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.

Rebid Hotel/Conference Center

George Wenschhof

Over the last seven years, The City of Frederick has repeatedly fumbled and stumbled throughout the development process for a desired downtown hotel/conference center.  The result is a convoluted project destined to be a failure for taxpayers.

Over two months ago, the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) announced their unanimous vote to not sign the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) tabled discussion of the five-party MOU needed for the release of the $1 million authorized for the project during the 2016 session of the Maryland general assembly.

These announcements were followed with the December 8, 2016 press release by Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) projecting state revenue shortfalls totaling $38.3 million over the next two fiscal years. As a result, it was not surprising to hear recently that Governor Larry Hogan (R) has not included the needed $7.5 million for the hotel/conference center in his annual state budget.

With The City of Frederick unable to meet the conditions in order to receive the $1 million authorized by the general assembly a year ago it would be irresponsible for them to attempt to insert the $7.5 million into the state budget. 

These actions combined have effectively put the current proposed project on life support with the likelihood of it moving forward zero. It is painfully clear the size and scope of this project is premature and a lack of support exists for a project that relies on excessive public financing.

There are some proponents of the project who argue that if this project does not go through, it will be another three decades before a downtown hotel/conference center is built. To borrow a phrase made popular by vice president Joe Biden, “that’s a bunch of malarkey”.  The economic market place determines the success of development.

Persisting to move forward with the present proposal will most likely result in colossal failure. Instead, there should be an immediate move by the mayor and board of aldermen to terminate this effort. In its place, the city should rebid the downtown hotel/conference center with new parameters that are more appropriate and feasible.

First, an update of the feasibility study on the need for a 207 room hotel and 24,000+/- square foot conference center should be done taking into account the privately funded Holiday Inn/Conference Center expansion is anticipated to be completed in 2018.

The Holiday Inn/Conference Center expansion will have a total of 205 rooms with 30,000+/- square feet of conference space.  It also has easy access to interstates and an abundance of onsite parking making the demand for two large venues within miles of each other suspect.

The long envisioned Carroll Creek development to date has brought mixed results with new businesses opening and most weekends bustling with visitors. However, maintaining the same level of activity throughout the week has been problematic for some business owners resulting in chain restaurants The Green Turtle, Five Guys, Ben and Jerry’s, the Japanese restaurant Hinode and the Voltaggio Lunch Box being among those who have closed their doors.

After an updated feasibility study is completed, it is likely data will support a smaller, less costly and more appropriately sized hotel/conference center in downtown Frederick.

Prior to issuing a new request for proposals (RFP), the city should hold a series of public workshops to determine what level of public financing is acceptable to taxpayers. The amount of public financing should be spelled out in the new RFP process, a serious omission in what was previously done. Examples of public financial contributions are a several million dollar contribution or a waiver of taxes for a specified number of years.

However, public financing should be limited to no more than ten percent of the overall cost of the project.  In addition, the city should not have ownership of the property or partnership in the project, both risks to taxpayers.

The geographic area where an RFP would be accepted could also be expanded in the downtown historic district. Furthermore, the city should require the developer obtain financing, site plan and building permit approvals at their expense prior to providing any public financing.

All of the above steps would provide for more public input, likely increase responses, reduce public financing and result in the desired positive economic impact for the community. I strongly support an appropriately sized downtown hotel/conference center and believe this addition will be a good fit for The City of Frederick. I also appreciate the efforts by community stakeholders to make this project a reality.

As a boy, my parents sent me to Cotillion classes taught at the Francis Scott Key Hotel located downtown at the corner of N. Court and W. Patrick Streets. It was a grand hotel where I learned proper etiquette and how to ballroom dance.

I always looked forward to when Mom would take the three of us to the restaurant located in the basement where we would have grilled cheese sandwiches and cherry cokes! Sadly, the hotel would close and ever since there has not been a hotel located in what is now designated a historic district.

However, persisting in forcing a bad project forward is not in the best interest of The City of Frederick – Doing it right is.

Stay tuned.

