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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Lynch Wants More Citizen Involvement in Planning Process

George Wenschhof

Jack Lynch

Jack Lynch, who is a Democratic candidate for alderman in The City of Frederick election, is passionate about wanting to see more citizen involvement in the planning process.

He is concerned the city is on the cusp of growing out in a way that will destroy the identity of Frederick.

Lynch would like to engage residents in planning as he believes everything revolves around planning.  He would like to see the city use form-based zoning and codes that are focused on the form of buildings rather than land use.

He told me "It's not what uses or regulations determine our buildings, it's about whether it looks and feels good to people, if they want to walk around there and like it."

Jack added he sees the Carroll Creek development as being a destructive swath of concrete through historic downtown. He feels it has not returned a high enough return for the taxpayer money spent developing the site.

Lynch is also troubled private investment money is going to the north end of Frederick and not other parts of the city and does not see an overall plan for how the city will grow.

He believes citizens often wait until a public notice is posted before they state their opinion and feels it is often too late at this point.

Strengthening Neighborhood Advisory Councils (NACs) and allowing them to provide even more input into the planning process, is something Jack will support if elected alderman.

Bringing citizens together, perhaps by developing small area plans from all sections across the city to provide a vision of what the city could do, is something he would encourage.

He was especially concerned when he felt residents were not listened to in recent votes by the city board of aldermen when they approved a change in zoning for a proposed Wal-Mart and voted to annex the 97 acre Caidlyn property into the city. 

Mr. Lynch testified against both requests and was disappointed the golden mile small area plan and comprehensive plan were not followed.

Also, receiving thumbs down from Lynch is the proposed downtown hotel/conference center. He said the recent consultant report confirmed what he had been saying all along and that is "the economics did not work."

Another area Jack would like the city to focus on is building a more sustainable community and to develop a green infrastructure plan.  He would like to see N. Market Street become an example of green infrastructure where the curbs, sidewalks, etc. were reengineered and rebuilt to allow more water to be absorbed naturally.

Extending Baker Park eastward to be included in the East Frederick Rising plans is another way the city should move forward.

When the topic of waste disposal came up, Lynch said he would like to see the city require business recycling and for the city to provide weekly recycling pick up. He also would move to reinstate the city bulk trash pick-ups that were discontinued by the current mayor and board.

Furthermore, Jack would like to see the city opt-out of Frederick County government plans to build an incinerator.

Jack Lynch is one of eight Democratic and seven Republican candidates running for the five member city board of aldermen.  The primary election will be held on September 10.

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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City of Frederick, MD Democratic Buzz

George Wenschhof Bio

I began the first of what will be ongoing posts pertaining to the City of Frederick election back on January 20.

Jennifer Dougherty made official, what I had predicted in that first column, when she announced her candidacy for Mayor yesterday. By announcing yesterday, Dougherty who is Irish will be in the news today on St. Patrick's Day.

Also yesterday, Jack Lynch announced his withdrawal from the race and his support for Jennifer Dougherty. Mr. Lynch was a former columnist with Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof.

Mr. Lynch has always come across as sincere in regard to his positive vision for the future of the City of Frederick. He will stay involved by working on the Dougherty campaign and managing the website. Look to see him stay involved in local politics. It is entirely possible he will surface in a future campaign for elected office.

We published posts yesterday on the Dougherty and Lynch announcements.

Meanwhile, the Judd for Mayor campaign continues moving forward with plans to begin canvassing City of Frederick residents this coming weekend. In a recent email sent to supporters, Jason Judd indicated he wants every voter to have a copy of his Brochure.

The alderman race grew by one Democrat yesterday when Andrew Kotkin filed his paperwork with City Hall. I spoke with him yesterday and he sent me a press release on his announcement.

Mr. Kotkin has lived in Frederick for nine years and owns a residential project management company. He and his wife have three children under the age of six. He emailed me the following as to why he is running for alderman:

"Quality of life issues, in my mind, are some of the biggest concerns for the citizens here in the City, and at the rate we are continuing to grow, we will need a government that has the willingness to listen to those concerns and voice whether it is acting in the best interest of those citizens it claims to represent."

I informed him we will publish a column from him detailing the reasons he is running for alderman and he indicated he will send to us. We have offered the same to all the Democratic candidates when they make their announcement. You can contact him at Kotkin4alderman@live.com

It still looks as though incumbent Democratic aldermen Donna Kuzemchak and David "Kip" Koontz will run for reelection. Their entry would increase the number to four Democrats running for alderman. The fourth is Kelly Russel who was the first to file.

