Dave Schmidt |
George Wenschhof
It was nearly four years ago
when I interviewed Dave Schmidt who was running for alderman as a Republican in
The City of Frederick 2013 election. He
would lose that election but stay involved in politics.
We kept in touch and I last
saw him at the Frederick Pulse vigil. I
wanted to know if he intended to run again and hear why he had changed his
political affiliation to Democrat.
At that encounter, Dave
indicated he remained interested in running for alderman and promised to let me
know when he made his decision.
Last week we would sit down
and catch up. I asked “why the party
change”? Dave would tell me it was a culmination of an evolution of changes of
ideas. In particular he supported Democratic
positions on social policy where he was a proponent for equality. In addition, he believed an important goal
for local government is to provide a safety net.
Dave also favored the
increase in the water and sewer rates by Republican mayor Randy McClement who
claimed the increases were necessary when the city began to implement state
mandated changes.
Interestingly, Dave would
tell me he was having a discussion on this issue with a Republican friend who
told him that his position made him a Democrat.
Dave told me he believes “clean water is important and of course, let’s
raise the rates”. He said after thinking
about what his friend had told him, he changed his registration to Democrat.
Schmidt added he also likes
and is comfortable with the Democratic members of the Frederick County Council.
He would then tell me he
will not run in next year’s city election, but is not ruling out a run in the
future. A family owned business and
family issues have his focus at the moment.
He also is enjoying being
co-host with Pattee Brown on the local WFMD AM radio program Frederick Forum
that airs from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturdays. By taking his candidacy in the
upcoming race off the table, he hopes to have a greater impact on the show.
I asked him “what issues he
felt would impact the city election”? Dave said “I continue to support open
primaries and district representation for aldermen”. When I pressed him on the open primary
election, he indicated he supported a hybrid election where everyone could run
by party affiliation. For example, he
said the top two mayoral candidates would then advance to the General Election,
regardless of their political affiliation.
Dave would name several
other issues he felt might dominate the city election. One issue is the planned downtown
hotel/conference center that has been met with opposition.
Another is the disposition
of the Hargett Farm, a costly acquisition by the city for a planned park that
also has a costly development cost.
The announcement of Wal-Mart
pulling out highlights the continued development fiasco of the former
Fredericktown Mall property. Dave told
me that he feels people on that side of the city fell neglected.
Lastly, Dave told me he
believes economic development is important for the city.
At the conclusion of the
interview, I asked Dave if he had a favorite candidate for mayor. It was intriguing to hear the recently turned
Democrat tell me “I will support Republican mayor Randy McClement, if he runs again,
adding he is a good friend”.
Stay tuned.
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