Frederick County state senate district 3 race, a close one

Ron Young

George Wenschhof

The Maryland June 26 primary election is tomorrow and the state senate race in district 3 has plenty of interesting dynamics at play.  In the Democratic primary, incumbent Ron Young has said this will be his last term, a phrase he has uttered in previous elections.  Ron has been involved in politics his entire life, serving as mayor of The City of Frederick for 4 terms and now as state senator for two terms.  He is well known and after a lifetime in politics has his supporters and detractors. Ron’s length of service and the ability to get things done along with a name recognition that is likely the highest of any politician in Frederick County, may help him eke out a victory.

He is opposed by Jennifer Brannan and Jennifer Dougherty in the Democratic primary.  Brannan is not well known and her campaign efforts have not helped voters to get to know her.  Dougherty on the other hand is known as someone who always appears on the ballot and one who has been divisive in local politics.  This election will mark the tenth time Jennifer has run for office in Frederick County.  Her sole win was in the 2001 City of Frederick mayoral election, aided when she won by 36 votes against more experienced Meta Nash in the primary held on 9/11, a day many voters stayed home. Republican two term mayor Jim Grimes had already beaten himself with a multitude of bad decisions, so the Democratic nominee was assured the win in the General Election.

There is no love lost between Jennifer and Ron. In her first race, Jennifer ran for mayor in 1993 and was opposed in the Democratic primary by African American Gary Hughes.  Hughes received support from Ron Young and beat Jennifer in that primary election.  Republican Jim Grimes would win that election for mayor.

During Dougherty’s only term in office, she alienated voters so badly, including Democrats, leading Ron Young to run against Jennifer and beat her in the 2005 city Democratic primary. Upset at being challenged and beaten as an incumbent, she would urge her supporters to back Republican mayoral candidate Jeff Holtzinger.  Holtzinger would upset Ron in that 2005 city election.

Frederick County Republican leaders are excited about the strong possibility of picking up this seat, realizing neither Jennifer’s or Ron’s supporters will likely vote for the other should they lose the primary.  This had been a Republican held seat for many years with Alex Mooney being the last Republican state senator.  To the delight of many Frederick County voters, Ron Young would beat Mooney in the 2010 election.

Capturing this seat for Republicans however will not be easy.  The Republican primary is also filled with intrigue with Frederick County Burger King franchise owner Craig Giagrande and his significant personal campaign financial contributions facing Billy Shreve, a member of the Frederick County council.

Giagrande has received the endorsement of popular Frederick County sheriff Chuck Jenkins(R) and the conservative Blog RedMaryland.com. 

Shreve was a member of the Frederick board of county commissioners when Blaine Young (R) was president.  When charter government was passed in Frederick County, Blaine Young would face Democrat Jan Gardner for county executive and lose. Shreve would run for county council and win, enduring what must have been a difficult four years for him under Gardner. Obviously, frustrated with his lack of influence in county government and knowing Ron Young(D) barely won against an unknown Republican candidate four years ago, Shreve decided to challenge Ron Young for state senate.

Now, Shreve is locked in a close contest against Giagrande in the Republican primary and may well lose.

Both of the Democratic and Republican primaries for Maryland state senate in district 3 will be close, as will the General Election.  How well the nominees for each political party unite their voters and are able to appeal across party lines will determine the ultimate winner in this race.

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The Stealth-Like City Election

George Wenschhof

George Wenschhof

What if you held a municipal election and no one voted?  Well, The City of Frederick has been doing this for quite some time.  The city averages less than 25% turnout in the general election when everyone can vote regardless of political party affiliation.  The turnout is so low that the winning mayoral candidate receives a little over 4,000 votes and this in a city that likes to boast they are the second largest city in the state of Maryland with a population over 70,000.

The joke on the street is the only way you can tell the city is having an election is to hear the announcement by Jennifer Dougherty, she is running for mayor.  She has been running for mayor in every election since 1993, only skipping the 1997 election.  She has run as a Democrat and an Independent and did manage to win once out of the six times she has run to obtain the distinction of being the first woman mayor of Frederick.

However, she performed so poorly and alienated so many voters she would become the first incumbent Democratic mayor to be challenged in her own party primary election where she would lose to former four-term Democratic mayor Ron Young.