Michael O'Connor also informed me he is moving closer to announcing he is running for alderman. Political junkies know him as the host of "Pressing Issues" a political discussion show that was broadcast by Comcast. I remember when he was a reporter with Adelphia cable and we actually had a local television news station. He is obviously knowledgeable of city issues and will make a competitive candidate. Look to see him announce within the next several weeks.

Popular former alderman Bill Hall will make it six Democrats running for alderman when he makes his announcement. He was the top vote getter in the 2001 election and will be looked upon as a favorite to win a seat on the five member Board of Alderman.

I also mentioned Carol Krimm, who is a member of the Frederick County Democratic State Central Committee, as a possible candidate in my January 20 post on the site. She would make it seven Democratic candidates and if successful and elected, she would be the first from the local Democratic central committee to win election to public office since 1997. Blaine Young, who was the chair of the committee at that time won and served one term as alderman. He is now a registered Republican.

Burke Miller, the President of the Frederick County Young Democrats indicated to me yesterday he was still considering a run for alderman. He plans to call Democratic activists to receive some advise prior to making a decision.

He would make it 8 candidates vying for five seats in the Democratic primary. The above eight Democratic candidates are all solid so look for an exciting Democratic primary. In all likelihood, the number of alderman candidates will grow by another two to three candidates.

We plan to offer online forums for the Democratic candidates after the filing deadline July 7, so stay tuned.

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Lynch Withdraws, Joins Dougherty for Mayor Campaign

George Wenschhof Bio


Today, after Jennifer Dougherty announces she is running for Mayor of The City of Frederick, Maryland, Jack Lynch will end his campaign.

Mr. Lynch will be joining Ms. Dougherty's campaign as the webmaster. Mr. Lynch, a former columnist on Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, announced his candidacy for Mayor with a two-part column on the site back in July 2008.

He stated that he feels Dougherty's experience, redevelopment success on Carroll Creek, cautious budgeting and financial responsibility, along with her support for public involvement in local government makes her the best choice for the city voters. He believes with Ms. Dougherty coming off a Congressional race with strong city support and a large campaign organization makes her the immediate front runner.

When asked why he was dropping out of the race for Mayor Mr. Lynch said "Politics is the art of compromise, fueled by rhetorical debate and challenge on issues, but in the end requires a realistic collaboration and the wisdom to change course. Many times the best man for the job is a woman! Jennifer inspires my confidence, I value her leadership, and I respect her judgment. Service to the citizens is my first goal all around - Jennifer offers that in spades".

Jennifer Dougherty responded to Mr. Lynch's endorsement with the following: " I respect Jack's passion and commitment. He got involved in Frederick 101 and the NACs when I served as Mayor, his desire to be involved is just what is needed in our City. His support for my candidacy is based on mutual respect and shared vision for the City. We know that openness and transparency are the foundations for good government and we share a commitment to make that happen again in City Hall. Jack has been a vocal supporter of smart growth policies and wants to work hard to maintain our high quality of life. I am so pleased that his is supporting my candidacy for Mayor, I know we will both work hard to make it happen."

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City of Frederick, MD Democratic Chatter

George Wenschhof Bio

I wrote back on January 20 the 2009 race for the Democratic party nomination for Mayor of the City of Frederick, Maryland could wind up being a battle of the surrogates of the Democratic candidates in 2005. In that election, former four term Mayor Ron Young took on incumbent one term mayor Jennifer Dougherty. Ron Young beat Jennifer Dougherty but then lost to current Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

The surrogates were shaping up to be Alderman Marcia Hall who appeared to have the support of Jennifer Dougherty and newcomer Jason Judd who has the support of Ron Young. Marcia Hall had said she was running for Mayor on Katherine's Heerbrandt's "Frederick's Forum" WFMD AM radio talk show on January 11.

I indicated in my column on January 20, this would be the case unless Jennifer Dougherty could not resist the temptation to enter the race herself. Whether Jennifer entered the race or not, it looked as if the Dougherty supporters would be facing the Young supporters again in the 2009 Democratic primary.

I also indicated I believed neither Alderman Donna Kuzemchak or David "Kip" Koontz would run for Mayor. Instead, they would run for reelection as Aldermen and be favored.

