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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Thursday, March 5, 2009
City of Frederick, MD Democratic Chatter
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Frederick Co. MD Democratic Buzz
George Wenschhof Bio
The City of Frederick election is slow getting started but may turn out to be interesting as the year unfolds.
The only Democrats to file for the City of Frederick election, remain Jack Lynch for Mayor and Kelly Russell for Alderman. Both have websites and links can be found in the lower right hand margin of our Home Page. Go check them out and if you support their positions and feel like helping in a campaign, contact them with your interest.
Unannounced Democratic candidate for Mayor Jason Judd, believes the residency of current Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger is an issue that should be debated in the campaign. Holtzinger has publicly stated he has rented a home within the city limits and has met the requirements of the law. This, while maintaining his family residency just outside the city boundary.
Doubtful, Judd can make an issue of this, as Holtzinger's life-long experience in Frederick will make this a minor point in the campaign, but let's see. The fact no current elected city official or any private citizen has taken any legal action underscores the weakness of this issue in the election.
Meanwhile, Judd continues to work at building his campaign organization by soliciting help, including individual members of the newly formed Frederick Young Democrats.
There is an acronym (MOM) I have often used to help describe what it takes for a successful campaign - it stands for Message, Organization, and Money.
Judd is working to develop his organization as his experience as a Union field organizer has trained him to do. However, he remains an unknown to the voters, his message needs to be developed, and he will need to be able to raise funds to be competitive in the race for Mayor.
Incumbent Democrat Alderman Marcia Hall who intends to file for Mayor, continues to try to distance herself from supporting Mayor Holtzinger.
It was reported she did not support the recent negotiated 18 million purchase of the "Hargett farm" for a city park. However, this price was much lower than originally anticipated and this acquisition may no longer be an issue in the upcoming campaign. Katherine Heerbrandt, a columnist with the Frederick News Post wrote a good piece on this issue here.
Marcia is extremely well liked and has a strong existing organization. If her message to the voters and her ability to raise funds is strong, she will be a formidable candidate and is the present favorite to become the Democratic Party nominee.
Democrat Jack Lynch has partially developed a message centered on managed growth but continues to work at developing his organization and raising funds for his campaign. If he is able to build his campaign organization, he will have an impact on the race.
Meanwhile, there continues to be rumblings that Democrat Jennifer Dougherty will enter the race for Mayor. If the three known Democratic candidates for Mayor do not exhibit their strength with message, organization and money, expect her to enter the race.
If she does not enter the race, Ms. Dougherty will support Marcia Hall and with Ron Young supporting Judd, it will be another male v. female battle in the Democratic primary.
As someone who interacts with many city voters of all political affiliation, other than from the usual Democratic activists, I am not presently hearing a strong sentiment for the removal of Republican Mayor Jeff Holtzinger. This dynamic will need to change over the next seven months for the Democratic nominee for Mayor to be successful in November.
The Democratic nominee for Mayor will need to have a clear message of change that resonates with the voters.
Nothing new to report on the possible Democratic candidates for Aldermen. Incumbent Democrats Aldermen David "Kip" Koontz and Donna Kuzemchak remain strong candidates for reelection.
"Trish" Cunningham and James Racheff remain likely candidates for Alderman. It is actually surprising that Cunningham, who ran unsuccessfully in the last city election, has not filed. Racheff, who is busy with work and family, is able to find the time to dedicate to campaigning, will make a solid candidate for Aldermen.
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City of Frederick Asks for Input on Election Date Change
George Wenschhof Bio
As many of our readers know, I proposed a change in the date of the City of Frederick election date to coincide with the Presidential election. You can read more on my position here. This election date change will result in more than doubling the current weak 32% voter turnout and also save the taxpayer some of the costs associated with holding a separate election.
Bipartisan support for the change resulted in the Mayor and Board of Aldermen holding a workshop to discuss this issue. During the workshop held on January 14, 2009, the Mayor and 4 of the 5 Aldermen supported the change. Only Republican Alderman Paul Smith was opposed to the change. You can read more about that meeting here.
