Mayor and Board Sworn in Today

George Wenschhof

Randy McClement

The inauguration ceremony for the 61st administration of The City of Frederick takes place today.

The Weinberg Center will host the public event.  At 11:00 AM, Mayor Randy McClement (R) will be sworn in to serve his second term.  The board of aldermen will be consist of two Democrats who will enter their second terms; Kelly Russell and Michael O'Connor.

Joining them on the board will be newcomers; Phil Dacey (R), Josh Bokee (D) and former three term Democratic alderman Donna Kuzemchak.

It is expected Kelly Russell, who received the most votes in the election, will be made Mayor Pro Tem today.

Democrats, will once again hold a super majority on the board of alderman, while a Republican serves as mayor of a city that has a strong Democratic voter registration advantage.

Republican alderman elect Phil Dacey will be facing voter anger to the robo-calls made on behalf of his campaign that criticized Democratic alderman elect Donna Kuzemchak for failing to pay her property taxes on time.  Dacey has yet to comment on the issue.

Kuzemchak, once research has been done, may be setting a record for serving the most number of terms as alderman, when she serves her fourth term on the board.

She told me, when the seating arrangement was being set for the board of alderman, she requested a seat next to Dacey.

Stay tuned.

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Misdirected Calls Most Likely Data Error

George Wenschhof

Donna Kuzemchak

In the reactionary frenzy to the negative robo-calls to City of Frederick voters highlighting the failure of Democratic alderman-elect Donna Kuzemchak to pay her property taxes on time, rumors spread rapidly concerning calls that may have misdirected a few voters to the wrong polling location.

The robo-calls attempting to denigrate Kuzemchak were made on behalf of the campaign of Republican alderman-elect Phil Dacey.

Both candidates, would go on to win election to the five member board.

Interestingly, it was the local paper who first reported on May 14 of this year that newly announced alderman candidate Donna Kuzemchak had not paid her property taxes with an article and photo displayed above the fold on the cover of the newspaper.

I remember interviewing Kuzemchak afterward and her expressing disappointment they never published she had paid her taxes, despite several requests that they do so.

Immediately after the election, what followed the disclosure of the negative Dacey campaign robo-calls directed at Kuzemchak, was what began as a trickle of information about voters receiving calls misdirecting them to the wrong polling location.

The initial rumor had it the Dacey campaign was also behind these calls as some of the calls had been received from residents of Worman’s Mill. This was salacious, because as a member of the city board of appeals, Dacey had voted in favor of the developer and against residents in a dispute over a change in the proposed town center. Misdirecting those voters may have been advantageous to the Dacey campaign.

Not only was this information salacious, but if true, the rumor continued, might be a criminal offense and may be cause to remove Dacey from office, before he is even sworn in, paving the way for another candidate to perhaps take his place on the board. The Republican name heard most often was Katie Nash, who lost in her attempt to be a member of the board.

During the early days following the election, in this high tech world, sent to my cell phone was the recorded message that had been received from Republican alderman Shelley Aloi. No wonder they call them “smart phones”!

The fast growing and ever changing gossip now had alderman Shelley Aloi, who had lost in her bid for the Republican mayoral nomination behind the robo-calls that misdirected voters.

Well, it appears what happened is both the Republicans and Democrats inadvertently misdirected a few of their own voters and there was no apparent nefarious intent.

The Frederick County state Democratic Central Committee used volunteers to make calls to Democratic voters and at one point, off a prepared script, placed some to Worman’s Mill voters. They quickly realized they were giving the wrong polling location out when informed by the voters and quit making their calls.

Chair of the committee, Myrna Whitworth assured me they did their best to correct the calls, once they were aware of what happened.

Phone calling voters to get out the vote has always been present in political campaigns and this appears to have been an unfortunate event and very limited in the number of calls that were made.

The Aloi campaign sponsored robo-calls were directed at Republicans, highlighting she had been the only Republican elected alderman in the last election and the importance to get out and vote. The end of the call included a reference to their polling location.

In the case of the person who sent me the recording, it was the wrong polling location. Robo-calls are made by firms who use computers that work off of telephone numbers they have or are provided by the campaign.

When I spoke to alderman Aloi, she said it was a data error and to the best of her knowledge only involved a handful of voters.