When Marcia Hall announced at the February 19 Mayor and Board meeting she would not be running for any elected position this year, the odds for Ms. Dougherty to enter the race increased as I indicated in my column dated February 24.

I also pointed out in that column that Jack Lynch who at that point was the only Democrat to file for Mayor was a long shot and he remains so today. Mr. Lynch has genuine concerns for future growth for the city but in order for him to mount a competitive campaign he will need to raise money and develop his organization.

The fund raiser planned by Jason Judd was also mentioned in that column and on February 26, Mr. Judd had well over 100 attend the event at Cafe Nola in downtown Frederick. In fact, he informed me they had 150 attend per their head count. Ron Young spoke and it is obvious Jason Judd has some organization supporting his race. He also surely added to his campaign coffers that evening. A good start for his campaign. However, before anyone gets too excited, I was one of several hundred who attended Ron Young's campaign kick-off for the 2005 campaign. After raising a reported $130,000, he lost to current Mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

Judd is following up on that event with an official announcement kick-off of his campaign on March 11 at the Delaplaine Center. You can read more details on that event here. We will be publishing his announcement column on why he is running for Mayor within the next several days. He informed me I would receive from him no later than today. We will do the same for all Democratic candidates as they announce their candidacy.

I met with Jennifer Dougherty yesterday morning and she indicated she was indeed considering running for Mayor and would make an announcement within the next one to two weeks. She has been keeping busy talking with her closest campaign advisers and voters in the community.

We spoke of a wide range of topics. The economic aspects of Mayor Holtzinger's pension plan and buy out along with his purchase of land for a City park were two areas of concern for Ms. Dougherty.

She also spoke of lessons learned from the 2005 city primary and felt she handled the 2008 6th district congressional primary in a much better manner, avoiding the fractured nature of the Democratic voters in the 2005 city election. In that primary, she beat favored Andrew Duck who was the Democratic nominee in 2006. She went on to lose to incumbent Republican Roscoe Bartlett by the same margin as Duck had lost by two years previously.

Let's see what she decides to do. If I were a betting man, I would say she will run for Mayor. After all, she realizes she won 56% of the vote in the city last year in the Congressional election. If she did enter the race, she would be the Democratic front runner.

Meanwhile, Aldermen Donna Kuzemchak and David "Kip" Koontz have to be mulling running for Mayor now that Marcia Hall has dropped out. However, do not look to see either do so if Dougherty announces for Mayor.

As to Jack Lynch, he indicated to me he had met with Frederick County Commissioner Kai Hagen several weeks ago. Hagen is supporting Jason Judd and suggested to Lynch that he withdraw and run for Alderman. Lynch indicated to me he did not see himself running for Alderman.

In regard to Democratic candidates for Aldermen, Kelly Russell continues to be the only one to file to date. She continues to be extremely quiet.

One new face to possibly look for is Burke Miller, the President of the Frederick County Young Democrats. He is a very impressive young man and would make an excellent Aldermen. He has applied for Law School and work along with his involvement with the Young Democrats may keep him from filing. He indicated to me he is interested and would have a better idea come May.

Stay Tuned...

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Frederick Co. MD Democratic Buzz

George Wenschhof Bio

I started these weekly local posts only one month ago and they have rapidly become widely read among our local viewers. If you have some local Democratic news you feel we should be sharing with our readers, send me a email at GeorgeWenschhof@gmail.com and I will try to include in a future post on the site.

City of Frederick Election - The biggest news since last Tuesday was the announcement by Alderman Marcia Hall at last Thursday's City of Frederick Mayor and Board meeting she will not be running for office this year. Several weeks ago, on Katherine Heerbrandt's Saturday morning radio show "Frederick's Forum" on WFMD 930 AM radio, Marcia Hall indicated she would be running for Mayor.

Ms. Hall's reason for not running for any office was due to family issues. I had speculated she would be the front runner for the Democratic Party nomination, if former Mayor Jennifer Dougherty could stay out of the fray. The battle in the Democratic Party primary would have then been a battle of the surrogates of Ron Young - Jason Judd and Jennifer Dougherty - Marcia Hall. A somewhat remake of the 2005 Democratic primary.

Jack Lynch is the only Democratic candidate who has filed for Mayor. At this point, he is considered a long shot in securing the party nomination on September 7, 2009. However, as current Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger proved, nothing is a given until the voters have cast their ballots. In 2005, Holtzinger first beat heavily favored Joe Baldi in the Republican primary and then went on to upset Democrat Ron Young in the general election to become Mayor.

