George Wenschhof
 |
| Karen Young |
 |
| Galen Clagett |
"Young should get used to hard-hitting polls, Clagett says", was the headline of an news article written by Patti Borda that appeared yesterday in the Frederick News Post.
During a
telephone interview Karen told me she was disappointed and that she wanted to
run a positive campaign.
Young said
Clagett is known for his lack of respect of women and his actions illustrate
why many women do not run for office.
She added it only makes her work harder to help the next generation of
women enter politics easier.
She told
me she will not conduct a push poll and she hopes the campaign will focus on
the issues and who has a better vision for the future.
Clagett
did not return repeated calls prior to publication.
The city
primary election is September 10 and this early heated exchange between Clagget
and Young is not new for Democratic candidates for mayor.
The early campaign smiles always seem to fade as accusations fly and hard ball campaign tactics are utilized by candidates who often know each other well.
The early campaign smiles always seem to fade as accusations fly and hard ball campaign tactics are utilized by candidates who often know each other well.
In spite
of a Democratic voter registration advantage, a Republican mayor was elected in
2005 and 2009. The last Democratic
mayor; Jennifer Dougherty, who served one term from 2001-2005, is often blamed
for the loss of former mayor Ron Young (D) to Jeff Holtzinger (R) in the 2005
election and for the loss of Jason Judd (D) to Randy McClement (R) in the 2009
election.
It is
widely known Jennifer was livid, that as an incumbent, she was challenged by former
four term mayor Ron Young. In an act of desperation,
Jennifer would try to tie Ron Young to the infamous “Black Book” scandal involving a local madam
that took place during the last term of Republican mayor James Grimes, who
Jennifer beat in the 2001 election. Ms.
Dougherty’s hardball action backfired and she would lose the primary election
to Young.
It appeared to be a
surprise to unknown Republican mayoral candidate Jeff Holtzinger, he won
against Ron Young and was elected mayor.
Reports, at the time likened Jeff to a “deer caught in the spotlight”
when he was informed election night he was the next mayor of The City of Frederick.
Holtzinger’s election resulting from the low
city voter turnout and support from disgruntled Dougherty supporters.
In 2009,
Dougherty would try for the fourth time to become mayor. She was beat handily in the Democratic primary by newcomer Jason Judd, who
was previously unknown in political circles.
Prior to
the general election, I reported a Dougherty supporter paid for a robo-call to city voters urging them to write-in
Jennifer Dougherty. Once again, a
Republican would win the mayor race. This
time it was Randy McClement who narrowly beat Jason Judd.
Jennifer
is at it again, running for mayor for a fifth time. This time as an Independent, she will once
again impact the outcome. She has to be
hoping low voter turnout, split between three candidates, combined with siphoning
off supporters from the losing candidates in the Democratic and Republican
primaries, will result in her victory.
A bitter
and bruising primary often makes it difficult for supporters of the losing
candidate to vote for the primary winner in the general election, which may play to Dougherty’s advantage in a close three-way race.
So far, incumbent
Republican mayor Randy McClement does not have an opponent. Former mayor Jeff Holtzinger,
who will have residency entanglements, is reportedly anxiously waiting in the wings to
make his announcement.
Stay tuned….
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