Mayor Jeff Holtzinger issued a media advisory yesterday asking for input from citizens on the proposed change. Following positive response, the next hopeful step would be for the Mayor to advertise and schedule a Mayor and Board meeting to formally vote on the proposal.
The President of Frederick Young Democrats, Burke Miller informed me they are planning to go door to door to share with voters their support of this change.
Below is the contact information for the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. Take the time to either call or email them with your support for this change of the election date to coincide with the presidential election.
Mayor@cityoffrederick.com - Jeff Holtzinger (R)
(301) 600-1380
Mhall@cityoffrederick.com - Marcia Hall (D)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
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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Monday, January 5, 2009
City Of Frederick, MD Election Date Change Update
George Wenschhof Bio
I published a column on November 28, 2008 entitled "Time to Move Election Date for City of Frederick, MD". To recap, in this column I proposed moving the election date to coincide with the Presidential election, stating the dismal 32% voter turnout in the city general election is unacceptable. It seemed reasonable to move the City of Frederick election date to coincide with the Presidential election as the voter turnout was more than twice the amount of the city turnout.
The Presidential election is also less cluttered with candidates than the state/county election year. In addition, the change would most likely result in a cost savings. If the current Mayor and Board of Aldermen approved this charter amendment change of the election date, the incoming Mayor and Board would serve three years and as of 2012, the next Presidential election, their terms would be the traditional four year terms.
This is not a partisan issue as City of Frederick Alderman Alan Imhoff (R) has also long held held this view.
It was a comment: "Great idea George! Have you talked to Jeff or the BoA about this." left by "Mike" at the end of that column that spurred me to take the following steps. I thought it would be interesting to write about this process as I attempt to move this issue forward for discussion by the City of Frederick Mayor and Board of Aldermen.
You are also welcome to leave comments/suggestions by clicking on "Comments" at the end of the column.
The discussion of moving the City of Frederick election date has not received, to my recollection, discussion in a mayor and board workshop or has it been placed on the agenda at a mayor and board meeting.
I believe the discussion should take place and prior to contacting the Mayor and Board I figured I would begin to discuss the issue with a few people and see what was their reaction. In writing a column entitled "New Wave of Democrats Eye Mayor for The City of Frederick, MD in 2009", I asked both Democrats Jason Judd and Jack Lynch their opinion on the change of election date. I point out in the column they both supported the idea and would have no problem with if elected Mayor, serving a shortened first term of three years.
Jason Judd liked an option of having the City primary date of September stay the same. The primary for President and Congress usually is early February or March and is determined by the state legislature. Then both the City and the Presidential race would have a combined general election date in November.
In 2008, the Maryland primary was February 12 and this year the City of Frederick primary is scheduled for September 15. During this seven month period the city candidates as they campaigned would benefit from the heightened interest of voters generated by the Presidential election.
In a meeting with with a local senior Republican official on another matter, I brought up the idea of moving the city election date and they agreed, stating "it just made common sense" and went on to say they were not aware of the issue receiving any discussion by the local Republican central committee.
Later, at a unrelated scheduled meeting with Burke Miller, the President of the newly formed Frederick County Young Democrats, I brought up the idea. He was supportive and indicated he would discuss with his group. After meeting with his group, Mr. Miller sent me an email stating their support of the idea.
I then called Bob Kresslein, the chair of the local Democratic central committee and although he was personally supportive, he obviously could not speak for the committee until the issue was discussed. As this was prior to the holidays, they would not have an opportunity to discuss until after the new year. Mr. Kresslein also indicated it was likely if the Democratic candidates in the city election were not in agreement for the change, it was doubtful the committee would take a position.
After discussing with others, all of who were in favor of the change of election date, I figured it was time to take the advice of "Mike" and contact the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.
I started with a phone call to the Mayor. With it being the holiday season, I was surprised to receive a return phone call from Mayor Holtzinger on December 23. He listened politely to my suggestion and indicated his support for the idea. He spoke of Alderman Imhoff's long time support for the election date change and indicated he believed Mr. Imhoff would bring up the issue for discussion in a mayor and board workshop.