Before supporters of Jason Judd, who is likely to file his candidacy for Mayor within the next month, get too excited, Jennifer Dougherty still looms as a potential Democratic candidate for Mayor. I spoke with her briefly last Friday after Marcia's announcement and she indicated to me that this certainly does change things. In subsequent emails, she indicated she would be discussing entering the race as the issues facing the City of Frederick are big ones.

In the 2008 6th district election for Congress, Ms Doughery won 56.51% of the vote in Frederick County election district 2 which is the bulk of the voters in the City of Frederick. If she would announce her candidacy for Mayor, she would be the front runner in the Democratic primary.

Expect Dougherty to make an announcement sooner rather than later as incumbent Democratic aldermen Donna Kuzemchak and David "Kip' Koontz will be reevaluating their interest in Mayor with this announcement by Marcia Hall. If Dougherty files for Mayor, do not look for Kuzemchak or Koontz to run for Mayor. Otherwise, expect one or both to seriously consider a run for Mayor.

Meanwhile, Democrat Jason Judd continues to explore his candidacy for Mayor and is holding a fun-raiser on Thursday February 26 at Cafe Nola in downtown Frederick. The suggested donation is only $20 and the Band "Hard Swimming Fish" will be performing. The event begins at 7:00 PM and Cafe Nola is located on E. Patrick Street.

Last Sunday, Democratic mayoral candidate Jack Lynch met with the Frederick Young Democrats and discussed his positions on future growth for the City of Frederick.

On the Republican side for Mayor, incumbent Mayor Jeff Holtzinger filed his paperwork last Friday, making his reelection bid official. As I indicated last week, I had heard he would announce shortly after Randy McClement, the local deli owner, had filed for Mayor. There continues to be chatter among some Republicans that now that Holtzinger has filed for Mayor, Mr. McClement may withdraw and file for Alderman. Mr. McClement ran for aldermen in 2005 and lost and the thought is his run for Mayor is a bit of a reach.

Mr. McClement is a nice and thoughtful man. However, his chances of securing the Republican party nomination for Mayor is about the same as his supporter, Maryland delegate Rick Weldon (district 3-b which does not include the City of Frederick), getting on the ballot in the state of Maryland and winning a race as a Unaffiliated candidate. Yet, as I mentioned earlier, that is why we hold elections so voters and not pundits decide who is elected to office.

It is still early, as the filing deadline for candidates is not until July 7, 2009. So, there is still plenty of time for others to join the race.

The only Democratic alderman to file remains Kelly Russel, who so far is running a stealth campaign. Should neither enter the race for Mayor, Donna Kuzemchak and David "Kip" Koontz remain favorites to be reelected as aldermen.

Yesterday, I received a email from Ken Berlin who indicated he will not be running for alderman. He also indicated he is not bitter over his loss in the 2005 election and said he had met a lot of nice people during his campaign. However, he doesn't like how some things are being done by the current Mayor and Board.

Stay Tuned.

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Frederick Co. MD Democratic Buzz

George Wenschhof Bio

City of Frederick Election - only newcomer to the race is Republican Randy McClement who filed for Mayor. Pressure is mounting for incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger to announce he is running for reelection. Expect him to do so and local chatter has Mr. McClement withdrawing and filing for Alderman. While many will tell you McClement is a nice man, few will tell you what his platform is or why he is running for Mayor. If Holtzinger runs for reelection, he will beat McClement easily.

The only Democratic candidate for Mayor, Jack Lynch had lunch with a supporter last week who is expected to help him with some video on his website. Another nice gentleman, his managed growth platform needs to pick up some steam with the voters. Word has it, one Frederick County Democratic elected official who is supporting a run by Jason Judd has already mentioned to him about switching to a run for Alderman. Mr. Lynch assured me he is in the race for Mayor to win.

Speaking of Jason Judd, he quietly filed papers on January 9, 2009 with the City of Frederick to register an organization "Friends of Jason Judd". This has allowed him to raise funds as he continues to organize prior to officially filing for the office of Mayor. The Treasurer of the organization is Kelly Chapin who owns the business, National Fusion in downtown Frederick.