As I mentioned previously, the errors made by Republican Shelley Aloi's campaign and the local Democratic central committee misdirected a few of their own voters.  This is not something they would aspire to do.

City attorney Saundra Nickols told me the city was looking into the calls that misdirected voters and that she had nothing further to say, other than the mayor may have something to say on this matter soon.

Having followed elections for a lifetime, one constant is voters complain about negative campaign mail and in recent years, about robo-calls.

Unfortunately, political operatives know negative spin and robo-calls often work and continue to convince candidates to use them.

However, it is the voters who have the final say.

Voters should not get discouraged with the political process. Let candidates know you oppose negative campaigning - stay informed, get involved, vote and make a difference.

Stay tuned..

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McClement Wins with Plurality, Democrats Maintain a Super Majority on the Board

George Wenschhof

Aldermen O'Connor and Russell tally the votes

Sadly, as I had predicted, the off-year City of Frederick election resulted in a 22% voter turnout with about 10% of the registered voters electing the mayor. 

Republican mayor Randy McClement easily won re-election to a second term with 49% of the vote.  Democratic challenger Karen Young finished second with 32% of the vote and Unaffiliated Jennifer Dougherty was third with 19% of the vote.

The low voter turnout resulted in Randy winning with only 3,714 votes out of 35,500 registered voters in the city. There is no run-off provision in the city that would guarantee the winner would receive a majority of the vote.

This marks the fourth loss out of five tries for mayor for Dougherty. Her entry into the race as an Unaffiliated candidate combined with the endorsement of McClement by disgruntled Democratic Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett, who lost to Karen Young in the Democratic primary, once again contributed to a Republican winning the mayor in a city with a majority of Democratic registered voters.

The votes cast for Dougherty (1,480) were less than the number of signatures she obtained to qualify to run as an Unaffiliated candidate.

The combined votes of Young and Dougherty would have been 3,887 or 51% of the vote.

The board of alderman race, where voters elect five, went largely as expected.  Four Democrats and one Republican were elected, which maintains the super majority currently held on the board by Democrats.

The first and second place finishers were Democratic incumbents Kelly Russell (4,212 votes) and Michael O’Connor (4,169).  Democrat Josh Bokee came in third with 3,789 votes, followed by Republican Phil Dacey (3,781) and Donna Kuzemchak (3,656).

The under votes in the alderman election were 3,596 and there were only 25 under votes in the mayoral election.

Kuzemchak, who had previously served three terms as alderman, won re-election despite some dirty tricks run by the Dacey campaign.

Red Maryland Blog is reporting Ted Dacey, the brother and campaign manager for Phil Dacey was behind the robo-calls made by the Maryland Republican Party.  The negative calls were directed at Kuzemchak.

As, I reported earlier, the Dacey family are close supporters of former Maryland state senator Alex Mooney and Ted had worked for Mooney previously.

Another rumor has the Dacey campaign also behind robo-calls that were misdirecting voters from the Wormans Mill area to an incorrect poll location. Dacey, while serving on the city board of appeals, voted with the Developer and against residents who opposed proposed changes in Wormans Mill town center. 

The dirty tricks used by the Dacey campaign will certainly mar the alderman elect and it remains to be seen if criminal charges will result from the alleged robo-calls misdirecting voters.

There were a little over 800 absentee ballots sent out and as of Monday, about 400 had been received.

While, the order of finish may change between the top four finishers in the alderman race, absentee ballots are not expected to impact their win in the election.

Fifth place finisher Kuzemchak has a 164 vote lead over Republican Katie Nash, but in a multiple candidate race, it is unlikely Nash will be able to make up the ground to win a seat on the board.

Interestingly, the top four alderman-elect received more votes than Mayor McClement and Donna Kuzemchak was only fifty-eight votes behind him.

 

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Democratic Dream Team Will Move Frederick Forward

George Wenschhof

The experience, passion and vision shared by Josh Bokee, John Daniels, Donna Kuzemchak, Michael O’Connor, and Kelly Russell clearly demonstrates why the Democratic candidates running for The City of Frederick board of alderman deserve your vote on November 5.

After conducting multiple interviews with the candidates and being closely involved in city government for many years, it is great to see these talented candidates recognize the uniqueness and diversity in the many neighborhoods that make up the city, are committed to working with the neighborhood advisory councils and know the value of giving citizens a voice in government.

