Democratic Mayoral primary: a "pick-em” race

George Wenschhof



Karen Young

Galen Clagett

With, less than a week to go until primary election day on September 10, the Democratic mayoral primary in The City of Frederick election is a “pick-em” race between two heavyweight and long time local political families.

Both the Karen Young and Galen Clagett campaigns separately shared with me recently they had seen surveys that showed a large number of undecided voters equaling close to 33% and this coming with less than three weeks to go to the primary election on September 10.

These numbers at this time in the race signal a close election.  On the other hand, a majority of those undecided voters could break for one candidate at the last moment, resulting in a more clear victory.  So, the get out the vote effort by the campaigns will be crucial to the winning candidate.

Galen Clagett, who owns Clagett Enterprises, Inc., served two terms on the Frederick board of county commissioners, one as president and has also served three terms as a Maryland state delegate representing district 3-a.

Karen Young, a city alderman and former businesswoman is married to Maryland state senator Ron Young who served four terms as mayor of the city.

A third Democratic candidate; American Sign Language (ASL) user Carol Hirsch is considered a political neophyte and is not expected to serious compete with Young and Clagett.

Hirsch does deserve considerable recognition for breaking the barrier and becoming the first ASL user to run for mayor in the city.  When, I interviewed Carol, she expressed that conservation of energy and the environment were important issues for her campaign.

One of the main reasons given for the record number of candidates challenging incumbent Republican mayor Randy McClement is his lack of leadership ability and his failure to articulate a vision for the city.

The two leading contenders for the Democratic nomination; Galen and Karen have strong business and government experience combined with a solid knowledge of community based organizations resulting from years of working with them.

Karen told me in a recent interview what differentiates us (speaking of her and Galen) “is our perspective of the future. We need to do things differently from the past and we need to be more innovative.”

With 30% growth projected over the next 17 years for Frederick, Karen shared with me “we need a more proactive plan on how and where we grow so we don’t become a more congested community.”

She added “there is a metropolitan revolution occurring in America and we can’t count on D.C. and Annapolis to solve our problem.”

Karen said she will provide visionary leadership and strategic planning that will increase levels of transparency that includes input from citizens, businesses, and institutions along with cooperation from all levels of government.

Clagett filed for mayor after hearing Maryland comptroller Peter Franchot, whose seat he wanted, was running for re-election. Franchot had toyed with the idea of running for Governor and if he had followed through, Galen made it known he would run for Comptroller.

At the Neighborhood Advisory Council candidate forum held at Lincoln Elementary school, city resident Jack Topchik asked Galen; “Why he wanted to be mayor?”  Jack told me Galen responded by saying “He emphasized his experience, his desire to avoid having to commute any longer to Annapolis, and his desire to conclude work on Frederick projects he had initiated.”

In a previous interview I had with Galen “he rattled off his efforts to support a downtown hotel/conference center, his efforts to secure state funding for the construction of Frederick High School, the Rt. 15/Monocacy Interchange, his support of development of the city airport, the Carroll Creek project and his desire to put the Hargett farm to a reasonable use for the city.”

Galen further pointed to his 26 years as a business owner combined with his 20 years of being an elected official and 13 year as an educator. He feels this puts him in a unique position compared to any of the other candidates running for mayor.

He added “His work model is not to wait and see, but to weigh in and get the job done”.  Galen told me his favorite quote comes from President Harry Truman who once said “the worst decision is no decision”. Galen said he has lived his life in business and in politics following this philosophy; “by making decisions and moving forward."

The primary campaign between Galen and Karen has at times taken on the familiar too much growth v. sustainable growth theme that has surrounded Frederick County politics over the last twenty plus years.

Karen picked up the support of former Frederick board of county commissioners President Jan Gardner, a proponent of smart growth and former state delegate Sue Hecht, who both have had long standing issues with Clagett.

Supporters of Karen Young were also quick to point out the connections the Clagett campaign had with developers and “developer friendly” elected officials. The Clagett campaign signs atop Yellow Cab owned, in part, by Republican President of the Frederick board of county commissioners Blaine Young were denounced as soon as they appeared.

In addition, the campaign contribution made by Clagett Enterprises, Inc. to Blaine Young in his 2010 campaign became widely known.

When the first candidate campaign reports were filed, I immediately noticed numerous donations coming from different entities using the same address, whose aggregate total way exceeded the $2,500 campaign donation limit per person or entity.