Judd's first fundraiser is February 26 at Cafe NOLA, located on E. Patrick Street just before you reach N. Market Street in downtown Frederick. It starts at 7:00 PM and will have the band "Hard Swimming Fish". The suggested donation is $20. When I asked Jason Judd how the fundraising was going he indicated they were encouraged with both the fundraising and organization to date. Realize that every candidate will say the same thing when asked - the proof is in the finance reports when filed. Mr. Judd is not very well known, but for $20 why not go hear what he has to say.

Still no word on when Alderman Marcia Hall will file for Mayor. While she is a two term Alderman and the top vote getter in the last election, she is not a shoo in for the Democratic Party nomination. The spotlight is more intense on the mayoral candidates than it is on the aldermen candidates and she has yet to unveil a platform with how she will be better for the voters than the incumbent Mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

The perceived weakness by some voters, of the campaigns by Lynch, Judd, and Hall, adds fuel to the rumor which says former one term Mayor Jennifer Dougherty will enter the race. It appears uniting the Democratic voters behind the winner in the primary will once again be a challenge. Stay Tuned.

As to the Alderman race, Kelly Russell remains the only Democrat to file, although her campaign to date has been quiet. I informed her we would be happy to publish an announcement from her that would include why she is running and the issues that are important to her. We will do the same for all of the Democratic candidates when they file. We have yet to receive anything from her.

Incumbent Aldermen David Koontz and Donna Kuzemchak will run again, although David Koontz is another who is tempted to run for Mayor. The chatter on the street is he can not get behind supporting Marcia Hall for Mayor. Stay tuned.

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WTE - Waste to Energy will be the focus this week as the Frederick County Commissioners have scheduled public hearings - The Hearings will be held today beginning today at 6:00 PM and Thursday February 19 beginning at 7:00 PM.

At issue? How to deal with trash in Frederick County. This discussion has been going on for years now with four of the five County commissioners favoring building an Incinerator. One lone Commissioner, Kai Hagen who along with others from the community, has expressed opposition to the building of an Incinerator. However, to date, no one has proposed an alternative, leading to exasperation by the other commissioners and supporters for and against the Incinerator.

Eight months ago, we offered Democratic Commissioners Jan Gardner and Kai Hagen the opportunity to write a series of detailed columns on the issue, to which they agreed, and we published from July to September in 2008. We still have links to their columns located in the right margin of our Home Page.

It has become painfully obvious that the only reasonable alternative to the building of the Incinerator is the construction of a Landfill. In fact, I published a column stating this on November 25, 2008 - you can read that column here.

The mention of the word Landfill seems to be taboo and to have taken on the image of the boogieman. This, due to the difficult siting and condemnation process which occurred twenty years ago for the existing Landfill on Reich's Ford Road. It should not be so. A landfill will be needed regardless of the method chosen for disposal - the issue is how big and what other components to include on site - ie. a resource recover park and a materials recovery facility.

If 500 to 1000 acres are needed to do so, then a search for the site location and a estimated cost for acquisition and construction should take place so a cost-benefit comparison could be made between constructing a Landfill or a Incinerator. Both options have positives and negatives. But, before Frederick County Commissioners vote to approve what is now a 500 million plus Incinerator, let's cost out a Landfill alternative.

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Frederick Co. MD Democratic Buzz

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, after requests from many local Democrats, I start what will be a weekly post which will appear on Tuesday. It will cover whatever I happen to be hearing about Democrats in Frederick County, Maryland.

If you have some buzz to share with our readers, you can either post what you are hearing by clicking on the "Comments link" at the end of this post or you can send me an email to georgewenschhof@gmail.com and I will try to include in a post.

Today, we will take a look at who may be the Democratic candidates in the City of Frederick Elections. Next week on Tuesday, we will look at what will likely be the issues in the City of Frederick election.

City of Frederick voters will be electing the mayor and five aldermen this year. Candidates can now file for office at City Hall and the deadline for filing is July 7. The primary election will be held on September 15 and the general election will take place on November 3, 2009.

For Mayor:

Jack Lynch has already filed after announcing his intentions six months ago on our website. Although he announced early and was the first to officially file, he is still working at putting together his campaign organization. He struggled a little getting out of the gate when he talked about moving the Fairgrounds which are not owned by the city government. Mr. Lynch is a nice gentleman who has some good ideas about future growth of the city and an overall vision for the future. Let's see if he can get his message out and have it resonate with the voters.