It was encouraging to see them campaign door to door and hear from them, after they listened to voters firsthand, they understand the importance of addressing traffic congestion, increasing public safety, spurring economic development to create local jobs, providing cost effective and performance focused government services, and lobbying for city schools to get their share of state dollars for needed construction and renovation.

It is exciting the city, already a sought out place to live, is poised to become a sustainable friendly, safe, family community interconnected with pedestrian/bike walkways and trails combined with employment opportunities close to home.

It will take teamwork, expertise and dedication to ensure Frederick becomes the extraordinary city it can be. 

Josh Bokee, John Daniels, Donna Kuzemchak, Michael O’Connor, and Kelly Russell, have the drive, knowledge and the skill set to work with the leadership of mayoral candidate Karen Young to productively move Frederick forward. 

Make sure you vote on November 5.

Young and Drive for 5 Begins for Democrats

George Wenschhof

After a hard fought City of Frederick primary among well qualified candidates, Democrats enter the general election with a very strong field of candidates.

Interestingly, on both the Republican and Democratic primary for mayor, the addition of a third candidate did impact on the final outcome.

On the Democratic side, political newcomer and ASL User Carol Hirsch received 10.17%, Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett 39.70% and alderman Karen Young won with 50.13%, prior to the absentee ballots being counted.  Absentee ballots are not expected to alter the outcome of the mayoral contests.

What is unknown is whether the votes that went to Hirsch were drawn equally from Clagett or Young, or came predominately from one or the other.  If, they had gone to Karen, she would have won even more convincingly or had Clagett received all of them, it would have been a neck and neck finish.

The entry of former Mayor Jeff Holtzinger into the Republican primary for mayor had most local political pundits predicting Mayor Randy McClement would win and he did.  Once again, the vote received by Holtzinger was 19.11%, alderman Shelley Aloi 32.19% and Randy won with 48.70%.

Had Aloi, won all of Holtzinger’s votes, she would have won.

More important for Republicans, is their incumbent mayor did not receive 50% of the vote, which is typically a clear signal he is vulnerable in the general election.

However, in this general election, there will be the addition of unaffiliated candidate and former mayor Jennifer Dougherty, thus creating another three way contest.

The three way contest will add lots of intrigue and plenty of conjecture on who will be the next mayor.

For Democrats, it will be important for the Young and Clagett campaigns to reach out to each other and work together to help elect Karen Young as mayor.

Rumored Democratic infighting is what purportedly led to a Republican victory in the 2009 and 2005 race for mayor.

The alderman contests went mostly as anticipated with the final two slots for the board a close finish between three qualified candidates who also exhibited strong campaign organization.

Derek Shackelford finished a close sixth, only 97 votes behind fifth place finisher John Daniels.  Finishing first and second were the only two incumbents to seek reelection, Kelly Russell and Michael O’Connor.  Josh Bokee finished a strong third and former three term alderman Donna Kuzemchak finished fourth, only 81 votes in front of Daniels.

 

Kelly Russell finished fifth when elected in 2009 and her strong showing in the primary illustrates her hard work over the last four years.  Michael O'Connor finished second in 2009 and second in the primary also displaying his effectiveness over the last four years.

Hopefully, both Shackelford and Jack Lynch, who finished seventh will stay committed to local politics and will stay involved.  It would be wise for the local Frederick County state Democratic Central Committee, to reach out to them to ensure and help facilitate their involvement locally.

Hayden Duke and Jill King were the two Republican alderman candidates who will not move on to the general election.

The first place finisher was Phil Dacey, followed by Katie Nash.  The third and fourth place finishers were former alderman Alan Imhoff and Dave Schmidt.  Only 18 votes separate these two, so the absentee count may impact their order of finish.  The fifth place finisher was Daniel Cowell.

Looking at the under votes, that often take place in multiple candidate elections, there were few in the mayoral contests with only 83 from Democratic voters and 9 from Republican voters.

In the five person alderman race, there were 2,754 under votes among Democratic voters and 2,081 under votes among Republican voters.

There was some talk election night that some alderman candidates had encouraged their supporters to “single-shot” (voting for only one candidate), but there is no confirmation this took place.

Interestingly, Democratic alderman Kevin Greene, who made no appearances throughout the primary campaign, received 319 votes.