While the donations did not appear to violate regulations surrounding campaign contributions, both the Clagett and Young campaigns received donations in this manner. 

The Clagett campaign received $30,000 from entities associated with two local developers; Marvin Ausherman and Pleasants Construction.

The Young campaign received $7,500 from entities associated with John Fitzgerald, a local businessman.

Karen shared with me 64% of her campaign contributions came from individuals and 36% from business. She added the Clagett campaign received 67.3% from Developers/Real Estate, 17.8% from Individuals, 10.3% from political campaigns/PAC and 4.6% from Business.

The two campaigns have also exhibited a different approach to campaigning, with Clagett utilizing paid polls to provide him with information on trends of the voters and also relying on campaign mailers to get his message out to voters.

Karen, aided by her husband Ron and volunteers focused on door to door meeting with constituents and saved the majority of her campaign fund for media buys prior to the election.

Overall, both Karen and Galen have exhibited strong leadership qualities that would serve the city well over the next four years as mayor.

Heavily favored Democratic candidates for mayor lost in the 2005 and 2009 elections due, in part, to political party infighting.

It will be pivotal to the success of the Democratic Party nominee they receive party unity in the general election.  This is especially crucial given the general election, for the first time, will include an unaffiliated candidate.  The inclusion of Jennifer Dougherty as an unaffiliated candidate will give voters a choice between three candidates for mayor.

Stay tuned.

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Who will be the next mayor?

George Wenschhof

City Hall

The City of Frederick primary election is only six weeks away and with the off year election promising a dismal voter turnout of less than twenty-five percent, the likelihood of an unaffiliated mayor being elected is higher than one would initially expect.

It is possible, disgruntled voters who were supporters of a losing candidate in the primary election, will turn to the unaffiliated candidate, instead of their party nominee in the general election.

With such low voter turnout and city voters having a choice between three candidates for mayor in November, anything can happen.

Republican mayor Randy McClement has drawn, what is believed to be, the most crowded field of candidates for mayor ever in a city election.

Another first is three women running for mayor with the possibility they could face each other in the general election held on November 5.

The prevalent explanations one hears for such a large field of contenders for mayor is; McClement has shown little leadership, provided no vision for the future of the city and in general acted more like a “caretaker” while serving his first term in office.

A total of seven candidates are vying to be mayor; three Democrats, three Republicans and one Unaffiliated.  The Republican and Democratic candidates will face a primary on September 10. 

While many believe the winner who emerges will be the candidate who is stongest on the issues, often in local political contests, it is personal history that influences voters. 

Former Democratic one term mayor Jennifer Dougherty, is running for the fifth time for mayor and this time it is as a unaffiliated candidate.  She will not have a primary and will face winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries in the general election.

The number one question I receive from city voters, which I hear numerous times a day, is; “who do I believe is going to win?”

My reply is typically the same; “there are too many moving parts and different scenarios that could play out to pick a winner” – the bottom line is it is hard to call at this point.

The Republican primary will include another former one term mayor; Jeff Holtzinger and alderman Shelley Aloi running against McClement.

Holtzinger is sure to be battered with the questionable decisions made during his administration to approve the costly and dubious “employee buy-out” and purchase of the Hargett Farm for a municipal park. 

In addition, the manner in which he claims to meet the city mayoral candidate residency requirement, has received scrutiny from many Republican voters, who do not support him.

Holtzinger has been critical of the slow pace McClement has taken in moving forward on pivotal infrastructure projects, such as the completion of Monocacy Boulevard.

His entry into the Republican primary may help McClement survive a three way primary that includes Aloi.  Alderman Aloi has made no secret of her distain for the manner McClement has conducted himself during his first term, telling me “the city cannot take four more years of him”.

Throughout her first term as alderman, Aloi was critical of McClement, most recently, over his reaching agreement with city police on pension funding she believes the city cannot afford.

On the Democratic side, their primary is shaping up to be a battle between two strong local political families with alderman Karen Young facing off against Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett. 

Interestingly, in what promises to be a close race, votes pulled by newcomer Carol Hirsch, may determine the winner in the Democratic primary.

Many have opined it was Democratic infighting that led to wins by Republican mayoral candidates in the last two elections, even though there is a Democratic voter registration advantage in the city.