Not known as a team player, she has never endorsed or supported the Democratic candidate who wins the party mayoral nomination. This has resulted in a Republican mayoral win in a city where Democratic voters hold a solid majority.  Her unwillingness to support the Democratic nominee led her to run as an Independent in the 2013 election, but the result was the same, another loss.

Now in 2017, Jennifer is at it for the seventh time and back running as a Democrat.  Along the way since 1993 she added two more losses, one a county commissioner campaign and the other a congressional campaign.  All in all, her record is 1-8 and there are no indications to believe it will not be 1-9 after this year’s city election. Not known to be overly friendly, she has yet to discover the number one reason voters cast a ballot for a candidate; "They like them."

Lackluster and leaderless describes best Republican mayor Randy McClement, the beneficiary of the Democratic infighting.  He will be running again, hopeful for a third term.

Two term Democratic alderman Michael O’Connor has also announced his is running for the Democratic Party nomination for mayor.  However, his biggest challenge will be to demonstrate how he would be better than the mayor he consistently supported over the last seven plus years and how to overcome being labeled "McClement-like."

Other mayoral candidates will likely come forward on the Democratic side because of the perceived weakness in the two announced Democratic candidates.

Less than a handful of aldermen candidates have announced so far, partly because there is no need to announce early to campaign when so few voters participate in the election.  The deadline to register as a candidate is July 3, 2017.

The solution to a higher turnout and engagement by voters is simple and cost effective.  Move the city election to coincide with the presidential election.  This move would result in tripling the voter participation and reduce the cost the city wastes on a special election.  With this move, polling locations would stay the same for voters and they would not have to experience the hodgepodge polling locations that include churches the city uses today. This only adds to voter confusion and lower voter turnout.

The opposition to this change, including mayoral candidate O’Connor use the lame excuse, "we only want informed voters."  A phrase reminiscent of the poll tax and exams required in years past to limit voter turnout of “some” people.

Interestingly, I recently asked someone who believed this position: "Do you think voters who participate in the state and county elections are informed voters?"  Their answer was a quick “yes”.  Hmm, the state/county election has many more elected positions than the city election would have when combined with the presidential election.  In addition, I always ask, "How do you determine who is an informed voter?"  I suppose their answer would be "they voted for me."

Instead of the city election being lost in the hubbub of the presidential election, the opposite would take place with more interest among voters generated in the city election.

Another change needed to engage voters across the city would be to move to electing the aldermen from districts and to end the current at-large approach.  This would help ensure representation of all communities in city hall. Changing the name board of alderman to city council would be another helpful move.

The city is no longer the small town when I was a boy with a population of 20,000.  Much has changed and the city always destined to grow, primarily because of its strategic location in the state, has indeed grown. It has become a vibrant destination point and a place where you not only want to raise you family; you also want to retire here.

Let’s continue this positive growth by changing the city election date to coincide with the presidential election and by electing council members by representative districts across the city. This needed change is past due.

The primary election will be held on September 12, 2107 and the general election will be held on November 7, 2017.

Stay tuned.

The City of Frederick 2017 Election Buzz

George Wenschhof

George Wenschhof

No respite from politics for The City of Frederick voters following what may go down in history as the most raucous presidential election that clearly illustrated the deep divide in America.

Beginning soon, announcements by candidates for mayor and board of aldermen will begin to trickle out even though the deadline for candidates to file is not until July 3, 2017.  A petition candidate deadline is May 1, 2017.

The primary election will be held on September 12 and the general election will be on November 7, 2017.

There is growing frustration among voters with the current mayor and board who feel their city government, at best, has been status quo over the last 8 years under Republican mayor Randy McClement and a board of aldermen dominated by Democrats.

What is often said, is at least the mayor and board is free of the drama that existed during former Democratic mayor Jennifer Dougherty's administration.

However, there will be lots of issues that will receive discussion, among them and perhaps the main issue highlighted will be the lack of leadership displayed by nice guy mayor McClement. Also missing is a sense of togetherness and any vision for the future for the residents of what is now the second largest city in the state of Maryland.

The inability by the mayor and board to negotiate an extension of the baseball stadium lease would lead to a poorly executed Request for Proposals and the subsequent renaming of the field with less than artful signs, lack of job development for city residents, the shoddy handling of the downtown hotel/conference center development, little to no action on Blighted properties, another sloppy execution of a request for proposal on the extension of Monocacy Boulevard, a costly and unaffordable plan for the Hargett Farm park debacle, parking fine increases, hikes in water and sewer fees and removal of the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in front of city hall are all just a few of the issues sure to be discussed by candidates.

