Democratic aldermen candidates Kelly Russell and Michael O'Connor have worked hard at reaching out to the voters. Both are knowledgeable of the issues facing the city and also know how to navigate city hall; a must for an incoming alderman. Their experience and compassion for the voters will make them competitive on Election Day.

Democrats Carol Krimm and Karen Young have also worked hard during this election and are also sure to compete strongly on Tuesday. While Ms. Krimm's experience as working as a aid to delegates Galen Clagett and Sue Hecht would be of benefit to the city, working for two politicians also brings their negative baggage with you when you face the voters on Election Day.

Unfortunately, Ms. Krimm also has the curse of having served over the last several years on the local Democratic state central committee. Mostly ineffective and dysfunctional over the last eight years, the local Democratic state central committee has not had a member elected to office since 1997 when then chair of the committee; Blaine Young was elected alderman. He later would switch parties and become a Republican. Nonetheless, Ms. Krimm's experience and knowledge of the inner workings of government would be a plus on the board of aldermen.

Karen Young who received the top votes in the Democratic primary, will also have to deal with voters who connect her with her husband; former mayor Ron Young. While Ron fared very well against Mayor Jennifer Dougherty in the Democratic primary four years ago, he lost to a political novice; Republican Jeff Holtzinger in the General Election. However, Karen has campaigned across party lines, has personal experience in working in the community, and will be competitive.

Republican aldermen Shelley Aloi was somewhat of a surprise in the primary and has done very well with fundraising since - she could replace incumbent Republican Alan Imhoff on the board. However a recent email blast to supporters of a column written by Roy Meachum and published on www.TheTentacle.com on Tuesday has bought her the ire of some Democrats.

Amanda Haddaway has also run a competitive campaign so look to see her be in the mix as well when the votes are being tallied. Her fundraising efforts lagged behind the other candidates and this will make it tougher for her to win election. While William Huckenpoehler surprised many to advance from the Republican primary, do not look to see another surprise on Tuesday.

Republican candidate for mayor; Randy McClement, a soft spoken man during the campaign, received an influx of cash recently to help his campaign get out the vote. Large donations were received from a variety of sources including; George Delaplaine Jr. - $500, Joe Welty - $1,000, Mark Gaver - $1,000, Earl Mackintosh - $500, Elsie Schildt - $500 and Friends of David Brinkley - $2,500. With this help radio ads have been purchased and are already running. In addition, McClement campaign caps now adorn the roofs of many city cabs.

Registered voters favor Democrats (15,000) in the city over Republicans (10,000) with another 6,000 unaffiliated voters having the ability to weigh in on November 3. While you would think this would favor the Democratic candidates, one would only need to look back one election to see Republican Jeff Holtzinger beat Ron Young; the Democratic candidate for mayor.

In that 2005 election, charges surfaced that former mayor Jennifer Dougherty encouraged her supporters to vote for Jeff Holtzinger. This time around after losing the primary, Ms. Dougherty made a point to issue a press release stating her support for Jason Judd and the Democratic candidates for aldermen.

The Judd campaign has consistently been sending out email blasts to his supporters whenever an endorsement is issued, but not one from Ms. Dougherty. I asked Jennifer about this at the FCC Mayoral Forum on Tuesday. She indicated she and Jason had exchanged emails following the primary trying to set up times to meet and had been unable to find a time that worked in their busy schedules.

I find this interesting as a few of her closest supporters have indicated to me they were going to vote for Randy McClement. I asked if Jennifer had suggested this and they said absolutely not. Instead, they said they had not been convinced by Mr. Judd to vote for him. In what could be another close mayoral race, the die-hard Dougherty supporters could make a difference. It's not too late for Jason and Jennifer to meet and for the Judd campaign to send out a email blast and issue a press release that includes Dougherty's endorsement. Why not reach out and help build consensus?

The voters would be well advised to vote for the Democrats on the ballot this year in The City of Frederick election. From Mayor through every one of the aldermen candidates, the Democrats on the ballot have the best interests of all the voters in the City of Frederick in mind and would serve them well.

Make sure you vote on November 3!

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