In 2005, it was Ron Young who challenged and beat incumbent Jennifer Dougherty.  He would go on to lose a close race to Jeff Holtzinger, with many saying it was angry Dougherty supporters who enabled Holtzinger to win.

Four years later, Jennifer would lose again in the primary, this time to newcomer Jason Judd who received the support of Ron Young. In the general election, Judd would lose another close contest to Randy McClement, who many believed received the support of unhappy Dougherty voters and from Galen Clagett, who did not support growth policies espoused by Judd.

Tom Slater, former long term chair of the Frederick County state Democratic Central Committee shared with me his thoughts on what was shaping up to be a close contest between Karen Young and Galen Clagett.

Slater told me "based on his record in Annapolis, Galen has been a progressive and a strong supporter of the Democratic party. I would also add that he has strong management skills."

Slater, who is supporting Clagett for mayor, said there is certainly a split among some Democrats and in a broad sense is centered on growth issues. He also felt there remains bad feelings among some Democratic voters from the last city election who perceived Galen did not support the Democratic candidate for mayor; Jason Judd, who lost in a close race to Republican mayor Randy McClement.

He added it was well known there have been long standing issues between Galen and former county commissioner Jan Gardner (D) and former state delegate Sue Hecht (D), both of whom are expected to support Karen Young for mayor.

Clagett detractors often bring up to me it is also no secret that Clagett Enterprises, owned by Galen, contributed to Republican Blaine Young’s Frederick County commissioner campaign in the 2010 election.

When I asked Clagett about the donation, in a recent interview, he said “… it was a business decision made by the corporate board and the discussion was centered on improving the business climate of Frederick County.”

Many believe Karen Young has been running for mayor ever since winning the most votes for alderman in the 2009 election.

Karen's supporters say she works harder than anyone they know, will thoroughly research an issue before taking a position, has a strong financial background and would be a good manager.

Her constant disagreements with Mayor McClement often led her to align her votes with Republican alderman Shelley Aloi, leaving her at times in disagreement with her fellow three Democrats on the board.

In addition, some voters believe Karen developed a reputation of being somewhat caustic when discussing her opinion on the issues.

The lone unaffiliated candidate; Jennifer Dougherty, another candidate who has received the “caustic” label from some voters, is receiving a free pass to the general election, which is both a positive and a negative.

The positive is she faces no opposition until after the primary election and can save her campaign funds for when it is needed prior to the general election.

The negative for Jennifer is this is the fifth straight election she has run for mayor and outside of the uniqueness of her running as an unaffiliated candidate; she has received little media attention due to her not participating in the primary election. (Editor correction: this marks her fourth straight city election.  Dougherty ran in 1993, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013, but not in 1997.)

She will have her loyal supporters, but in order to win, even in a three way race, she will need to pull from Democratic and Republican voters.

So far, I have interviewed mayoral candidates; Republican Mayor Randy McClement, Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett (D) and alderman Karen Young (D).  Next up is Jennifer Dougherty as I hope to interview all the city candidates prior to the election.

As one can readily see, there are many moving parts to this mayoral election, with past history and interpersonal relations likely to have as much impact on the outcome as a candidate’s position on current issues most important to voters.

Voters would be well served to read candidate interviews, visit their websites and attend forums prior to casting their vote.

Stay tuned.

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Young Focused on Issues, Expects Highly Competitive Mayoral Primary

George Wenschhof



Alderman Karen Young

A relaxed and confident Karen Young shared with me her campaign for mayor of The City of Frederick was going very well, adding “it no doubt will be highly competitive”.  When I asked her who she thought newcomer to politics; Carol Hirsch would draw votes from, her or state delegate Galen Clagett in the Democratic primary, Young said that would be hard to gauge at this point.

The ninety minute interview at a local downtown restaurant went quickly as Alderman Karen Young displayed her knowledge of the issues concerning city voters.

She found the door-to-door campaigning was going slower than when she ran for alderman, due to voters spending more time talking to her about the issues.

The issues coming up most frequently with voters were safety, traffic concerns, local job creation and education.

On safety, Young was proud of the recent designation of the City of Frederick being the safest city to live and wants to maintain this rating.  Karen cited me a 2012 Washington Council of Governments report that showed a 9% increase in crime in Frederick. She had talked with police chief Thomas Ledwell about this and felt, due to a higher ratio of calls being received per sworn officer; as mayor, she would certainly support and find funding for five more policemen.