So what are the early rumors on who will enter the fray?  On the mayor side, Democrats already have several names that are surfacing.  Incumbent alderman Michael O’Connor has all but announced he will be running for the Democratic Party nomination.  His major obstacle will be he never differentiated himself from mayor McClement over the last seven years and if leadership is a skill he plans to run on, he has never shown it during his years in office.

Former one term and first woman mayor Jennifer Dougherty will likely run again.  She has been running since 1993 and has only won one time and that was back in 2001.  Likability is her biggest problem as is the fact she has been the Democratic spoiler in every race since 2005 when she was defeated in the Democratic primary. She became the first incumbent city mayor to be defeated by a candidate of her own party when another former mayor Ron Young defeated her.  She would not support Young in that general election and Republican Jeff Holtzinger would win.  In 2009 after losing to Jason Judd in the primary, she would again not support the Democratic nominee resulting in the election of Republican Randy McClement.  Apparently frustrated with the Democratic Party, Jennifer would run as an unaffiliated petition candidate in the 2013 election with former local reporter Katherine Heerbrandt helping her. Once again, she would split the vote, this time with Democratic candidate Karen Young, and leading to the reelection of Republican mayor Randy McClement. 

Reportedly, she will run as a Democrat this time.  All told, Dougherty is 1-7 in elections who in addition to losing 4 times for mayor also lost a bid for county commissioner and congress.  However, she is a tireless campaigner and would be competitive in this election.  

Another Democrat Roger Wilson, who received the plum job of county liaison to towns and municipalities by Jan Gardner when she was elected county executive has also given considerable thought to running for mayor. He ran for state delegate in the 2014 election and lost. His major problem is the optics of him running for mayor while being paid by taxpayers.  Because of this, the latest rumors have him rethinking and considering a run for alderman.  However, the optics problem remains and voters will not want a city alderman who is working in an appointed position with the county executive and as the county liaison to the city.  City-County agreements are often in front of the mayor and board for consideration, so remaining in his county position would be a difficult sell to voters wondering who he was representing, the city or the county?  His dilemma is to decide whether to give up a well paying position to run for city office.

It would not be a surprise to see downtown resident Peter Samuels jump into the race.  His dissatisfaction with what he refers to as the downtown hotel/conference center boondoggle might just be the catalyst to get him to run.

Former County commissioner and state delegate Galen Clagett’s name has also surfaced.  He ran for mayor 4 years ago and lost to Karen Young in the Democratic primary.  Throughout his time in office, he is known for getting things done so he may throw his hat in the ring when he sizes up the field.

A name that repeatedly pops up when I am talking to folks around town is Jim Racheff.  Jim is widely respected and someone who has been active in local Democratic politics.  He recently chaired the transition effort for county executive Jan Gardner, is chairing Gardner’s “Livable Frederick” Comprehensive Plan update and has served as chair of the city board of zoning appeals.  When I asked him recently if he would consider running, Jim told me his attention to his business would not allow him to do so.

City Democratic alderman Josh Bokee is another who is been talked about who will be entering the race for mayor.  He has let me know he will make his intention known prior to the end of the year. 

It is likely even more Democrats will come forward for mayor.

    

The question remains whether Republican Randy McClement will run again and if not, who will be the Republican candidate?  A rumor sure to stir up political buzz around town has Blaine Young moving to the city and running for mayor.  I heard this rumor immediately following the election of Republican Donald Trump as president.  Although said in jest, it is a type of move Blaine Young would make.  It is more likely, if McClement did not run for reelection; Republican alderman Phil Dacey would seek the job of mayor.

The buzz surrounding city alderman candidates will follow in another column.

Stay tuned.

Majority Should Elect Mayor of Frederick

George Wenschhof

Mayor Randy McClement

The off year City of Frederick election ensured another low voter turnout with incumbent Republican mayor Randy McClement winning reelection by receiving the votes of only 12% of the registered voters in the city.

The official returns show mayoral candidates received 8,354 votes out of 35,498 registered voters.

Even more important, with three candidates running for mayor, he did not receive a majority and won with a plurality of the vote.

