"All Things Political" with George Wenschhof

George Wenschhof

I am pleased to announce the addition of FrederickPolitics.com to my website. FrederickPolitics.com will feature a one hour political discussion show entitled "All Things Political".

Some of the shows will feature a discussion with a local, state or federal elected official or candidate for office. Other shows will feature a discussion with members from the community on a local issue of interest.

Programing will begin in June. So, plan to visit the site and watch the future segments of "All Things Political". My first guest will be Susan Turnbull, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.

I invite you to watch a short video about my new show below.

To place an advertisement or sponsor a segment of "All Things Political", email me at GeorgeWenschhof@gmail.com

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Beth Willis to be My Guest on 3-18-2010

George Wenschhof

I am pleased to announce Beth Willis will be my guest on Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof on Thursday March 18 from 1:00 - 3:00 PM ET.

We will be talking about the recently released safety study from the National Academy of Sciences. This safety study pertains to the huge expansion of the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) High Containment facilities located at Ft. Detrick, Maryland.

Ft. Detrick, Maryland is located in Frederick, Maryland, a city with a population of 60,000 which is the second largest city in the state.

It was 1969, when many of us who grew up in Frederick, found out that biological warfare study and development had been occurring at Ft. Detrick for many years. 1969 was the year President Richard Nixon announced the end of offensive research of biological agents.

Since that time, the Fort became a Cancer Research Facility and an Army research facility for infectious disease. Studies have continued on deadly pathogens such as anthrax.

It was announced back in 2003, that the national headquarters for the new post-2001 U.S. Bio-Defense program would be built at Fort Detrick. Plans were underway to expand research being conducted at the Fort with the construction of 1.3 million square feet of new high containment facilities. The Army labs would be joined by Homeland Security, NIH, Agriculture and others to create a massive biodefense research campus.

Coupled with the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) of 2005, this meant a huge expansion of Ft. Detrick with the likely potential the added employees would result in an economic boost to the community.

Ms. Willis, a Fredrick County, Maryland resident for over 35 years was struck by the enormity of this expansion within Ft. Detrick which is located in a large population center.

She co-founded Frederick Citizens for Bio-lab Safety and has since worked with local politicians and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), culminating in the safety study released March 4, 2010 by the National Academy of Sciences.

Her background includes working with the Department of Energy around large federal science projects and the DOE laboratories.

If you have a question for Ms. Willis you would like me to consider asking, please write it in the "comment" area at the end of this article.

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Inauguration Whistle-Stop Journey Begins Tomorrow

George Wenschhof Bio

The Whistle Stop Tour begins tomorrow morning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - then on to Wilmington, Delaware before arriving in Baltimore, Maryland late afternoon. President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be joined by their families. Also chosen to accompany them are Americans representative of the diversity of our citizens across the country. The final destination of the trip will of course be Washington D.C. with the Inauguration talking place on Tuesday, January 20. The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) has more here.

They are also planning canned food drives in Wilmington and Baltimore in recognition of the national service initiative so if you are able to attend, bring along some canned goods. This is an historic and proud moment in our nation's history so if you live near the following stops, plan to attend.

Here is the schedule:

Philadelphia, PA

Who: President-elect Obama and his family, and everyday Americans traveling on the Whistle Stop Tour

Where: North Waiting Room, 30^Th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA

Event Begins: 10:05 AM

Tickets: Tickets are required and have been distributed to the public.

Wilmington, DE

Who: President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden and their families, and everyday Americans traveling on the Whistle Stop Tour

Where: Back of Wilmington Train Station, 100 South French Street, Wilmington, DE

Doors Open: 9:30 AM

Event Begins: 1:00 PM

Tickets: Event is open to the public

Baltimore, MD

Who: President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden and their families, and everyday Americans traveling on the Whistle Stop Tour

Where: War Memorial Plaza, 101 N. Gay St., Baltimore, MD

Doors Open: 1:00 PM

Event Begins: 4:15 PM

Tickets: Event is open to the public

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Frederick County President NAACP and Frederick County Young Democrats Support Change in City of Frederick Election Date

George Wenschhof Bio

On Monday, I published a column entitled "City of Frederick, MD Election Date Change Update". The column was an update on discussion to change the city election date to coincide with the presidential election year. This would double the current anemic 32% voter turnout in the city and most likely save the taxpayers money by reducing an election year.

We received the following comment from Guy Djoken, President of the Frederick County, Maryland Chapter NAACP "As the president of the Frederick County NAACP, I am supporting this initiative for the simple fact that it will more than double voter participation while lowering the cost for running the future elections."

I reported in the column the support by the Frederick County, Maryland Young Democrats and last night they issued a press release which said the following:

This past Sunday, Frederick County Young Democrats (FYD) voted unanimously to support moving the City's next election after this year from 2013 to 2012. The vote came from discussion of strategies to improve voter turnout for the upcoming City election in November. In the Presidential Election of 2004, there was a voter turnout of 83% Countywide and more than 15000 people voted at the City's precincts alone. This when compared to the voter turnout of the last City election in 2005, 31.75% and just over 9100 votes, begins to raise the question as to whether it would be more advantageous to the City for elected City officials elected in November to serve a 3 year term, and to continue aligning City elections with Presidential elections in the future.

When asked why FYD voted in support of this idea, FYD President Burke Miller responded, "We feel that it would best serve the residents of Frederick City to hold the next election cycle a year earlier, in 2012 to line up with the next Presidential Election, because it will create and attract more attention to issues that effect City residents. Along with creating more attention for these issues, it will allow voters to learn more about the candidates running for office in the City. It is also a way for the City to save money by not having to run its own election, something that is much needed in a time of budget crunches across the State."

Also, yesterday on the WFMD AM radio "Blaine Young" show, the co-hosts Tim May and Anita Stup who were subbing for Mr. Young both indicated their support for moving the election date to coincide with the presidential election year. Both are Republicans and Anita Stup was a former Frederick County Commissioner and Maryland state delegate.

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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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