Marcia Hall, a two term Alderwoman, basically announced January 11, 2009 her bid for Mayor on Katherine Heerbrandt's Saturday morning WFMD AM radio show. Ms. Hall has been rumored to run for some time - she may as well go file and make it official. The old standard political advise of waiting to officially file when you are in office for fear people will scrutinize your every vote no longer holds in this case. Everyone is already looking at her every move. She is well liked and also managed to stay out of the "fray" during the Dougherty administration.

She will be a formidable candidate and her supporters will surely point out as the top vote getter among the Aldermen in the 2005 election, she received more votes than incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

Detractors will say she has not often been clear on her positions on an issue and will try to label her as wishy-washy. Her biggest challenge will be delineating the differences between herself and Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger (should he run again) on the issues. Her voting record as Alderman will be thoroughly examined and pointed out by her opponents.

I interviewed Jason Judd for three hours prior to a column I published on December 19, 2008. He is a thoughtful and deliberate candidate who has experience in community organizing. I have witnessed this first hand as city residents from many different "clicks" in the community have come to me to express their support of his run for Mayor. There is also a strong possibility former four term Mayor Ron Young will manage his campaign. Mr. Young raised over $100,000 in his campaign for Mayor in 2005. He beat incumbent Mayor Jennifer Dougherty handily in the Democratic primary but lost by a few hundred votes to current Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

The rap that will come up against Jason Judd will be his work for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) with detractors trying to make an issue they don't want union representation in the City of Frederick.

His close advisers have been offering ideas as to when to officially announce and I have heard closer to April is the preferred date.

Although Jennifer Dougherty was probably the only Democratic candidate for Congress who was unable to benefit from the enthusiasm generated by the Barack Obama campaign, do not discount the possibility of her running for Mayor again. The only demographic area Ms. Dougherty won in the 2008 congressional race was the City of Frederick. However, that was due to city Democrats being united against incumbent Congressman Roscoe Bartlett.

Ms. Dougherty has become the perennial candidate having now run five times and only winning once. It is obvious she enjoys the debate on the issues and being critical of other candidates. Unfortunately, after her disastrous one term as mayor, she reminds many of the character played by Robert Redford in the movie "The Candidate" when he said after winning the election; "What do I do now?".

Should she run again, she would further divide the local Democratic party more than she has already done as many will remember she did not support Ron Young after he defeated her in the primary. Many believe she urged her closest supporters to vote for Republican Jeff Holtzinger in the general election and therefore was a factor in Young's loss to Holtzinger.

Anyway, some other Democrats may join the race, but it is shaping up as another male-female battle once again in the Democratic primary. If Jennifer Dougherty can resist running against Marcia Hall as she was unable to do against Andrew Duck, this primary could end up being a battle of surrogates of the 2005 Democratic candidates for Mayor. Jason Judd will have Ron Young's support and Marcia Hall would have the support of Dougherty. Marcia Hall may actually be better served if she kept some distance from Ms. Dougherty.

Do not look for either aldermen David "Kip" Koontz or Donna Kuzemchak to enter the race for Mayor. Both three term incumbent Kuzemchak and first term Koontz will most likely file for Aldermen.

For Aldermen:

Donna Kuzemchak won for the first time in 1997, campaigning loudly about the need for a stop light on a street near her neighborhood with her concern about the safety of school children. In the last election, she was the fifth leading vote getter among the Aldermen candidates. The one thing about Donna is you do not have to wonder how she feels on an issue - she will let you and everyone else know. She will be a strong candidate for reelection.

David "Kip" Koontz - while he may really want to run for mayor, he is a strong candidate for being reelected as alderman. He ran for elected office several times unsuccessfully prior to being elected. His supporters will probably urge him to stay as alderman. He will be another strong candidate and is likely to be reelected.

Both David and Donna have to consider the "what if question" - that is, if I run for mayor and lose, where do I go from there. Losing a city race and trying to run for county or state office in 2010 is not a promising proposition. Waiting to run again in the next city election is too long of a wait.

Kelly Russell - Is she a Republican or a Democrat is the question most voters are asking me. She is the only Democrat to officially file for aldermen to date. Those who know her well are confused in regard to where she stands. She openly gave her support to Republican Harold Domer in the 2006 race for Frederick County Sheriff. Mr. Domer's supporters could easily be classified as former Republican City of Frederick Mayor James Grimes supporters.