The 4,121 votes McClement received fell short of a majority and were 49.56% of the votes cast.

Democratic mayoral candidate Karen Young received 2,586 votes (31.10%) and Unaffiliated candidate Jennifer Dougherty received 1,588 votes (19.10%).

The remaining 59 votes cast were write-ins, over and under votes.

Interestingly, the combined votes for Young and Dougherty equaled a majority of the vote (50.2%).

This is not to suggest the voters of these two candidates would join to support the candidate who received the higher number of votes.

What a large number of cities across the nation do in this situation is they require and hold a runoff election between the two candidates who received the top votes in the general election.

The one negative associated with a runoff election is the added cost to an election.

With this being the first time three candidates have run for mayor in The City of Frederick, it is unlikely runoff elections would be a common occurrence.

On the other hand, with Jennifer Dougherty paving the way and showing that running as an Unaffiliated candidate can be done, it may encourage others to do so in the future.

It would be wise for the city mayor and board of alderman to address this issue.

After all, requiring the mayor to receive a majority of the vote has a democratic ring to it.

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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Who Will Win Mayoral Race?

 

Randy McClement

Jennifer Dougherty

Karen Young

The question I am asked multiple times a day is; “Who is going to win the mayoral race?” and I have always answered “I don’t know it looks like it is going to be close”.

With under a week to go to The City of Frederick election on November 5, I will offer my thoughts, based on observations over the years of many city elections.  However, there is no survey, poll or data I am relying on to make my assumptions, so that is what they will be; a best guess on my part and nothing more.

In fact, as people would ask me, who I thought was going to win, I would always end up asking them and receiving their thoughts on whom the next mayor will be.

First of all, there is no loud deafening cry coming from city voters to “throw the bums out”, as was the case in the last election when a whole new board and mayor were elected. So, this becomes a plus for incumbent Republican mayor Randy McClement.

Staying with this thought, a little further, is the added dynamic that both incumbent Democratic alderman; Kelly Russell and Michael O’Connor have performed in an exceptional manner, are well liked, and will certainly be reelected.

Leading me to give Randy another boost as voters will be tempted to vote for both popular incumbent aldermen and then add another incumbent as their choice for mayor.

However, Randy’s biggest negative is he is just not the leader or strong mayor the voters of The City of Frederick deserve.

The recent announcement from city hall there had been a $2.3 million accounting error in the city budget may also impact on the reelection of McClement.

Karen Young was quick to state "Wasn't the accounting error really $5.1million? We thought that we would start FY 2014 with a $2.8mm surplus. Then a $2.3 deficit for the Rainy Day Fund was identified. The two total $5.1mm."

She added "I find it totally unacceptable that there was a $5.1 million accounting error with little or no explanation, no apologies and no accountability."

The entry into the race by Jennifer Dougherty has made this a first time ever three way contest for mayor of the city and this also is another plus for the incumbent as it will certainly split the vote.  The incumbent typically receives a plus in a multiple candidate race.

I have known Jennifer for twenty years and like most friends and family members, we have had our differences over the years.  But, she remains a friend and someone I respect very much.

She ran her first of what will be five races for mayor in 1993, losing to Gary Hughes, the first city African American mayoral candidate, in the Democratic primary.  Former four term Democratic mayor Ron Young backed Hughes in that election.  Republican Jim Grimes would win that election.

After losing in the Democratic primary for Frederick board of county commissioner, Jennifer won the 2001 election, becoming the first woman elected mayor. She defeated two term Republican mayor Jim Grimes, who had been damaged by the infamous “Black Book scandal”. The scandal involved a local Madam and some of Frederick’s notables, with one name released being Democratic alderman Blaine Young.

Blaine did not run for reelection, reinvented himself as a conservative Republican radio talk show host and parlayed that into being elected president of the Frederick board of county commissioners.

Two big accomplishments of Dougherty’s term in office were the creation of the Neighborhood Advisory Councils and the hiring of popular and effective Kim Dine as Chief of Police.

However, her term was marred with constant battles with a less than cooperative board of aldermen and a confrontation played out in the media with Karen Korrell, president of the board of directors of the Weinberg Center, over city funding levels.

Karen Korrell, would later marry Ron Young.

The many political battles encountered during the Dougherty administration led to a challenge in the 2005 city Democratic primary by Ron Young, who after overcoming residency issues, defeated Jennifer, before losing himself to political neophyte Republican Jeff Holtzinger.

In 2009, after witnessing a stumbling Marcia Hall bow out and a youthful inexperienced Jason Judd enter the race for mayor, Jennifer would run for the fourth time for the Democratic nomination.

She would lose one more time and Judd was upset by Republican Randy McClement; the owner of a downtown Bagel shop.

Speculation was rampant after the 2005 and 2009 elections; it was disgruntled Dougherty supporters who were responsible for the narrow victories won by Republicans Holtzinger and McClement.

In 2013, Jennifer decided against trying for the Democratic Party nomination and instead gathered the necessary signatures to run as an Unaffiliated candidate for mayor.

Karen Young, a Democrat, with an impressive resume in the banking industry in marketing and financial services management, decided to run for alderman in the 2009 election. After, receiving the most votes, she became mayor pro tem.

It did not take long for Karen to assert herself on the board of alderman and it was obvious early on she was frustrated with the lack of leadership and management skills displayed by Mayor Randy McClement.

Her announcement earlier this year, she was running for mayor came as no surprise.

What wasn’t anticipated was the entry by Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett in the run for the Democratic Party nomination for mayor.

Galen, a long time local politician and successful business owner proved to be a formidable opponent for Young.

Karen matched him in campaign donations and outworked him during the primary campaign which led to her 10 point win over Galen in the Democratic primary.

You are probably asking yourself about now, “I thought George said he was going to give us his best guess on the mayor’s race”.

And, I am.  I just felt a little of the history leading up to this vote would be helpful in understanding the dynamics at work.

I, of course, just scratched the surface, understanding you might lose interest in reading a novel or long essay on the subject.

However, let me also mention, the long anticipated “cat fight” between Jennifer and Karen never materialized.  Most likely due to both candidates being aware that is what some were expecting to happen between two strong willed women.

Okay then, another reason for the short narrative is with a small voter turnout, history and interpersonal relations have an impact on who wins.

First, the turnout is not expected to exceed 22% of the registered voters and will be around 8,000 votes.

As I stated in an earlier column about moving the city election to coincide with the presidential election cycle “I can confidently predict 10% or less of the 36,539 registered voters (as of January 1, 2013) will determine who the next mayor will be on November 5 and the mayor elect will not receive a majority of the vote.”

There is no run-off provision for The City of Frederick, so the winner will become mayor by winning only a plurality of the vote. Also disconcerting is there is no vote recount procedure which may have an impact in a close election.

The voter party registration breakdown in the city (as of January 1, 2013) is Democratic – 17,299, Republican – 10,749 and Unaffiliated – 8,164.

Out of the total registered voters, Democratic registration in the city makes up about 46%, Republican 32% and Unaffiliated 22%.

Now, at first blush, you would be correct to say, this favors the Democratic candidate for Mayor; Karen Young.  You would be right, if Democrats vote party line.

But, with Jennifer in the race, it is likely she will draw more Democratic votes than Republicans.  Also, remember Democratic Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett was defeated by Karen in the primary and was known to have supported Randy over Jason Judd in the 2009 election.

Galen has stayed out of the spotlight since losing a bitter primary election against Karen and it would not be surprising if behind the scenes, he supported Randy again.

This makes it important for Karen to pull Republican voters to counteract anticipated defections from the Democratic voters.  Not surprisingly, influential Republican leaders in the city, who are frustrated with the lack of leadership displayed by mayor McClement have held meet and greet events for Karen after she won the Democratic primary.

I believe it is highly unlikely Jennifer will pull any significant Republican votes, leaving her to have to receive enough Democratic and Unaffiliated votes to win.  This is an uphill struggle for the Dougherty campaign and why I am guessing she will receive between 20% - 24% of the vote.

Long time city election observers have told me they would be surprised if Jennifer won more than 10% of the vote.

They will be surprised, but Jennifer will lose her bid for mayor for the fourth time in five tries.

It appears Randy and Karen will be locked in an extremely close contest with both receiving between 37% - 41% of the vote.

The get out the vote effort by both campaigns will be critical in this election.

Past experience has me predicting there will be about 2% under votes resulting from people who go to the polls, vote for alderman candidates, but choose not to vote for mayor.