Schmidt Will Not Run in 2017 City Election

Dave Schmidt

George Wenschhof

It was nearly four years ago when I interviewed Dave Schmidt who was running for alderman as a Republican in The City of Frederick 2013 election.  He would lose that election but stay involved in politics.

We kept in touch and I last saw him at the Frederick Pulse vigil.  I wanted to know if he intended to run again and hear why he had changed his political affiliation to Democrat.

At that encounter, Dave indicated he remained interested in running for alderman and promised to let me know when he made his decision.

Last week we would sit down and catch up.  I asked “why the party change”? Dave would tell me it was a culmination of an evolution of changes of ideas.  In particular he supported Democratic positions on social policy where he was a proponent for equality.  In addition, he believed an important goal for local government is to provide a safety net.

Dave also favored the increase in the water and sewer rates by Republican mayor Randy McClement who claimed the increases were necessary when the city began to implement state mandated changes. 

Interestingly, Dave would tell me he was having a discussion on this issue with a Republican friend who told him that his position made him a Democrat.  Dave told me he believes “clean water is important and of course, let’s raise the rates”.  He said after thinking about what his friend had told him, he changed his registration to Democrat.

Schmidt added he also likes and is comfortable with the Democratic members of the Frederick County Council.

He would then tell me he will not run in next year’s city election, but is not ruling out a run in the future.  A family owned business and family issues have his focus at the moment.

He also is enjoying being co-host with Pattee Brown on the local WFMD AM radio program Frederick Forum that airs from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturdays. By taking his candidacy in the upcoming race off the table, he hopes to have a greater impact on the show.

I asked him “what issues he felt would impact the city election”? Dave said “I continue to support open primaries and district representation for aldermen”.  When I pressed him on the open primary election, he indicated he supported a hybrid election where everyone could run by party affiliation.  For example, he said the top two mayoral candidates would then advance to the General Election, regardless of their political affiliation.

Dave would name several other issues he felt might dominate the city election.  One issue is the planned downtown hotel/conference center that has been met with opposition.

Another is the disposition of the Hargett Farm, a costly acquisition by the city for a planned park that also has a costly development cost.

The announcement of Wal-Mart pulling out highlights the continued development fiasco of the former Fredericktown Mall property.  Dave told me that he feels people on that side of the city fell neglected.

Lastly, Dave told me he believes economic development is important for the city.

At the conclusion of the interview, I asked Dave if he had a favorite candidate for mayor.  It was intriguing to hear the recently turned Democrat tell me “I will support Republican mayor Randy McClement, if he runs again, adding he is a good friend”.

Stay tuned.

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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City of Frederick Election Buzz

George Wenschhof

On Tuesday November 5, voters will weigh in on The City of Frederick election and choose their mayor and five member board of alderman.

The off year city election has me predicting a turnout of less than 22%.  It is going to be a partly sunny day with temps in the 50’s, so go vote and prove me wrong!

Polling locations are different than state/county and presidential election years.  If you are wondering where you go to vote you can use the following link.

http://spires2.cityoffrederick.com/elections/polling_loc.php

WYPR radio News Director Joel McCord was up in Frederick last week to check out the election.  He interviewed the candidates, some downtown business owners and me!

Democratic mayoral candidate Karen Young came across the best of the three candidates and Republican Mayor McClement was described as "plain vanilla".

You can read the story and listen to his report here. 

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Democratic Maryland state senator Ron Young held an art show hosted at Antique Imports Sunday and it was well attended.  Karen Young was also present and of course, the talk was on the election.

 

Lt. Governor Anthony Brown (D) recorded a robo-call on Karen Young’s behalf, urging voters to vote for her for mayor.  The calls went out on Saturday.

 

One woman, who attended, told me she had been a big Clagett supporter and was now supporting Karen Young for mayor.

 

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Republican alderman candidates Phil Dacey, Katie Nash and Dave Schmidt have been trying hard to run from their conservative background in a city where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans voters 17,300 to 10,750.