Just recently, Ms. Russell supported Democrat Jennifer Dougherty in her bid for Congress. In the only race she won, Dougherty defeated Grimes in the 2001 City of Frederick election. There is no secret the Dougherty and Grimes camps do not support each other. Many voters have expressed a distrust of Ms. Russell so her campaign at present looks to be a tough one.

Carol Krimm - She presently works for state delegate Galen Clagett. She had worked for delegate Sue Hecht until Sue was defeated soundly by Alex Mooney in her attempt to win the state senate seat in district 3 in the 2002 election. Ms. Krimm would be competitive in this race if she filed.

Stephen Slater - He recently moved into the City and will meet the residency requirement by the time the election is held. He is the son of Tom Slater who lost two races when he ran for state delegate and city aldermen. He is an attorney who currently works with his father's law practice. Stephen helped a start-up of the Frederick County Young Democrats prior to when his father ran for alderman in 2005. He was instrumental in them helping his father in his failed bid for alderman. That chapter of the local Young Democrats faded shortly afterward.

Although the name may give him some recognition, his father did not win an election and voters do not know Stephen's position on any city issue so his work will be cut out for him. However, he could easily make the primary cut with his challenge being the general election.

Both Slater and Krimm are members of the Frederick County State Democratic Central committee. This may be a dubious distinction as no one from the central committee has been elected to another office since the 1997 election when the then chair of the committee, Blaine Young was elected as Alderman. Blaine Young is now a Republican.

Sarah Finefrock - the only reason I mention this name is her friend Jennifer Dougherty mentioned it when she recently hosted Katherine Heerbrandt's local radio talk show. Jennifer said Finefrock had just moved back to Frederick (I wonder if she meets the residency requirement) and would make a good candidate. Jennifer talked her into running for Register of Wills in the 2006 election and she was thumped. She would be a long shot in this election.

"Trish" Cunningham - She ran for alderman in the 2005 election and lost but has become known as a city watchdog ever since often challenging decisions on issues. It is likely she will file, but she will once again have difficulty in winning election.

Ken Berlin - Another one who ran for alderman and lost in the 2005 election. His bitterness surrounding that loss continues to be exhibited in his acerbic remarks he often leaves at the end of articles of the online edition of the Frederick News Post. Unfortunately for him, his idea of a land value tax in the 2005 election did not catch on with the voters. Mr. Berlin does have ideas to consider concerning the city and if he could get over his loss in the 2005 election, would be a competitive candidate for alderman.

Others are likely to come forward and file as the July filing deadline is so late.

Look to see Republican incumbent aldermen Alan Imhoff and Paul Smith run again for alderman in spite of some who would like to see Mr. Imhoff run for Mayor. They will both be competitive as aldermen candidates. If local Deli owner Randy McClement runs for anything, it will most likely be alderman. It is very doubtful he could beat incumbent Mayor Jeff Holtzinger. Randy ran for alderman in 2005 and lost and would be competitive this time. If Jeff Holtzinger decides to run for reelection as Mayor, he will easily win the Republican primary.

As of now, it looks like all of the incumbents will run again with Marcia Hall leaving her alderman position to run for Mayor. Unless strong arguments are made to the voters by the candidates to unseat incumbents, there will only be one open alderman seat.

Stay Tuned, we'll look at the issues next week.

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New Wave of Democrats Eye Mayor for The City of Frederick, MD in 2009

George Wenschhof Bio

The City of Frederick, Maryland will hold their election next year and the voters will decide on their Mayor and five Aldermen. The first date a candidate can file for office is January 5, 2009 and the last date to file for office is July 7, 2009. The primary election will be held on September 15 and the general election on November 3, 2009.

Fortunately, in what appears to be a short lived snafu, the Frederick County Board of Elections and The City of Frederick officials will meet on Monday December 22, to resolve issues surrounding who will run the election in 2009.

The reason for the momentary confusion is the state legislature had passed legislation moving to voting machines with paper ballots by the 2010 election and questions existed as to whether the existing voting machines could be used for the city election in 2009. The lack of action taken by the state led the local board of elections to inform the city they would be unable to conduct their election.

Soon after this announcement, the Maryland Board of Public Works voted to extend the contract with the vendor for the existing machines so hopefully the Frederick County Board of Elections will soon reach an agreement with the city to run the election.

I am hopeful for a resolution to be reached on Monday as I as well as many others have found the Election Director of the Frederick County Board of Elections, Mr. Stuart Harvey and his staff to be professional as well as courteous in our interactions with them.