Who will be the next mayor?  The odds favor the incumbent in a close race and combined with all the twists and turns in this election, it is Randy’s race to lose.

However, Karen has proven to me to be a hard campaigner and a strong closer, so I have her winning by a nose.

It is the voters who make the final decision - Make sure you cast your ballot on November 5!

Stay Tuned.

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George Wenschhof is Publisher/Editor of www.FrederickPolitics.com, a political news and commentary Blog.

McClement Fails to Lead

George Wenschhof

The City of Frederick election is only a week away and with a first time ever three way mayoral race and the off year municipal election guaranteeing a low voter turnout, the race for mayor promises to be very close.

The second largest city in the state deserves leadership and vision with a path forward, not a mayor who has exhibited a lack of management and at best could be described as one who is treading water or maintaining the status quo.

Republican mayor Randy McClement boasts he has kept city taxes at the same rate and has maintained the same level of services over his four year term.  He adds this took place during a period of economic downturn across the country.

In my most recent interview with him, he told me the only service he cut was bulk trash pickup and the city only received 30-35 calls a year in response, with half of them settling for the new process.

Interestingly, alderman candidates tell me one complaint they hear most from voters, as they campaign door to door, is the elimination of bulk trash pickup, followed with their desire for it to be resumed.

The other most often heard description of the mayor is “he is a nice guy.”  In my interviews with him over his term in office, I have always found him to be cordial.

However, his management style, or lack thereof, is what his critics point to and is what led to a record number of 7 candidates for mayor in this election.

The city has a charter form of government that calls for a strong executive; the mayor and a legislative branch to provide balance; the board of alderman.

Due to lack of leadership during the McClement administration, the board of alderman has had to step up and provide administrative support which is not their role and makes for a cumbersome and sluggish way to run local government.

Watching a mayor and board workshop or meeting, Randy remains silent, never offering his position on an issue or why a yes or no vote on the issue being discussed should transpire.

The mayor, who is the elected city executive, by charter, should be leading and not expecting the board of aldermen, who are legislators, to be administrators.

Following the inability by McClement to hire an executive assistant and then reading a local paper headline stating the board of alderman hires new police chief; his lack of leadership becomes readily apparent.

The less than satisfactory manner in which the contract with the Frederick Keys was conducted and the bungled rollout of a long proposed downtown hotel/conference center are more examples of his inability to grasp the political aspect of being a mayor.

In regard to his claim to have balanced the budget and kept city taxes level, Democratic mayoral candidate Karen Young was quick to criticize.

She pointed to the recent announcement from McClement the city was $2.3 million below the legislative agreed upon level for the rainy day fund, with the explanation it was a human error by finance director Gerry Klobfleisch.

This was immediately followed by Gerry Kloblfleisch announcing he had found a surplus in the current budget ($1.9 million from the capitol improvements program) to handle the deficit in the rainy day fund.  So, all was well.

Or, is it? Following the disclosure and Kolbfleisch’s admission to an error at a city workshop, Alderman Karen Young told me she sent the following memo to the mayor:

“* Wasn't the accounting error really $5.1million? We thought that we would start FY 2014 with a $2.8mm surplus. Then a $2.3 deficit for the Rainy Day Fund was identified. The two total $5.1mm.

* How did this occur? I still haven't received an answer to this. This could not have been a simple math error. Were there erroneous assumptions? Were expenses underestimated? This is too much of a discrepancy to go without an explanation.”

You can read the response from Klobfleisch here.

When I asked Alderman Young what was the response from the mayor, she said in an email to me "Randy never responded to me." She added "I find it totally unacceptable that there was a $5.1 million accounting error with little or no explanation, no apologies and no accountability."

I agree.

Being a nice guy is not enough for the mayor of the second largest city in the state.  The City of Frederick needs a visionary leader who is comfortable with managing professional staff, setting priorities and communicating policy effectively with staff and the public.

It is time for a change and why Karen Young is the best choice for mayor to move The City of Frederick forward.

Make sure you vote on November 5.
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Dougherty: “City Budget Managed Poorly”

George Wenschhof

Jennifer Dougherty

I sat down with Jennifer Dougherty recently to get an update on her campaign for mayor.  This is the fifth time she has run for mayor of The City of Frederick and the first time as an unaffiliated candidate.

Jennifer won, as a Democratic candidate in 2001 and served one term before losing in the 2005 Democratic primary to former four term mayor Ron Young.

