George Wenschhof
With only two weeks until the primary election, former City of Frederick alderwomen, Karen Young and Carol Krimm appear to be the front runners among four Democratic candidates vying for the two open Maryland state delegate seats in district 3-A.
However, look to see Democrat Roger Wilson strongly compete with Young and Krimm. Newcomer Nicholas Bouquet may possibly play a bit of the spoiler in what promises to be a close Democratic primary. How many votes Bouquet receives and who he pulls votes from could have an impact.
Roger Wilson would bring a fresh voice from Frederick County to Annapolis. His professional private sector experience combined with his strong commitment on improving jobs, education, and transportation will make him competitive in this election.
Taking a look inside the Democratic primary and adding intrigue is the endorsement of Krimm and Wilson by retiring Democratic state delegate Galen Clagett. There is no love lost between Galen and Karen Young who went head to head last year in the Democratic primary for mayor of The City of Frederick. Young easily won that primary with 60% of the vote before losing to Republican incumbent mayor Randy McClement.
Much to the chagrin of many city Democratic voters, Clagett publicly endorsed McClement after losing to Young in the primary.
Krimm was the legislative aide to Clagett and she is who he promoted early as the one to take his seat when he announced he would not be running for reelection several years ago.
Further stirring the pot is the local Democratic voter dislike for Frederick board of county commissioner President Blaine Young and what some refer to as “Young fatigue” by voters.
Some Karen Young supporters fear that the average voter will associate Karen with Blaine, whose positions on issues couldn’t be more different. Karen is married to Blaine’s father Ron Young.
Others believe with four Young’s on the ballot, (Ron Young(D) – state senator district 3, Karen Young(D) – state delegate district 3-A, Blaine Young(R) – Frederick County Executive, and Brad Young(nonpartisan) – Board of Education), there will be a backlash by voters resulting from “Young fatigue”.
More likely, the familiarity of the Young name will help because name recognition is golden in politics.
So, party sparring between the Young and Clagett camps will probably have more impact on the outcome of the primary than any voter fatigue with the Young name.
Wilson may well benefit from this infighting by being the second choice among supporters of Krimm and Young earning him one of the two spots.
The recent disclosure that two members of the Frederick Area Committee for Transportation (FACT) wrote and sent a letter on FACT letterhead to the Frederick board of commissioners favoring the planned Monrovia Town Center development may also impact this race.
Carol Krimm, a member of FACT, disclosed the committee had not voted on sending the letter, but stopped short of condemning the action, saying instead, it was a matter to be taken up by the board at their next meeting.
Whether this issue gets traction and impacts this election remains to be seen. The possible spin could be praising Carol for bringing to light several members acted without board permission or criticizing her for not calling for harsher action to be taken against the members who acted without board approval.
Meanwhile, Democratic voters in district 3-A are fortunate to have four qualified candidates running for the two slots.
They would be well served voting for a fresh voice in Roger Wilson. In Karen Young and Carol Krimm, voters can be assured both know their way around Annapolis and will work hard to ensure legislation that was needed made its way through the sausage grinder bill making process to final passage. Up and coming Nicholas Bouquet is one who understands politics and while he may end up short in this attempt, should stay involved in politics.
Karen Young displayed her legislative strength in the last Maryland General Assembly session when she worked hard to successfully garner support of state legislators for the passage of amendments to medical marijuana legislation. Her action spurred after meeting local resident Shannon Moore whose 3 year old twin boys suffer from Miller-Dieker Syndrome that causes severe life threatening seizures. Moore’s research had shown medical marijuana was helpful in many cases in reducing seizures.
As the legislative aide to former state delegate Sue Hecht and Galen Clagett, Krimm has the experience as well as the skill set to move into this position without a learning curve.
The two Republicans running for state delegate in district 3-A are board of county commissioners Paul Smith and Victoria Wilkins. They are running unopposed and will face the two winners in the Democratic primary in the general election held November 4.
The primary election is June 24. Early voting begins June 12.
Stay tuned.
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