 

The City of Frederick unofficial primary results can be viewed here.

Now, the general campaign begins and in 8 short weeks voters will weigh in on who their mayor and board of alderman will be for the next term.

Democrats are well positioned, with well qualified and experienced candidates to obtain a sweep in November.

Stay tuned.

 

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Democratic Aldermen Contest Promises to be Close

George Wenschhof

Photo by George Cassutto, copyright 2013
http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

On September 10, registered Democratic voters will choose 5 of their 8 candidates for alderman to move on to the general election. The embarrassingly low voter turnout resulting from the off year City of Frederick election will likely add to the closeness of the vote.

Also, contributing to the closeness will be numerous under votes that will take place on Election Day. Political insiders often refer to multiple candidate races when voters choose numerous candidates as “cattle call elections”.

In The City of Frederick election, it is important for candidates to be in the top three names in a voter’s mind, for often, after that, it’s a crap shoot as to who the voters will cast a ballot for, if any.

While, the Democratic candidates are working hard to win in a competitive election, there has been virtually no animosity openly shown toward each other.

With such a well qualified and experienced field of candidates, those who implement the best get out the vote effort will likely move on to the general election on November 5.

The only two city alderman incumbents to run for reelection are Democrats Kelly Russell and Michael O’Connor and although, they are not assured a first and second primary place finish, are solid bets to move onto the general election.

Both displayed admirable traits in their first term in office and deserve another term.  Overall their votes illustrated their willingness to listen to the many aspects of an issue presented to them and follow with an informed decision.

While, they recently voted for the rezoning of the Frederick Towne Mall property (a position I opposed) to facilitate the building of another Wal-Mart in the city, they would serve the city well over the next four years.

Alderman Kelly became a strong advocate for the development of shared use pedestrian/bicycle paths and her time as a police officer led her to be a strong voice for  public safety.

O’Connor displayed his willingness to make difficult votes when he was the lone alderman to oppose the annexation of the Keller and Caidlyn properties and he continues to encourage citizen engagement in the planning process.

Josh Bokee and John Daniels, both ran for alderman in 2009 and fell short of being elected.  They have demonstrated their commitment to the city by staying involved over the last four years.

Interestingly, published pictures often displayed the two sitting side by side in candidate forums, almost giving the image they were running together as a team.  In addition, Josh and John finished first and second in a straw poll conducted by the Frederick Young Democrats at a forum they hosted for the candidates.

Josh’s time spent serving on the city planning commission and John’s time spent working on the city ad hoc solid waste/recycling committee provided them with valuable experience.

Bokee and Daniels have exhaustingly gone door to door meeting voters, which along with their public service over the last four years have them well positioned heading into the primary election.

My time spent talking with Josh and John over the years leads me to say they would both bring level headed decision making to the board of alderman, if elected.  A demonstrated trait a voter should desire in an elected official.

Derek Shackelford, the only African American running for office, has also worked extremely hard in his first run for elected office.  Derek has advocated for economic development and the need for citizen involvement and engagement in the political process.

His work in the ministry and community should help him in his effort to become a minority voice on the board.

Donna Kuzemchak, in her bid to win reelection after serving three terms, has received the support of her fellow “mommy mongers”; former President of the Frederick board of county commissioners Jan Gardner and community activist Val Dale.  The three all ran together years ago with board of education issues being a main focus in their campaigns, resulting in the moniker. 

The outspoken Kuzemchak has not shied away from her vote in favor of the city purchase of the costly Hargett farm for a municipal park and it remains to be seen if this vote will hurt her attempt to re-enter the political arena.

Jack Lynch, who briefly ran for mayor four years ago, before withdrawing and endorsing Jennifer Dougherty, has focused on increasing citizen involvement and moving to a more regional approach to planning.

Jack focused his campaign efforts on providing testimony at city mayor and board meetings and writing numerous letters to the editor appearing in The Frederick News Post. 

Lynch testified against the rezoning of the Frederick Towne Mall to aid a Wal-Mart to be built and also testified against the 97 acre Caidlyn annexation, saying the annexation did not follow the plan and was premature.

The eighth Democratic alderman candidate; Kevin Greene has been missing in action since filing for the office.  No one has seen the candidate at any political functions or going door to door to meet voters. 

Myrna Whitworth, who is chair of the Frederick County Democratic State Central Committee shared with me recently she did not know why he was not campaigning. Myrna informed me they interviewed him for a previous vacant central committee position, but he had not been chosen for the position.

It will be interesting to see how many votes Greene receives after apparently doing nothing more than filing for a seat on the board of alderman.

Knowing all of the Democratic candidates, except for Mr. Greene, voters should feel confident they will be well served by electing any of them.

Make sure on September 10, you vote!

Stay tuned.

 

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Bokee Wins Straw Poll at Frederick Young Democrats Speed Dating with Democratic Aldermen Event

George Wenschhof

Democratic Aldermen Candidates
Photo By George Cassutto, copyright 2013
http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

Josh Bokee received the most votes in the straw poll conducted following the event with John Daniels finishing second, followed by incumbents Michael O’Connor and Kelley Russell.  Derek Shackelford and Jack Lynch finished tied for fifth and former alderman Donna Kuzemchak came in seventh, only one vote behind Lynch and Shackelford.  Kevin Greene who was not present, came in last with only two votes.

Josh Bokee

I asked Josh Bokee how he felt about coming in first in the straw poll in the candidate forum sponsored by the Young Democrats of Frederick. He said ""The forum was well organized, and the questions fr
om attendees were thoughtful and touched upon a range of issue
s that other residents have also been discussing, including public safety, affordability and creating well paying jobs here, locally. Regarding the straw poll, while it was nice to hear the results, I'll be continuing to work hard every day to meet voters and listen to their priorities."

The Young Democrats of Frederick, hosted this opportunity to meet with the Democratic candidates and ask questions in a roundtable format.  Jamie Shopland, President of the Young Democrats of Frederick moderated the event. It was held at the Whitaker campus at Hood College on Saturday afternoon between 2:00 - 4:00.



Jamie Shopland
Photo By George Cassutto, copyright 2013
http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

Jamie Shopland told me “As President of Young Democrats, it's important to me to engage young voters in the political process and we wanted to do that in a fresh way that made candidates more accessible. To achieve that, we took the concept of speed dating and applied that to politics achieving a more intimate interaction between candidate and voter.

Overall I think the forum was a success. I've heard nothing but positive comments and a few folks told me they are changing their votes based on what they heard today."

John Daniels
Photo By George Cassutto, copyright 2013
http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

When I asked John Daniels how he felt about coming in second, he said "I was both surprised and elated to place second in the straw poll conducted today. I applaud the YD’s for holding the event. 

My campaign is going extremely well. Our fundraising goals are on target and the strategy for the remainder of the primary is in place. 

Although the number voting in todays poll was small and not likely to sway the general public, I consider it an affirmation that people in Frederick, at least politically active young people, are supportive of a more progressive platform embracing smart growth and sustainable solutions for dealing with our environment."

The turnout of about twenty-five, had an opportunity to hear a formal opening and closing statement from the candidates and the fun part came as candidates were paired with voters at tables to field questions and provide answers.  After, a set period of time, voters would move to another table to sit down with other candidates to ask them questions and hear their answers.

The “speed dating” continued until all visitors had sat at a table with all the candidates and had the opportunity to hear their answers to their questions.

All of the tables were engaged in lively discussions with the questions varied, ranging from job creation, traffic concerns, public safety, blighted properties, growth issues, to the city passing a “living wage” ordinance and city-county-state relationships.

The City of Frederick primary election will be held September 10, where Democrat and Republican voters will choose five aldermen from their party’s candidates to move on to the general election held on November 5.

Stay Tuned.

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Strong Field of Democrats Emerge in Aldermen Race

George Wenschhof

Already, seven Democrats have or will be announcing they are running for one of the five seats on the board of aldermen.

The deadline for filing for election is July 2, 2013 with The City of Frederick primary election held on September 10, followed by the general election on November 5.

Incumbents Michael O’Connor and Kelly Russell, based on a solid record over their first term in office, will be favorites to win reelection.

One of the other two incumbent Democratic aldermen; Carol Krimm, will not run for reelection as she hopes to replace retiring state delegate Galen Clagett (D), who is running for mayor.  Galen has let it be known, should he win election, he will request from Governor Martin O’Malley (D), the appointment of Carol to his seat, to serve the remaining one year of his term.  If, this would take place, it would give Krimm a leg up in the 2014 election.

The remaining Democratic incumbent alderman; Karen Young, has already announced her candidacy for Mayor.  Interestingly, should Clagett win the mayoral race, look to see state senator Ron Young (D) ask O’Malley to appoint his wife Karen to the vacant Clagett delegate seat, setting up an interesting dilemma for the Governor.

Derek Shackelford called me several months ago, when I was still in California, to speak with me of his intention to run for alderman.  Shackelford, who is the only African American running for city office at this time, spoke with me about his desire to engage people in the political process and to groom others for political office.

His experience in working for the reelection of President Barack Obama, particularly serving as one of “One Hundred Leaders for Obama, will be of help to him as he campaigns for his own election.  His professionalism and campaign experience was illustrated by his well attended campaign announcement recently at the Bernard Brown Community Center.

Josh Bokee, who fell short, by only a few votes, of moving on to the general election in 2009, is running again, and will be a strong candidate to become one of the five aldermen elected in the general election on November 5.

His five years of experience of service, including time as vice chair, on The City of Frederick Planning Commission, provides him with excellent qualifications to serve as alderman.

His reasoned platform includes economic opportunity, safe neighborhoods, strong fiscal responsibility, healthy sustainable community and twenty-first century infrastructure.

John Daniels, a well liked man, whose heart is with the city, will also be running again for alderman. He is the type of person who is able to bring people together.

Since losing in the last city election, John has served the city, with distinction, as chair of Mayor Randy McClement’s ad hoc recycling and solid waste committee.

Fiscal responsibility is important to Daniels, who has followed the serious discussion surrounding the $93 million unfunded liabilities The City of Frederick is facing with their pension plan and other post employment benefits (OPEB).

Jack Lynch, who ran briefly for mayor in the 2009 election, before dropping out and endorsing Jennifer Dougherty, who would lose the primary election to Jason Judd, is now running for alderman.

Jack, in a recent email to supporters, said “I want to see leadership and changes and public officials asking the questions that should be answered instead of cheerleading every scheme for private interests. I want our community to be a whole one, an engaged place, where citizens feel empowered - One Frederick, one for all.”

In an email to me, Lynch added “My focus is upon how Frederick continues to remain one close knit community and extends the great benefits of this place, both past and future, to all our citizens. It includes designing our communities to be interconnected not just by a map and roads, but by a shared purpose and shared successes from all sides of town. We have a vitality and diversity and valued institutions and committed citizens.”

Former two-term alderman Donna Kuzemchak is heavily rumored to make a run to win reelection to the board after losing in the 2009 general election.  An out spoken woman, Donna is sure to add excitement and strength to the Democratic primary.

Between now and the July 2 candidate filing deadline, it is entirely likely a few more Democrats will venture forward in the alderman contest.

Already, city voters can be assured of a very strong slate of Democratic candidates for alderman.

 

Stay tuned, the city election promises to be one to watch.

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Democrats Win Super Majority on Board of Alderman

George Wenschhof

Yesterday, less than one out of four registered voters went to the polls in the City of Frederick, Maryland election with Republican Randy McClement becoming the mayor-elect. While the mayor has always been the prize in the city election, four of the five aldermen-elect are Democrats ensuring a strong check and balance between the executive and legislative body. you can read the unofficial results here and the unofficial results by precinct here.

The election was extremely quiet and the low voter turnout further illustrates the need to make changes to the existing election process in the City of Frederick. I have long been a proponent of moving the election date to coincide to the presidential election cycle and you can read many of the columns I have written on the subject by clicking on the links provided in the right hand margin of my home page.

Anne Leffler; President of the City Board of Supervisors of Elections also wants to explore the idea of a mail-in election which promises to increase voter turnout. Let's hope the new mayor and board appoints a committee immediately to study and given a charge to recommend changes to the existing city election process to increase voter turnout.

Ms. Leffler did an outstanding job at city hall last night as she relayed the results to the folks who had gathered at city hall. All indications are the election went smoothly as the election judges at the polls continue to exhibit their professionalism. Final unofficial election results were provided to attendees at city hall "in print" by 9:45 PM.

