George Wenschhof
 |
| Kevin Grubb |
A
twenty-four year veteran of the city police force, Kevin will need to obtain
the required number of verified signatures from registered voters in the county
in order to appear on the ballot.
Elections Director Stuart Harvey informed me a candidate must file a Declaration of Intent to be nominated by petition by 9 PM Tuesday, February 25, 2014. Harvey said the date that will determine the exact number of signatures needed will be voter registration as of January 1, 2014.
Signatures from one per cent of the countywide registered voters would be needed by unaffiliated candidates or those affiliated with a non-recognized political party in Maryland.
All signatures and the Certificate of candidacy are due no later than Monday, Aug 4 by 5 PM.
This is
similar to the process former mayor Jennifer Dougherty followed to appear on
The City of Frederick ballot, making it a three way race for mayor in the city election this year.
In 2010,
Karl Bickel ended his attempt to run for sheriff as an unaffiliated candidate after he failed to
receive the required number of signatures.
Republican Chuck Jenkins ran unopposed in the 2010 election, when the
Democrats were unable to field a candidate.
Grubb’s
entry and the resulting three-way contest, if a Democratic candidate(s) files would
make the sheriff race fun to follow in 2014.
Jenkins, who won
easily in 2006 and 2010, will have served two terms and is expected to seek a
third term.
When I
asked Grubb why he didn’t just change his party affiliation to Democrat and
avoid the arduous process of obtaining signatures, he said that action would
not fit into why he is running.
Grubb went
on to say the highest law enforcement officer in Frederick County should not be
politicized and said, like the Board of Education, the sheriff should be a nonpartisan
election.
I informed
him of an article I wrote that was published in TheTentacle.com on October 30,
2006, where I called for a number of the county elected positions to be changed
to merit based hires. Presently, to
appear on the ballot, candidates for sheriff, register of wills, clerk of the
court and the three orphan court judges need only be a Frederick County
resident.
Kevin
agreed there should be more requirements than residency for sheriff and stated
he was disappointed the charter writing board did not consider and include a
county police force in the recently passed Frederick County Charter, that will
be implemented in the 2014 election.
Grubb added he had been a long term supporter of a change to charter government and was glad it
passed.
Grubb told
me he would also like to see a study done on the viability of a joint City of
Frederick and Frederick County law enforcement agency. He would like to see if a combined police
force would cost taxpayers less money while providing even more effective
services.
Grubb said in an email to me "the office of the sheriff is about the people of Frederick County not individuals or groups." He concluded by saying "the sheriff shouldn't be afraid to provide the citizens with information and let them help in deciding what services they are paying for."
Grubb said in an email to me "the office of the sheriff is about the people of Frederick County not individuals or groups." He concluded by saying "the sheriff shouldn't be afraid to provide the citizens with information and let them help in deciding what services they are paying for."
In addition,
Grubb said he wanted to look into the cost of operating the jail (a major cost
in the sheriff department budget) to see if there are practices being used in
other jurisdictions that are cost effective to implement in Frederick County.
His entry
into the race should prove to be interesting. There is no news from the Democrats at this
point as to who may challenge Sheriff Jenkins.
Stay
Tuned….
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1 comment:
Sheriff Chuck desperately needs a foe in the next election. Someone who will hire deputies who can manage to escort someone out of a movie theater without killing him.
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