As I had not yet received a negative comment on the proposal, I emailed the proposal to the Aldermen and provided a link to the column I had written earlier on the subject. This began an email exchange between some of the Aldermen, the Mayor and myself.
Even though this was the middle of the holiday season, I immediately received a reply from Alderman Alan Imhoff (R) who indicated his long time support. He also indicated his support of non-partisan elections. The reason he felt the election date change had not moved forward was due to opposition by the local political parties and some former local officials feeling the city election would get lost in the hype of the presidential election. The other most prevalent reason he had heard was the length of time between the primary and general election.
Alderman Donna Kuzemchak (D) responded saying she was one who believed local issues would get lost if the election was held at the same time as the Presidential election. She argued the media would not cover both elections with the scrutiny necessary for people to make informed decisions at the local level.
Alderman Paul Smith (R) responded with a similar concern as Donna had expressed and felt the elections should be kept separate.
I responded to the concerns expressed by Aldermen Kuzemchak and Smith with the following points. One, the demographics in Frederick County have not to date supported the hiring by local media of reporters to cover the national election so their reporters would certainly be able to give the city election the same coverage as they provide in the current election year. Secondly, I failed to see the logic that the voters participating in a 32% voter turnout election were more informed than the voters who participate in an election with a 70% turnout. Third, as to the length of time between the primary and the general election, I pointed out an option (as Jason Judd had mentioned earlier) would be to have separate primaries and a combined general election. I followed with the voters are most engaged in a Presidential election and this would benefit the city candidates as they campaigned for office.
Mayor Jeff Holtzinger (R) weighed in saying after talking to others he did not feel the voters would do any less due diligence if the city election was held at the same time as the Presidential election. He also said "I think it is at least worth discussion and consideration by the Board. This could also potentially save the City money and would allow for the use of the schools as polling places, as schools are closed for the Presidential Election."
Alderman Smith then responded with "Saving money is an important consideration. I look forward to the discussion."
Alderman Kuzemchak then said "George,
I don't believe either Alderman Smith or I argued that the turnout wasn't lower. The argument was simply the turnout was more informed on what they were voting. I've started speaking to some people about this and find I am only getting the argument about turnout, not about how informed those voters are. Are you suggesting it would be best if we had 100% voter turnout in any election – even if those voters are simply brought to the polls and told how to vote by someone else? My argument is simply that voter knowledge is more important than voter turnout. I certainly don't want to hit the point where you have to raise a ton of money to run for Alderman just so the public might possibly see your name somewhere and remember it. With my name or Paul's name, that helps – for opposite reasons – but not so much for others.
Again, I look forward to the discussion.
Donna"
To which I responded with the following:
Hi Donna,
Thanks for your recent response. However, I believe it is impossible to argue that the voters in a lower turnout election are more informed voters than the voters in a higher voter turnout election. More importantly, I believe in encouraging high voter turnout in all elections, which is among the important tenets of our representative democracy.
Thank you again for responding and I look forward to the discussion of this issue.
Happy New Year!
George
As Aldermen Marcia Hall (D) and David Koontz (D) had not responded to the email exchange I called both, reaching Ms. Hall and leaving a message for Mr. Koontz. Ms. Hall was basically non-committal, at one point understanding some of what Donna was saying, then saying it may make more sense to move the city election to the state/county election cycle as the issues were similar. I pointed out the state/county election cycle was already cluttered, had a lower average voter turnout than the presidential election, and to line up the current city election would require the incoming mayor and board to serve a five year term. She indicated again she had an open mind on the issue.
So that is a quick update on this important issue for The City of Frederick. I am hopeful the Mayor and Board move this issue for discussion in workshop and it receives merit for being placed on the agenda for a mayor and board meeting for further discussion and a vote. I will periodically publish updates as the discussion continues.
If you live in the City of Frederick, I would encourage you to let your elected officials know how you feel on the issue of moving the city election date to coincide with the Presidential election which would more than double the current abysmal city voter turnout. It is your opinion that is most important. Take a moment and weigh in with your thoughts.
Here is their contact information:
