Bowens Readies Run for Alderman

Antonio Bowens

George Wenschhof

During a recent interview, Democrat Antonio Bowens told me he intends to file the paperwork by the end of February or early March to run for alderman in The City of Frederick.

He feels there is not a lot of representative government happening now and local elected officials are not listening.  Bowens added the current administration concentrates more on downtown than the rest of the city.

Mr. Bowens said he felt there was not enough diversity in local government and he wants to give people hope.  He would like to see The City of Frederick become more of a leader in the state.

Fiscal responsibility is important to Bowens and he wants to see better money management by the city.  He would like to look at selling the city owned golf course if it is not making money.

In regard to the development of the park on the Hargett Farm, Bowens asked “How is the city going to pay for this?”

When it comes to the proposed downtown hotel/conference center, Bowens said “I do not think this is necessary”.  He feels what is being proposed will be an eyesore and does not believe in subsidies, adding “Why put taxpayers on the hook to subsidize Marriott?”

Homelessness is another major concern for Bowens who said he does not feel the city is doing enough to help this population.  He said “everyone deserves dignity and respect.”

Blighted Properties are another of his concerns and not just downtown but throughout the city.  Bowens wants to see them be brought up to code.

Bowens would also like the city to bring back the Bulk Trash pick up service.

I asked him “what led him to being interested in politics”?  Bowens said he opposed the rezoning of the Frederick Town Mall for a Walmart four years ago.

When asked if he was supporting any other candidates in the city election, Bowens said “I am supporting Kris Fair.”  (Fair is a Democratic candidate for alderman)

Bowens added he liked the beautification committee proposed by Fair, but wonders where the money will come from to pay for this.

Antonio Bowens told me he comes from an old Frederick community family and has many relatives.  He grew up in Monrovia, graduated from Urbana High School and attended Frederick Community College.

He works as an interior designer at J.C. Penny located at Dulles Town Center.

(Editor’s note:  The City of Frederick primary election is September 12, 2017 and the general election is November 7, 2017.  The deadline to file for a candidate is July 3, 2017.)

Kristopher Fair Committed to The City of Frederick

Kristopher Fair

George Wenschhof

The time flew by recently when I sat down and interviewed Kristopher Fair.  The 2017 City of Frederick election will soon be upon us and I had heard his name come up often in talk around town about possible aldermen candidates.

Many may know him for his lengthy experience in working with the highly successful annual Frederick Festival of the Arts, several of those years as the one in charge.  Others may also know him for his work with the LGBTQ community in Frederick.  He has been director of Frederick Pride and chairman of the board of The Frederick Center.

His extensive work with the Frederick County Democratic State Central Committee, including serving as vice chair and campaign manager in 2014, led to him earning the Democratic Volunteer of the Year award in 2015. 

Kris also has completed the nine month course “Leadership Frederick County” and was named “One of The People to Watch” by the Frederick Magazine in May of this year.

For over the last eight years, he has been general manger of the New York New York Salon, Inc. where recently he experienced learning all about the city land management code, zoning requirements and more.  The owner of the Salon purchased a vacant property that required many nuances to repurpose the use of the property.

When we began talking city politics, Kris told me he would not make a decision on whether he will run for alderman until after the national election.

He told me he is concerned with what he described as “a disconnect” with downtown Frederick and the rest of the city.  He would like to see equity of services throughout the city.  He mentioned the development of East Frederick Rising and the Golden Mile Alliance makes him feel there needs to be a central focus on the development of Frederick.

I asked him about the recent news that Wal-Mart had pulled out of their agreement for property on the Golden Mile.  Kris said he opposed the rezoning of the old Fredericktown Mall property for a Wal-Mart over three years ago.  He said he would like to build the identity of the community first and then move forward.

When I brought up the proposed downtown Hotel/Conference Center, Kris told me he loved the idea.  He felt it would “connect all the dots” by supporting downtown business, providing event space and also be located near the airport.

In regard to those who oppose the proposed public/private development, Kris said he believes “communication is the key” and he would encourage sitting down with those who oppose.  "While I certainly support the hotel and conference center, I believe things could have been done differently. Many individuals, who are concerned about the project, express the project has not been transparent. The solution is simple; bring everyone to the table and fully explain the project, its scope and impact. The city's role should be to dispel any misinformation and assumptions."

When I asked him about the “Bighted Property” issue in the city, Kris said “Blighted properties can affect crime rates, property values, and public safety. It’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed. I believe we should be scouring the country looking for best practices. We also should be partnering with our incredible entrepreneurs around the state. There are too sides to this conversation, the owner and a potential buyer. The city should be working both angles, working with the property owner on developing their site and helping identify potential buyers who may see the property as an investment opportunity.”

Kris also shared with me “many NAC meetings are filled with people concerned about speeding and their requests always seem to be the same, they want more speed cameras. The city should recognize that need the citizens in every major NAC are pushing for and identify what they need to bring in to address those fears, speed cameras, greater police presence, etc”.

In concluding the interview, Kris told me he believes strongly in equity and increasing the stature of how the city is viewed in the state.  Kris added he would like to see the city do a better job communicating what they do for and can do for our citizens.  For example, he would like to improve the city website to explain process for permitting, the Historic Preservation Committee and more.

The City of Frederick election is a year away and the tossing around of names of possible candidates will surely intensify, but Kristopher Fair will be one to watch.

Stay Tuned.

Hirsch Focused on the Environment

George Wenschhof

Carol Hirsch (Middle)

My interview by phone, of Carol Hirsch; Democratic candidate for mayor of The City of Frederick, was a first for me.

Carol, who is deaf, quickly corrected me via the interpreter and asked that I refer to her as an ASL User (American Sign Language User).