I asked Jennifer, who is known to go door-to-door, what she is hearing from the voters.  She told me she was receiving a positive response with voters often telling her they were supporting her because “she got things done.” 

Jennifer said they would add, “hope you get a different type of board”, referring to the contentious board of aldermen, she was often at odds with, during her term in office.  Interestingly, Jennifer added they would often ask her “who is the mayor now?”

When I asked Jennifer what was the main issue she was focused on in her campaign, she spent the remainder of the interview describing the poor fiscal management displayed by the current administration.

First, she pointed to the city rainy day fund, which she said the board voted unanimously to increase from the mandated 12% to 17% level.  Jennifer says this action resulted in an excess of $15.8 million in funds.  She said “the city was sitting on cash and not spending on services that are needed.”

She would have rather seen the city using that money to pay down the pension, other post employment benefits (OPEB) debt and for much needed road improvements.

The inability of the city to reach and maintain the current budgeted level of 141 police officers is another example of poor management.  Jennifer said she would run two police academies at the same time with split shifts, until the city reached the planned level of officers. She added the city did more outreach during her administration and in addition to that, she would examine lateral transfers as well.

Overall, Jennifer complained to me the city fund balance was under spent in each budget category with a combined fund balance of $43 million which she felt clearly displayed the current administration was not effectively managing the budget.

The change to tax differential as the way city residents pay their taxes was another example of bad management Jennifer pointed to during my interview. 

The move to tax differential was made by the current administration in an effort to avoid the duplication of taxes by city residents and the previous manner Frederick County government would rebate revenue received back to The City of Frederick.

Jennifer told me the city accepted the formula from the county without analysis pointing to the city of Annapolis who received $25 million in savings compared to The City of Frederick who received $5 million.

Showing me her own tax bill, on a house appraised at $300,000, the average for the city, she claims she was overpaying up to $1,000 for services she was not receiving from the county.

Addressing the tax differential formula is one thing she will focus on as mayor and she will fight for city residents to receive that $1,000 in savings on their tax bill.

The city’s purchase of the Hargett farm for use of a regional park is another example of how the city is managing the budget poorly, according to Jennifer.

She says the city needs to look at all options on the Hargett farm property and complained about the debt service it is costing the city.  Jennifer said the mayor and board had not been able to make the difficult decisions, pointing out to me developers would have paid for road improvements, a school site, as well as water and sewer fees.

Jennifer said another illustration of poor budget management was when the board voted a year ago to give the board of education a portion of the Hargett farm for a school site.  Then, she said the city turned around and recently bought a site from the county for a water tower.  Her question to me was “why did this happen?”  She would have hoped, at the least, a land swap, would have been in order.

The costly availability charge to the city resulting from the Potomac River water services agreement with Frederick County government was another area Jennifer was not pleased about.  It was these terms that kept her from agreeing to the contract with the county.  She pointed out to me, Mayor Randy McClement was not happy with this expense agreed to under the Jeff Holtzinger administration.

Jennifer added she would like to reduce the Homestead tax from 5% to 3%.  She informed me she had reduced it from 10% to 5% during her administration and felt the anticipated increase in property assessments for next year, would keep revenues in line.

As we were nearing the end of a lengthy interview, Jennifer said as mayor she would also move to lower the personal property tax businesses pay in the city, by 50% and eliminate it in three years.  She told me the loss of $1.5 million in revenue would be made up by the increase of business locating in the city.

Jennifer also pointed out to me alderman Karen Young, who is the Democratic candidate for mayor, voted for every budget and the mayor and board have not been focused on the results.

In regard to the Pension and OPEB programs, Jennifer was again critical of the administration, asking why they haven’t changed the programs.  She wants the city to shoot for an 80% funding level in 10-12 years and not the 20 years the mayor and board have agreed on.

In addition, she would create a pension oversight board to review management of the pension and OPEB programs.

Jennifer told me, I have had the luxury of being mayor and knows what she would do differently if elected mayor.

Concluding the interview, Jennifer said “a sea change is needed in management”, not with employees in the city.”

 

Registered voters in The City of Frederick will elect their mayor and a five member board of alderman on November 5.

Stay tuned.