 

Sunday, upon returning home, standing on the corner was former Republican ultra right wing state senator Alex Mooney and the husband of Katie Nash.  Mooney told me Nash was going to win.

 

When I asked what he was up to these days, Mooney told me he had moved to West Virginia and was running for Congress.

 

 

Sad to see the exit from politics displayed by Democratic Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett.  After, losing by 10 points to Karen Young in the Democratic primary, Galen publicly endorsed Republican mayor Randy McClement.

Galen has long been involved in Frederick County Democratic politics.

Kind of makes you wonder why Clagett ran for mayor in the first place.

 

Looking at Mayor McClement’s donations from his most recent campaign finance report and you can see some connections to supporters of Clagett.

McClement received $2,500 from Blaine Young for Maryland and another $5,000 from LLC’s from outside the city.

Both Clagett and McClement advertised with signs atop Yellow Cabs in town, owned, in part by Republican board of county commissioners president Blaine Young. 

 

Frederick County state Democratic central committee did phone banking for their candidates over the weekend and did a lit drop on Saturday.

 

Election night, Democratic aldermen candidates will be at JoJo’s located downtown on E. Patrick Street.  So, stop by and say hello.

 

Donate today to Frederick Politics by clicking on a Donation Button in the right hand margin of page - Thank You!

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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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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Vote September 10 in The City of Frederick Primary

George Wenschhof

The City of Frederick, Maryland primary election is tomorrow September 10.  Scheduled in an off year election cycle, few voters go to the polls.  The 2009 primary election had under 20% voter turnout.

The primary election is important to participate as this is the process the political parties use to determine their candidates to move on to the General Election to be held November 5.

There are 3 Democratic candidates and 3 Republican candidates running for Mayor.  The winner of each will advance to the general election. The general election for mayor will include unaffiliated candidate Jennifer Dougherty, who did not face a primary challenge.

There are 8 Democratic and 7 Republican candidates who are running for the city Board of Aldermen.  The top five finishers, from each party will advance to the general election.

Below, for your convenience, are links, in no particular order of significance, to interviews I conducted with all of the mayoral candidates and some of the alderman candidates.

I have included a few links to some relevant articles at the end.

Please remember to vote September 10!

Democratic candidates for mayor:

Karen Young: Young Focused on Issues, Expects Highly Competitiv...

Galen Clagett:  Clagett Stresses Vision and Management Experience ...

Carol Hirsch: Hirsch Focused on the Environment

Republican candidates for mayor:

Randy McClement: Mayor Proud of Keeping Taxes Level without Sacrifi...

Shelley Aloi: Aloi Wants To Get Fiscal House in Order

Jeff Holtzinger: Holtzinger Wants to Return as Mayor

Unaffiliated candidate for mayor:

Jennifer Dougherty: Dougherty: “Government is not the enemy”

Democratic candidates for alderman:

Josh Bokee: Bokee Enjoying Meeting Voters 

John Daniels: Daniels Supports Aquatics Center for Frederick

Kelly Russell: Kelly Russell Loves Frederick

Michael O'Connor: O’Connor: “It’s an Honor to Serve”

Jack Lynch: Lynch Wants More Citizen Involvement in Planning P...

Donna Kuzemchak: Kuzemchak runs for reelection

Derek Shackelford: Strong Field of Democrats Emerge in Aldermen Race

Articles:

City of Frederick Election for Mayor Underway

Frederick Democratic Primary Race for Mayor Heats ...

Who will be the next mayor?

Young Calls Foul on Frederick News Post Mayoral Po...

Should City Provide Funding for a Downtown Hotel?

Clagett Signs on Yellow Cabs Stirs Controversy

Will Wal-Mart Vote Impact City Election?

Clagett, Young lead in fundraising among mayoral c...

Clagett Defends $30,000 in Contributions from Aush...

Bokee Wins Straw Poll at Frederick Young Democrats...

Democratic Aldermen Contest Promises to be Close

Democratic Mayoral primary: a "pick-em” race

McClement Facing Strong Challenge in Republican Pr...

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