Register of Wills Candidate Tim May Guest on "All Things Political with George Wenschhof"

George Wenschhof

Originally published 7-13-2010

The interview with Mr. May (R) went by fast as he discussed his lifelong experience of growing up and living in Frederick county, Maryland. He surprised me somewhat with an announcement he was stepping down from his position as Chief Judge of the Orphan's Court in Frederick County, Maryland. He wanted to avoid any question as to his continuing to serve as Judge while he was running for the Register of Wills position. He added it would also enable him to campaign full time.

He explains what the Register of Wills position does and goes over what changes he would make if elected. In addition to making the office more user friendly and seeking input for improvement of the service from those who have experienced the Register of Wills office, he intends to hire back Ann Golden as Deputy Clerk.

May also agreed with a position I took in a column I wrote prior to the 2006 election when I opined the Register of Wills position and the three Orphan's Court Judge positions should not be on the ballot. Instead, they should be state merit based positions. He promised to pursue this change, which would require action from the state legislature, if elected.

He concludes with asking incumbent Register of Wills Virginia Fifer (R) to a debate.

No Democrat filed to run for this position and the local central committee has until July 21 to nominate a candidate to appear on the ballot. This race will most likely be decided in the Republican primary when Tim May faces incumbent Virginia Fifer on September 14.

You can watch the entire interview below.

To request an interview, place a campaign advertisement, business advertisement or donate to help keep this program on the air, email me at georgewenschhof@gmail.com


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Daily Political Wire 7-12-2010

George Wenschhof

Maryland Democratic Governor O'Malley releases first video campaign ad - coming shortly after a email blast to Maryland voters from President Obama expressing his support - in the campaign video entitled "Tough Choices", it is stressed Governor O'Malley oversaw record investment in public education, created tax credits for small businesses and cut the budget by 5.6 billion while balancing the budget four years in a row.



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Questions loom as Congress returns - when will the Financial Reform bill finally get passed, will the Energy/Climate bill receive approval, how about extension of unemployment benefits and aid to states to avert further teacher and firefighter lay-offs, will taxes go up for the wealthier as promised, will Immigration reform be tackled, and will Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan be confirmed? These are but a few of the lingering questions and issues on the plate of Congress to act on prior to the mid term elections. The NY Times has a good read here.

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W.Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to run for the late Senator Robert Byrd seat - all indications are he will announce he will run for the seat, even though he was just elected chairman of the National Governors Association during their weekend meeting.

First, he is calling a special session of their state legislature to determine when a special election will be held (this year or 2012), then he will consider a interim candidate to fill the seat until he would run.

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In case you missed the Sunday morning "Talking Heads", below are some highlights provided courtesy of Politico.com



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Candidate Residency Requirement Rears It's Ugly Head Again in Frederick County Maryland

George Wenschhof

Two days after the July 6 candidate filing deadline, news comes that two candidates for Frederick County Board of Commissioners do not meet residency requirements and were disqualified by the Frederick County Board of Elections. The section of the County Charter quoted is as follows:

PART II CODE OF PUBLIC LOCAL LAWS OF FREDERICK COUNTY, 1979

CHAPTER 2-2: ADMINISTRATION

§ 2-2-19. Residency requirements.

(a) A candidate for county commissioner shall be a resident and registered voter of Frederick County for at least 6 months immediately prior to the date of election.

(b) A county commissioner who no longer resides in Frederick County may not continue as a county commissioner.

(2006, Chapter 205, § 1)

Interestingly, the two candidates were a Democrat (Caroline Eader) and a Republican (Adam Avery).

Challenges to residency laws of candidates for public office have been struck down repeatedly by the courts as was the case locally prior to the 2005 City of Frederick election.

As some may recall, former four term Mayor Ron Young filed to run against incumbent first term Mayor; Jennifer Dougherty.

During Mr. Young's second marriage, he choose to move into his wife's home which was literally located across the street from the city boundary with the county.

However, sometime prior to filing for office, Mr. Young had moved to a home located within the City of Frederick.

Ms. Dougherty was quick to bring up the fact that Mr. Young did not meet the existing three year residency requirement of the city in order to run for office.

This led to Young filing suit with the court overturning the three year requirement, but stopping short of what length of time was acceptable; instead sending that back to the city to address.

The quick version of the rest of the story is Ron Young defeated Jennifer Dougherty in the Democratic primary election.

Interestingly, when Mayor Dougherty vetoed an earlier alderman vote to reduce the residency requirement to one year, which would have allowed Young to run, Alderman David Lenhart sued the mayor.

Upon receipt of the Judge's decision on the residency challenge by Ron Young, Mayor Dougherty rescinded her veto of the alderman vote to reduce the residency to one year.

This led to one of the more bizarre happenings in local elections. Amendments to the Charter take forty-five days before they are official, allowing for citizen appeal by petition.

During this 45 day period, there was technically no residency requirement in the city as the Judge had ruled the 3 year requirement unconstitutional and the charter amendment to change residency to one year was not official.

Two candidates for mayor filed during that 45 day period who did not live in the city. One, Republican Jeff Holtzinger was elected defeating Democrat Ron Young. Holtzinger choose not to run again after one term in office.

This incident is what led the Board of County Commissioners the following year in 2006, to address the residency requirements for candidates for county offices to what I provided at the beginning of this article.

So where does this leave the two candidates who were disqualified?

First, if the claim (I received as part of a group email) by Caroline Eader that she was not asked any residency or voter registration questions when she registered and received a packet indicating she was officially filed is true, it is a troubling omission by the Frederick County Board of Elections.

Second, it is questionable any residency requirement will withstand a constitutional challenge. The change to six months and a registered voter was an attempt in 2006 to make it a minor requirement, that hopefully would never be challenged as the City of Frederick's three residency had been in 2005.