Some pundits will say the Democratic party loses in the governor races in Virginia and New Jersey and the Democratic lose by Mr. Judd in the City of Frederick mayoral race was due to a trend of dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama. One only needs to look at the individual candidates to see that is a hopeful stretch by Republican leaders who are trying to rally a fractured party for the 2010 mid term elections.

Jason Judd was unable to close the deal as he did not capture all the Democratic support nor does it appear he won many Republican cross over votes or "Others" in yesterday's election. This is similar to what happened four years ago when Democrat Ron Young lost to political newcomer Republican Jeff Holtzinger. The continued low voter turnout also further skewers election results.

The remaining three Incumbents; Donna Kuzemchak (D), Paul Smith (R) and Alan Imhoff (R) were all shown the exit by this small number of voters who clearly wanted new faces in city hall.

The incoming board of alderman promises to be an extremely strong board surely capable of questioning and standing up to any ill fated proposal presented by the mayor. It appears unlikely a fiasco such as the approval of the city employee early retirement "buy-out" approved under the Holtzinger administration will happen under the watch of the incoming board.

Karen Young (D) is talented and a hard worker and is set to become mayor pro-tem on the board. Michael O'Connor (D) also worked hard and earned his second place finish by showing his compassion for the voters and his dedication to the position. Carol Krimm (D) finally broke the curse of the local Democratic Central Committee by becoming the first member to be elected to public office in twelve years. Ms. Krimm is very knowledgeable of the inner workings of government and will be a big plus for the board. Kelly Russell (D) also worked hard across party lines to win election to the board. The only change likely to occur after the absentee ballots are counted on Thursday is the order of finish between Ms. Krimm and Kelly Russell as only 14 votes separate them between fourth and fifth place. Shelley Aloi (R) did extremely well as a new comer to politics, finishing a strong third. She also worked very hard and enjoyed support across party lines.

The write-in campaign championed by Neal Wirth fizzled as ex-mayor Jennifer Dougherty only received 81 votes and these votes would not have altered the outcome of the election.

An interesting aside to the city election was the lack of impact Frederick County Commissioner Kai Hagen (D) had on the final results. Mr. Hagen had actively campaigned for Jason Judd and was holding signs for him at the polls on Election Day. This is the third major local issue he has been on the losing side over the past year. The first two were his opposition to the Waste-to-Energy Incinerator and his support of the city petition to force a referendum of the recent annexations into the city. Whether his support of Judd is strike three for Mr. Hagen remains to be seen as the county election next year is rapidly approaching.

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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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All's Quiet in the City of Frederick, Md. Election

George Wenschhof

This election for mayor and board of alderman in the City of Frederick, Maryland continues to exhibit the characteristics of a movie you could not stay awake long enough to watch. The "yawner" resulted in only 18% of the registered Democrats and Republicans casting their votes on September 15, the day of the primary. Final official results can be read here.

Many of the residents like to claim the City of Frederick as being the second largest city in the state, but few chose to exercise their right to vote.

I have been a long proponent of moving the election to coincide with the presidential elections which will more than double the expected 30-35% general election turnout, while also allowing for schools to be used for polling locations.

However, it is what it is, so why is no one paying attention? Federal, state and local governments are feeling the crunch of the worldwide recession and there is little doubt the City of Frederick will be facing revenue shortfalls during the next administration.

Dealing with growth related problems such as congested and clogged roadways, sewer and water capacity, sustainability issues, sufficient fire and rescue services and over crowded schools doesn't seem to inspire a trip to the polls by the residents impacted.

Most of the candidates campaigned vigorously during the primary and the results were not surprising as the final field was set for the general election. However, the era of the door-to-door campaign may be coming to an end. A candidate that relies solely on this method to reach the voters will not likely receive the intended results. Door-to-door campaigning can be done with little or no funds (other than the cost of copied literature) and be novel as you sometimes actually talk with voters.

However, many voters tell me they are annoyed with the constant door knocking and would prefer more of a "meet and greet" or town hall setting. The ability of a candidate to personally reach the almost 32,000 registered city voters is also difficult today.

Brochures and Flyers mailed to voters are also very effective as a candidate can target voters with an effective voter file manager. The fund raising success of a candidate will be important as it takes money to deliver their message to the voter in means other than door-to-door.

