Charter Board Election A Constitutional Right

George Wenschhof

The push back on a special election for members of the Frederick County Maryland charter writing board has been intense and has led the print media in the community to editorialize on the issue.

The expressed feeling being the appointment process was open and transparent. Future charter board meetings will also be open to the public and coupled with the estimated cost for a special election of $250,000, the consensus is there is no need for an election,

In addition, an added argument against a special election for members of the charter writing board is the voters have the final say on whether a change to charter government will take place when the issue is placed on the 2012 general election ballot.

So, the argument continues, why have a special election for members of the committee, when if you do not like what is written, you can vote against it.

As one who applied for consideration to serve on the charter writing board, I share the view the selection process was a transparent effort and the member selection appears to have been a genuine effort to have the board members represent different segments of the population as well as different geographic locations in Frederick county. A bipartisan board which represents the community and who also come from different locations within the county is what I been calling for in columns for quite some time.

While, I may question why certain individuals were interviewed over others and why certain applicants were not selected, it is clear an open process was followed.

Providing the opportunity for members of the community to weigh in as the charter is being written is another long position I have espoused. My belief being the failure of the charter to pass in past attempts in the county were a result of a lack of understanding of what charter government is and the lack of input from the community in the writing of the document.

Again, my wish for public involvement in the process has been taken up by the charter writing board.

However, I stop short of opposing an effort by some to gather the necessary petitions to force a special election for the members of the charter writing board.

Changing the form of government is a significant action. So significant, that when the Maryland constitution section on establishing a charter form of government was written, a provision was included to allow for the opportunity of a special election for the members of the charter writing board.

The eight individuals who wish to serve on the charter writing board have until May 9 to obtain two thousand signatures, when verified by the local board of elections, will force a special election which must be held within ninety days.

They have the constitutional right to pursue this election. While, I have not heard a strong enough argument from any of the aspiring members of the board for me to sign the petition, I do not oppose their effort.

To date, the argument for a special election appears to mirror the 2010 Frederick county commission election with a emphasis on "growth" versus "no-growth" issues being the prevalent theme.

In all likelihood, should a special election take place, some current members would be replaced. Only two of the appointed board members and one of the aspiring board members have run for public office and won.

Outside of political wonks like myself, most voters are not following the effort to change to a charter form of government. Many of the appointed and aspiring board members are not known by voters.

An election may serve a valuable purpose in bringing attention to this issue. Candidates would hopefully provide their reason for wanting to serve on the board which would provide much needed education on the topic.

If a special election is held, I look forward to hearing from the candidates on why I should vote for them.

Obtaining two thousand signatures over a sixty day period by just the eight aspiring candidates is not a difficult task. One would believe a directed door to door effort would result in the necessary signatures.

If they fail in their effort, the question may be how serious of an issue was the selection process to the voters?

Staying with the current appointed board should also turn out well for the voters as their input will be received and the meetings will be open to the public.

Ultimately, voters will have the final say on charter government in Frederick county and that is how it should be.

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Young Pushes Back Against Charter Board Petition

George Wenschhof

In response to the effort by eight individuals to gather signatures to force an election for the members of the charter writing board. Frederick Board of County Commissioners president Blaine Young issued a press release on Wednesday, stating he opposes a special charter board election.

Young went on to defend what he believes was an open and public selection process. Further, he points out the cost to hold a special election has now been estimated to be in excess of $250,000 according to elections director Stuart Harvey.

You can read the full press release here.

Meanwhile, the eight charter writing board hopefuls continue to work toward obtaining the two thousand signatures needed to require a special election. Their stated reason primarily seems to be centered on concerns related to the power given to the county executive and county council.

This war of words continue to plague the hopes of charter government proponents who worry the stumble out of the gate and possible special election will derail any hopes for passage by the voters in the 2012 general election.

It would seem obtaining two thousand signatures would not be too difficult. Each aspiring member of the board would need only obtain 250 signatures. A feat easily obtained by a door-to-door effort. Even adding an addition 50 signatures to be sure they pass the verification process, it is still a fairly easy goal.

Let the process work itself out and if an election takes place, it is unlikely more than a few positions would change in the composition of the charter writing board. If, two thousand signatures are not obtained and verified, it would indicate there is no significant concern over the appointment process.

The charter writing board has decided to continue to move forward, even though this petition effort is underway. They met again last night and had as a guest; Victor Tervala, a Maryland attorney who is a specialist in the area of charter government.

I watched a portion of the meeting last night on Frederick County cable channel 19 and felt he gave an outstanding presentation. It appeared he has been involved in several county efforts to move to the charter form of governing and was able to discuss the potential pratfalls a charter writing board may encounter.

One of the items discussed by the board was to discover what level of support budget is available to them from the county. A necessary and important question as support will need to be provided to the charter writing board. If the budget is sufficient and a reasonable proposal is received, it would be wise to retain Mr. Tervala as a consultant to the charter writing board.

Another member of the board; Rocky Mackintosh spoke of ways to involve members of the community in the charter writing process which is a position I have long held as crucial to the final passage by the voters.

The change to charter government has been needed in Frederick county for quite some time. A move to more control by the voters on their government is long overdo.

Stay tuned...

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