 

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Candidates Respond To Pledge to Honor Contribution Limits

George Wenschhof

A week ago I published a column where I stated “It is the “spirit of the law”, not the letter of the law, that should be followed by candidates in The City of Frederick election.”

Presently, contributions to city aldermen candidates are limited to $1,000 per person/entity and $2,500 per person/entity for mayoral candidates.

I reported the day the first candidate campaign finance reports were filed, a loophole in the law had been used to get around these limits reflected in the reports filed by the Karen Young and Galen Clagett campaigns for mayor.

$20,000 had been funneled into Democratic Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett’s mayoral campaign via multiple entities associated with local developer Marvin Ausherman. Another $10,000 was received via entities associated with Pleasants construction, another local developer. The $30,000 in contributions was half of what the Clagett campaign received in the first report.

Democratic alderman Karen Young, who won the Democratic primary for mayor, received $7,500 from three entities associated with local businessman John Fitzgerald.

There did not appear to be any illegal contributions.  Yet, the potential influence on an elected official by one who has arranged for a large donation to a campaign, is unsettling to voters, who already feel their voices are lost to big business, corporations and well organized interest groups.

I sent all the candidates links to the columns written on this issue and asked them if they would follow the spirit of the law. 

 

The aldermen candidates were asked “Would you pledge to honor the $1,000 contribution limit intent of the law, to the best of your knowledge from this point on in the campaign.”

The mayoral candidates were asked “to pledge to the best of their knowledge, to not accept more than $2,500 from any one person or entities associated with any one person, from this point on in the campaign”.

I received responses from all of the candidates with the overwhelming majority of them agreeing to abide by the “intent /spirit of the law”.  Their responses follow below.

Jennifer Dougherty, unaffiliated candidate for mayor said "I will take the pledge, no problem".

Democratic mayoral candidate Karen Young responded in an email to me "Yes".

Republican mayor Randy McClement said “I have never asked for bundled contributions. I will continue, as I always have, to follow all City campaign finance disclosure laws and disclose all contributions and donors”.

Alderman Michael O'Connor (D) stated "he will comply with both the intent and letter of the law".

Democratic alderman candidate John Daniels responded in an email to me: "George, I have every intention of honoring the intent of the law and have not and will not accept contributions that may be questionable. Please consider this my pledge."

Democratic alderman candidate Donna Kuzemchak responded with "Yes, I commit to complying with both the letter and spirit of the law, as I have always done so."

Alderman Kelly Russell (D) responded with "Yes."

Democratic alderman candidate Josh Bokee responded with "Yes".

Republican alderman candidate Alan Imhoff emailed me saying "I have no problem with adhering to the spirit of the “contribution limit intent of the law”.

Republican alderman candidate Dan Cowell responded with "I will honor the law as written. I will not work the loophole accepting more than $1000 from any individual, family, and/or business."

Republican alderman Dave Schmidt responded with "I think the contribution limits are important to prevent anyone from having undue influence on candidates. I pledge that looking forward in this election, I won't accept any contributions from LLC's owned by anyone who has already reached their $1000 limit to my campaign."

Republican alderman candidate Katie Nash’s initially responded with "You're asking me to pledge to follow the law - yes. I'm not being facetious when I ask if you believe I have somehow not followed this law? (If so I want to return the money)."

I responded to her with "I would suggest you read the article and the numerous one that preceded it to more fully understand the question.

The issue is that the law does not appear to have been broken in regard to exceeded the limits. However there are loopholes that allow contributions to exceed the "intent" of the law."

I added in an email saying, in part, "To follow up with you, I have not suggested any city candidate broke the law."

To which she followed with a long response that can be read here.

 

In an interview, Republican alderman candidate Phil Dacey responded with he was “okay with the “spirit of the law”, particularly with limiting influence of individuals.”  Dacey added, “He would like to see this issue looked at and appropriate revisions made by the next board.”

It is encouraging, that clearly an overwhelming number of candidates have agreed to honor the “intent/spirit of the law” for the remainder of the campaign.

What needs to happen next is for the new mayor and board to move quickly, following being sworn into office, to appoint a committee to review the existing campaign contribution law.

 

This committee should be charged with making recommendations on revisions to current law to eliminate these existing loopholes. After, receiving public input, a vote at a mayor and board meeting should be taken to amend the candidate contribution guidelines.

The next candidate campaign finance reports are due October 7.

Stay tuned.

 

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