The first two Democrats to publicly announce their interest to run for mayor are Jack Lynch and Jason Judd, both of who one might classify as part of a new wave of Democrats in the city.

While they may be new names in Democratic politics, neither one is new to Frederick. Mr. Judd graduated from Governor Thomas Johnson High School and Mr. Lynch and his family moved to Frederick over eight years ago.

They are both married with children and one thing which struck me when talking with both is their desire of a future vision for the City of Frederick.

Incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger has yet to announce his intention regarding running for reelection. To many, he has been a breath of fresh air after the previous four years of constant battling between former Democratic Mayor Jennifer Dougherty and Republican Aldermen Bill Hall and David Lenhart.

Concerns that have risen during Mayor Holtzinger's term pertain to his residency, an early retirement program instituted for city employees and the city condemnation process of land for a city park.

I asked both Mr. Lynch and Mr. Judd to weigh in on my November 28, 2008 column calling for the City of Frederick elections to be moved to coincide with the Presidential election year. This would result in a cost savings for the election and also would more than double the current anemic 32% voter turnout in the general election.

Both indicated they would support a charter amendment by the current Mayor and Board moving the City of Frederick election date and would be fine with serving a three year term from 2009-2012. Beginning in 2012, the city elected officials would serve four year terms.

Mr. Lynch made his official announcement to run for Mayor in a two part column published July 10 and 11, 2008 on Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof. You can read part one here and part two here He has also developed a website you can visit here.

In a recent meeting with Jason Judd, I informed him we will also publish a column from him when he makes his official announcement to run for Mayor which he agreed to send to us. We will do the same for all of the Democratic candidates for Mayor and Aldermen.

As in the case with Mr. Lynch, our policy is we will not publish columns from the candidates after their announcement of candidacy. However, we intend to offer online forums for the Democratic candidates so our City of Frederick viewers can ask them questions and read the responses from the candidates. We will also provide links to all of their websites as they become available.

Mr. Judd is still in the process of talking with many city residents and close advisers as he moves toward making an official announcement. He continues to discuss the issues with voters and is developing his positions on them. One prominent local Democrat who is offering support to Mr. Judd as he considers joining the race for Mayor is former four term Mayor, Ron Young. Mr.Young was the Democratic candidate for Mayor in the 2005 election who lost a close election to the current Mayor, Republican Jeff Holtzinger.

Two others have already written a "Letter to the Editor" supporting Jason Judd for Mayor which were published in the Frederick News Post. One was written by James Racheff which can be read here. The other was written by a former Teacher of Jason Judd, Michael Bunitsky and you can read his letter here.

Jack Lynch informed me he intends to file on January 5, 2009, the first day a candidate is allowed to do so. He expects to name his wife as Treasurer and wants to immediately begin raising funds for the campaign. Jason Judd is still talking to folks and weighing their advice as to when to formally file for Mayor.

Although neither individual is currently a household name, let's listen to what they have to say and see what their vision is for the future of the City of Frederick. Remember, four years ago, the current mayor Jeff Holtzinger was unknown by many voters.

Other rumored Democrats considering running for mayor are all three current City of Frederick Democratic Aldermen; Donna Kuzemchak, Marcia Hall and David "Kip" Koontz.

A not so wild card entry would be former one-term City of Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty. She just lost the 6th District Congressional race to incumbent Republican Roscoe Bartlett by the same margin as Democratic candidate Andrew Duck in 2006. I published a column November 6, 2008 on the results here.

She recently weighed in on a City of Frederick - Frederick County issue pertaining to $500,000 of road improvements to Rosemont Avenue by writing a "Letter to the Editor" published in the Frederick News Post. You can read it here.

Interestingly, while Ms. Dougherty was handily beaten by Representative Bartlett in the remaining portions of the 6th District, she won Frederick County election district 2 with 56.51% to Bartlett who received 39.83% of the vote. Mr. Harvey informed me election district 2 is the major part of the City of Frederick, which also includes minor portions of election districts 13, 21, 23, and 24.

Worth noting is the voter registration numbers in district 2 favor Democratic candidates. Total Voter Registration: 37,010, Dems: 17,506 - 47%, GOP: 11,933 - 32%, Unaffiliated: 7,175 - 19%.

January 5, 2009, the first day to file for office, will officially kick off the City of Frederick election. Stay Tuned.

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