In regard to traffic congestion, Young said the city is fortunate the Monocacy Boulevard–U.S. 15 interchange is being funded by the state.  She felt the city should next prioritize an interchange at Monocacy Blvd. - Md. 26 and improvements to Rt. 40 at Baughmans Lane. In addition, she would task city traffic engineers to develop solutions to alleviate problem areas.

Young also wants to find the funds to complete Monocacy Blvd. and added that when developers complete Christophers Crossing, this will help the west side.

Furthermore, she wants to enhance other forms of transportation by encouraging bus and train usage and creating more walking and bicycle paths in the city.

When it came to jobs, Karen felt labeling Frederick as a bedroom community was not entirely true, saying she would like to rebrand Frederick as a regional economic hub.

She felt the best way to do this was with a skilled and educated workforce.  She wants to work with educators and the community to ensure our workforce is being trained for jobs of the future; citing the fields of healthcare, bio-tech, bio-science, cyber-security and technology in general.

Public-Private partnerships and business incubators were also initiatives Young supported.  In particular, she liked the finance infrastructure bills put forth by Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown and Congressman John Delaney.  These bills would provide structure to public-private financing of infrastructure and create jobs.

While education is not typically a city campaign issue, because funding is through the county, Young told me it remains an important aspect of the quality of life and economic development in the City of Frederick.

As we were ending the interview, Karen told me she came from a family of educators and as a result, education is very important to her. She said she would look for opportunities for the city to partner with Frederick County government and the Board of Education.

The City of Frederick primary will be held on September 10.

Stay tuned.

 

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Young Calls Foul on Frederick News Post Mayoral Poll

George Wenschhof

Karen Young

Democratic Alderwoman Karen Young, who is running for mayor of The City of Frederick, expressed dismay to me yesterday over the manner a recent poll was conducted by the Frederick News Post (FNP).

 

Democratic Galen Clagett (D) won the poll with 40.9% and Young received 23.5%.

In an email to me Karen said “The FNP poll has been totally contaminated.  I believe that at least one person, if not more, is erasing cookies and voting multiple times.

I did a professional Voter I.D. survey about 10 days ago. The FNP results are WAY off.  My Voter I.D. was done by Chism Strategies and 2055 calls were made."

When I asked her; “who were called and the results”, Young said “Democrats with a voting history. Results had me slightly ahead.”

The online Frederick News Post website conducts daily polls, covering various issues and does not, to my knowledge, vouch for the authenticity of the results.

 

Below, are the results from the FNP poll, challenged by Young.

 

"Now that all the candidates have filed, who would you vote for to be Frederick's next mayor?"

Total Votes: 1232

16.2%

Shelley Aloi 56 - 4.5%

Carol Hirsch 90 - .7%

Jeff Holtzinger 65 - 5.3%

Randy McClement 199 - 16.2%

Galen Clagett 504 - 40.9%

Karen Young 290 - 23.5%

Jennifer Dougherty 64 - 5.2%

None of the above 45 - 3.7%

Young also forwarded me an email she sent to FNP city reporter Jen Bondeson, where she said, in part, "While I recognize that your poll is informal, it is also misleading. The danger is that the results are being used to predict outcome. This is an inappropriate use of information that is more the result of "working the poll" rather than obtaining findings from a scientific measurement."

The City of Frederick conducts a closed primary election where voters of a registered party elect their candidate(s) to move on to the general election, when all registered voters take part.  

This year, on September 10, for mayor, Democratic registered voters will choose between Galen Clagett, Karen Young and Carol Hirsch.  Republican registered voters will choose between incumbent Randy McClement, Jeff Holtzinger and Shelley Aloi.

Republican and Democratic registered voters will also vote on September 10 to determine five aldermen who will move on to the general election. 

On general election day, held on November 5, all registered voters will choose between the winner of the Republican and Democratic mayoral primaries along with unaffiliated candidate Jennifer Dougherty, who does not face a primary.

Also, on Novemeber 5, all registered voters will choose five aldermen between the five Republican and five Democratic candidates who won their respective primaries.

Earlier, alderwoman Young complained of what she called a negative push-poll conducted by Galen Clagett, that she said made her look bad.

Both the Republican and Democratic mayoral/aldermen primaries promise to be hotly contested.

Stay tuned.

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