The Jason Judd campaign combined a little of all of the above effectively. They led all candidates in fund raising, did many of the "meet and greets" in which a voter invites friends over to their home to meet the candidate, did some organized door-to-door lit drops and also some direct mail. While the Jennifer Dougherty campaign, perhaps due to low funds, concentrated on daily door-to-door efforts. Whether you supported Ms. Dougherty or not, you have to admire her work ethic as she seemingly went door-to-door every day.

Yet, throughout the primary, neither Democratic candidate for mayor attacked the other on any issue. The Judd campaign did a little questioning of tax hikes which occurred during the previous Dougherty administration. In addition, they tried to get (to no avail) some traction from the city sale of the old "Carmacks" building on North Market Street during the Dougherty administration to a developer who has done somewhat of a facelift to the building but has not leased it out. It never received much traction due to the fact the previous Republican James S. Grimes administration had purchased the "white elephant" and had a sale default prior to the Dougherty administration selling the building and the city benefit by receiving property taxes.

The Dougherty campaign, perhaps wary of how tough attacks on an inexperienced opponent would be perceived coming from her, stuck to a tactic of tearing down the record of Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger. The problem of that tactic was Holtzinger dropped out of the race and trying to focus on the issues and being nice did not work for Ms. Dougherty.

We are now five weeks away from Election Day and the only fireworks so far has come from the local Republican Central Committee who questioned the relationship of Jason Judd with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and SEIU. I hardly found this to be a surprise. Instead, I wondered why it took so long for this to be asked and why the Judd campaign was not prepared for an answer to the question.

Mr. Judd has worked for unions and the Services Employees International Union since the end of his education years, gaining valuable experience in working with others while supporting positions on issues that have benefited working men and women. ACORN did work as did the SEIU on several similar issues including advocacy on neighborhood safety, health care, voter registration and affordable housing. While certain individuals of ACORN have come under fire due to questionable actions, it is not an accurate reflection of the overall work performed by the organization, nor a reflection of the work performed by the SEIU.

Some voters in The City of Frederick and Frederick County have long been opposed to unions of any sort so the fact this experience of Mr. Judd has been brought up is no surprise to me. Mr. Judd has been quoted as saying he would not support city employees forming a union. I would prefer he say that he supports city employees having the right to make their own decision in regard to the forming of and their participation in a union.

Another question Mr Judd should be prepared to answer or be proactive and give his position on is in regard to the Employee Free Choice Act, more commonly referred to as the card-check bill. It is currently on the back burner in Congress due to the attention being given to health care reform.

Unions have played an important role in the lives of working men and women over the years from creating child labor laws, workplace safety laws, fair wages and more. There is nothing embarrassing or shameful for the work experience that has been gained by Mr. Judd. In fact, it aids him as he looks to manage the services provided by government at the local level.

The only other issue capturing some attention is the recent annexations of three properties into the city by the mayor and board. I asked the Democratic candidates for mayor and alderman their positions on these annexations when I interviewed them live online. You can read their answers by clicking on the Interview links provided in the right hand margin of my Home Page.

If you read the interviews, you will see the Democratic candidates were not in agreement in regard to these annexations. However, this did not become an issue in the primary election. Ms. Dougherty took a laissez-faire approach, saying the decision would be made prior to her taking office. Mr. Judd spoke of the need to take care of older neighborhoods first before the city spread out with new growth.

The Democratic alderman candidates who moved on to the general election were split on the annexations with Karen Young, Carol Krimm, and Donna Kuzemchak in favor and Michael O'Connor opposed. Kelly Russell was not asked this question and she was unable to contact me prior to publishing this article.

In fact, Mr. O'Connor indicated he would support a petition drive if it was started and it has been with Frederick County Commissioner Kai Hagen leading the way. Recent comments from Frederick County Commissioner President Jan Gardner also clearly points out the displeasure Frederick County Government have with the annexations. All of which indicate the need for regional and intergovernmental planning as we grow in the future - a subject for a future column.

One of the questions I asked the mayoral candidates was if they favored creating an Intergovernmental Relations Director position and no one indicated their support for the position. I believe it to be a critical position as relations between the city, county, state and federal government will improve as a result. The recent annexation squabble is but one example of how this position could have been helpful. In addition, the position would aid in bringing needed funds to the city.

So, with five weeks to go until the election, stay tuned. I will keep you posted when the mayoral and alderman forums will be held next month.

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