I had meet Carol twice briefly, and found her to have an engaging personality. The opportunity to discuss her race for mayor was intriguing to me.

I began by asking her a little about herself and she told me she had lived in New York City, has three children and after divorce, was a single mom.  One of her children Cj, I met at the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC) candidate forum held earlier in the week.

Her education included media technology and she liked film and video.  She added she has been working at Wal-Mart for the last nine years.  Interestingly, several friends of mine, when hearing I was interviewing Carol, were quick to say they knew her from shopping at the Rt. 26 store and always found her fun and friendly when they went through her line to check out.

When I asked her why she was running for mayor, Carol quickly answered with “why not? I have strong leadership skills, strong organization background and I’m good at politics.”

The area Carol mentioned she was most interested in was environmental issues and spoke of the need for recycling to become more standardized.

When I asked her if she supported Frederick County government building an incinerator to handle solid waste disposal, she referred to the Al Gore movie “An Inconvenient Truth” and said “a better understanding and more facts were needed before proceeding.”

To help promote environmental awareness, she would propose not using electricity for five minutes one day.

I also asked Carol about blighted properties in the city and she said “the mayor’s task force was a good start and she would want a strong focus on this and get it resolved.”

In regard to a downtown hotel/conference center, she felt government did not have money to help with this now and she would not support any government funding for the project.  She asked “Why do we need it?” She added “there are many other things to work at before this.”

In closing my interview, I informed Carol I had noticed she had not filed the first candidate campaign finance report due on August 12.  She said there had been some confusion and she would get it in on October 7 when the next report is due.

I thanked her for taking the time to interview with me and I also thank the interpreter services who were very helpful throughout the entire interview.

The three Democratic candidates for mayor are Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett, city alderman Karen Young and Carol Hirsch.

The three Republican candidates for mayor are incumbent Randy McClement, city alderman Shelley Aloi and former mayor Jeff Holtzinger.

Jennifer Dougherty, who does not face a primary opponent, is a unaffiliated candidate for mayor.

The City of Frederick primary election is September 10.

Stay tuned.

 

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Daniels Supports Aquatics Center for Frederick

George Wenschhof

John Daniels

John Daniels feels there needs to be more of a voice for the city in board of education funding decisions.

He is concerned there will be no pool included in the new Frederick High School construction and there remains no plan for funding an aquatics center.

Helping to create a group including representatives from the board of education, Frederick County government, the YMCA and other community stakeholders to examine where to locate and how to fund an aquatics center would be a priority for Daniels.

It seems I am always running into Democratic candidate for alderman John Daniels in my travels due to him being at many city meetings and local political events.  He ran for city alderman in the 2009 election and after falling short, remained involved in city politics, serving on committees and being active in the community.

Sitting down to formally interview him recently, I found him to be a thoughtful man who stressed to me that as alderman for The City of Frederick, he would be making informed “data driven decisions as opposed to gut driven decisions.”

Two of the areas of concern he has heard from voters as he goes door-to-door, is the number of “group homes” that are being created in certain neighborhoods and the existence of “blighted properties”.  The worry by residents is a high concentration of group homes and blighted properties in a neighborhood will adversely affect property values.

John told me he would like to see the city do some research on the group home issue and would move to get discussion going to create legislation to provide more enforcement tools for city staff in regard to blighted properties.

When I asked him about the underfunded city Pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) plans, Daniels said “I am comfortable with what has been done to date by the mayor and board” and would review when the city receives their next actuarial report.

To help spur economic development, John believes the runway expansion for the city airport needs to be completed.  The runway expansion combined with the new tower will lead to more corporate travel and commuter flights.  He wants the city to work toward removing obstacles so this project can move forward.

Daniels also wants to move forward Phase II of the Carroll Creek development and not drag this out.

Looking at innovative ways to generate power from the use of solar panels is another idea John Daniels would like the city to examine.  He cited placing solar panels atop city owned parking garages and hangers located at the airport as two examples.

John Daniels is one of eight Democratic candidates running for the five member board of alderman. 

 

The City of Frederick primary election is September 10.

Stay Tuned.

 

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Bokee Enjoying Meeting Voters

George Wenschhof

Josh Bokee

The Democratic candidate for alderman in The City of Frederick election tells me he will finish his first round of door knocking by the end of July and plans to do it again prior to the September 10 primary.

In a far ranging sit down interview, Josh Bokee said he enjoys talking to folks and that he and his wife are connected to the community.  He added his son will be going to Parkway elementary school next year.

Bokee shared with me there were different issues that come up in each neighborhood, but common themes among voters were neighborhood safety, traffic issues (speeding and congestion), code enforcement, taxes and the need for local jobs so they do not have to drive so far to work.  He found the desire for local jobs being the number one issue among voters.

Josh was passionate about sharing with me his belief in the city and his desire for the city to build on what we are doing. As alderman, he wants to city to continue to expand reinvestment and community development in all neighborhoods in the city.

When I asked him about the planned Wal-Mart on the golden mile and whether he would support the request to rezone the area to general commercial, he said he was on record (as former city planning commission member) as supporting the mixed use zone and small area plan. He felt this would provide employment opportunities in the future. 

During a discussion on the implementation of policies by the city, Bokee said it was important to track the level of success of initiatives.  For example, he would like to see the city implement the best of the recommendations that came from the blighted property task force.  He would then like to track the top offenders and see what level of success the city is achieving in reaching their goals.

Josh concluded with saying he also would be very supportive of our schools, even though he realized they (Board of Education) did not fall under city governance.  He felt city leaders should work with county government and board of education officials to support efforts that will ensure children have the resources they need to succeed.

The City of Frederick primary election is September 10.

Stay tuned.

 

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