The options for the candidates are to either accept the decision they are not eligible and wait until the following election, or file suit against the county residency and voter registration requirement.

If a suit is instituted, it is likely to be heard quickly as the primary is September 14. Money will then be spent by both a candidate(s) and the county government.

The more appropriate action would be for the Board of County Commissioners to vote to amend the charter by eliminating these candidate requirements, allowing these two candidates to run for office.

Voters can make the decision on what is important to them and candidates can point out the length of time other candidates have lived here or been registered to vote if they believe that is an important issue.

The prudent action is to allow Caroline Eader and Adam Avery to run for office and let the voters decide who they elect.

Update: 9:30 AM - during a conversation this morning with Stuart Harvey, Supervisor of Frederick County Board of Elections, it was realized the current form of county commissioner government could not amend the charter and a change would need to go before the state legislature. This would not happen before 2011, after the 2010 election. So, it appears the only recourse for the candidates is to sue and challenge the candidacy requirement.

Mr. Harvey also indicated they did provide to candidates paperwork which included statements to the effect they must meet all applicable laws and that they would be verified. However, specific information pertaining to the length of residency and voter registration is not provided.

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Candidate Field Set in Frederick County MD - Delegate and State Senate lineup

George Wenschhof

On Tuesday July 6, the candidate deadline came and went and I wrote about the addition of Republican candidates to district 4-A as incumbent Joe Bartlett announced he would not be running for reelection.

In Frederick County, Maryland voters elect one state senator from district 3 and 4 and three delegates from each district which I will now quickly review the filed candidates and their prospects for advancement after the September 14 primary.

Before that, I need to mention two things as they will impact the local election. First, candidates have until July 16 to withdraw from the election. Republican Joe Bartlett representing district 4-A must submit his paperwork by then.

The second is if there are vacancies on the ballot from the recognized political parties, as of the end of the candidate filing deadline (July 6), the local political party central committee may nominate a candidate and have them placed on the ballot. They have until July 21 to do so or there will be no candidate representing their party on the ballot for that position.

Democrats are without a candidate for State's Attorney, Register of Wills, Frederick County Sheriff, and one delegate short in district 4-A. Republicans are only short one candidate for Orphan's Court Judge.

Now, let's first look at the District 3 state senate race. Republican incumbent Alex Mooney is unopposed in the primary. Democrats Ron Young and Don DeArmon will face each other in the primary. Look to see this be a close contest as both candidates are well known. I intend to invite both to appear together on my show "All Things Political with George Wenschhof" prior to the primary.

In the state district 3-A delegate race where two are elected, the Democrats will have no primary contest as only incumbent Galen Clagett and Candy Greenway filed. Democratic incumbent Sue Hecht announced her retirement and Republican candidates smell an opportunity to pick up a seat in a district weighted toward Democrats in voter registration.

Republican Pat Hogan is trying to recapture his seat he held for one term until the last election when Galen Clagett narrowly beat him by several hundred votes. Scott Rolle who formerly was the Frederick County State's Attorney also filed and will likely join Pat Hogan as the two Republican candidates to move on to the general election.

Chris Huckenpoehler and Chuck Knapp do not have the name recognition or campaign organization to compete with Rolle and Hogan.

Look to see the general election be very close with a strong possibility of a Republican pick up here. Clagett will be strong and will be favored to return to Annapolis.

In district 3-B, where one delegate is elected, the battle will again be with Republican candidates. Incumbent Charles Jenkins, who was appointed to the vacant position when delegate Rick Weldon resigned, will face Michael Hough. Expect this battle to be closer than some would want with the winner going to Annapolis.

This marks the third time Democratic candidate Paul Gilligan has run for this position as little to no effort has been made by the local Democratic central committee to recruit candidates. Mr. Gilligan is a smart man who would make an excellent delegate, but has been unable to date, to connect with the voters.

The state senate and delegate races in District 4 favor Republicans as the district has heavy Republican voter registration. Incumbent state senator David Brinkley is expected to be reelected easily. He will face Kathryn Freed in the primary, but she is unknown and hardly considered a threat.

Democrat Sara Trescott will not face opposition in the primary, but it is unlikely she will mount much of a battle against Brinkley.

In district 4-A where two delegates are elected, only one Democrat; Ryan Trout filed. While he will move on to the general election, his chances of election are slim.

Incumbents Paul Stull and Joe Bartlett were favored to be reelected. After Bartlett let it be known he would be withdrawing from the race, Republicans John "Lenny" Thompson, Kelly Schulz and Dino Flores filed. Kathy Afzali is another Republican who will be competing for the two chosen in the primary.

Another potential candidate is "Unaffiliated" Scott Guenther who must submit signatures to be verified by August to appear on the ballot. He is not likely to be a factor in this race.

Paul Stull will be favored to repeat and look for John Thompson to win the other Republican seat. Thompson has been a long time Frederick County Commissioner, who will be running in a district, where he will do very well.

Kelly Schulz should also do well, but her initial entry into a political race will be difficult to win.

In district 4-B, where one delegate is elected, expect incumbent Republican Donald Elliott to return to Annapolis. He is facing a challenge in the Republican primary by Bret Grossnickle.

Perennial Democratic candidate Timothy Schlauch is not likely to win again, but like Paul Gilligan, is a nice man who would be an effective delegate.

Well, that is a quick review of the Frederick County, Maryland delegate and senate races. There appears to be an good chance for a Republican pick-up in district 3-A and the Democrats have an opportunity to pick up the state senate seat in district 3.

Otherwise, the Democratic and Republican representation will stay the same with a new face in district 4-A and 3-A.

Stay tuned....

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