Weekly Republican Address

George Wenschhof



Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) used the weekly Republican address to denounce the Affordable Care Act as too expensive and push for a repeal.

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McClement Facing Strong Challenge in Republican Primary

George Wenschhof


Randy McClement

Shelley Aloi

Randy McClement, who is running for reelection for mayor of The City of Frederick, has drawn a record number of challengers for the seat.  A total of seven candidates are running for mayor; 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats and 1 Unaffiliated.

Getting past the primary election held on September 10 will not be easy for the first term mayor, who has the reputation of being a nice guy.  Randy will first have to get past former mayor Jeff Holtzinger and alderman Shelley Aloi in the Republican primary before he would face the winner in the Democratic primary and unaffiliated former mayor Jennifer Dougherty.

One of the main reasons cited for the multitude of candidates opposing Randy is that, putting aside he is a nice guy, the rap on Randy is he is a weak leader with no vision for the city.

Jeff Holtzinger

Holtzinger put it more bluntly in a recent interview when he told me the mayor is letting the alderman run the city and that is not the way the city charter is set up.  Often silent on issues that come before the mayor and board over the last four years, Randy rarely offered his opinion on matters presented at public meeting or workshops.

In my interview with McClement, he touted his fiscal stewardship during a time of economic uncertainty as the main thing he was proud of during his first term in office.

However, as a result of a lack of vision and a seemingly unwillingness to provide direction, Randy has been stuck with the moniker of being a “caretaker mayor”.  That is, during his watch, nothing great happened and nothing really bad happened.

Former one term mayor Jeff Holtzinger can’t say the same, as it was during his administration two costly decisions were made.  One, was the early retirement buy-out program and the other was the decision to purchase the Hargett farm for a park.

Both decisions are still costing the city money.  Holtzinger sticks by the Hargett farm purchase, telling me the cost to develop the farm will be considerably less per acre than the city is paying to develop Carroll Creek.

Holtzinger, who is also an engineer by trade, wants to get back to building infrastructure for the city to provide relief from the congestion city residents currently face.

Alderman Shelley Aloi is also frustrated with the lack of leadership exhibited by Randy and told me when she announced her run for mayor “the city can’t take four more years of him”.

She is angry the city hasn’t done more to reduce the underfunded liability of the pension and other post employment benefits programs.  She was especially incensed over the negotiated contract the mayor did with the city police union, saying it will cost the city millions.

The talk around town has Randy surviving the primary election, resulting from Holtzinger drawing votes away from Aloi.

But, don’t discount Aloi, who was the only Republican elected to the board of alderman in the 2009 election. In that election, as well as this one, she has displayed a strong closing campaign effort as voting day nears.

The real fireworks will begin following the primary when city voters will have a choice between the Democratic, Republican and Unaffiliated candidate for mayor. 

Stay tuned.

 

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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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Democratic Aldermen Contest Promises to be Close

George Wenschhof

Photo by George Cassutto, copyright 2013
http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

On September 10, registered Democratic voters will choose 5 of their 8 candidates for alderman to move on to the general election. The embarrassingly low voter turnout resulting from the off year City of Frederick election will likely add to the closeness of the vote.

Also, contributing to the closeness will be numerous under votes that will take place on Election Day. Political insiders often refer to multiple candidate races when voters choose numerous candidates as “cattle call elections”.

In The City of Frederick election, it is important for candidates to be in the top three names in a voter’s mind, for often, after that, it’s a crap shoot as to who the voters will cast a ballot for, if any.

While, the Democratic candidates are working hard to win in a competitive election, there has been virtually no animosity openly shown toward each other.

With such a well qualified and experienced field of candidates, those who implement the best get out the vote effort will likely move on to the general election on November 5.

The only two city alderman incumbents to run for reelection are Democrats Kelly Russell and Michael O’Connor and although, they are not assured a first and second primary place finish, are solid bets to move onto the general election.

Both displayed admirable traits in their first term in office and deserve another term.  Overall their votes illustrated their willingness to listen to the many aspects of an issue presented to them and follow with an informed decision.

While, they recently voted for the rezoning of the Frederick Towne Mall property (a position I opposed) to facilitate the building of another Wal-Mart in the city, they would serve the city well over the next four years.

Alderman Kelly became a strong advocate for the development of shared use pedestrian/bicycle paths and her time as a police officer led her to be a strong voice for  public safety.

O’Connor displayed his willingness to make difficult votes when he was the lone alderman to oppose the annexation of the Keller and Caidlyn properties and he continues to encourage citizen engagement in the planning process.

Josh Bokee and John Daniels, both ran for alderman in 2009 and fell short of being elected.  They have demonstrated their commitment to the city by staying involved over the last four years.

Interestingly, published pictures often displayed the two sitting side by side in candidate forums, almost giving the image they were running together as a team.  In addition, Josh and John finished first and second in a straw poll conducted by the Frederick Young Democrats at a forum they hosted for the candidates.

Josh’s time spent serving on the city planning commission and John’s time spent working on the city ad hoc solid waste/recycling committee provided them with valuable experience.

Bokee and Daniels have exhaustingly gone door to door meeting voters, which along with their public service over the last four years have them well positioned heading into the primary election.

My time spent talking with Josh and John over the years leads me to say they would both bring level headed decision making to the board of alderman, if elected.  A demonstrated trait a voter should desire in an elected official.

Derek Shackelford, the only African American running for office, has also worked extremely hard in his first run for elected office.  Derek has advocated for economic development and the need for citizen involvement and engagement in the political process.

His work in the ministry and community should help him in his effort to become a minority voice on the board.

Donna Kuzemchak, in her bid to win reelection after serving three terms, has received the support of her fellow “mommy mongers”; former President of the Frederick board of county commissioners Jan Gardner and community activist Val Dale.  The three all ran together years ago with board of education issues being a main focus in their campaigns, resulting in the moniker. 

The outspoken Kuzemchak has not shied away from her vote in favor of the city purchase of the costly Hargett farm for a municipal park and it remains to be seen if this vote will hurt her attempt to re-enter the political arena.

Jack Lynch, who briefly ran for mayor four years ago, before withdrawing and endorsing Jennifer Dougherty, has focused on increasing citizen involvement and moving to a more regional approach to planning.

Jack focused his campaign efforts on providing testimony at city mayor and board meetings and writing numerous letters to the editor appearing in The Frederick News Post. 

Lynch testified against the rezoning of the Frederick Towne Mall to aid a Wal-Mart to be built and also testified against the 97 acre Caidlyn annexation, saying the annexation did not follow the plan and was premature.

The eighth Democratic alderman candidate; Kevin Greene has been missing in action since filing for the office.  No one has seen the candidate at any political functions or going door to door to meet voters. 

Myrna Whitworth, who is chair of the Frederick County Democratic State Central Committee shared with me recently she did not know why he was not campaigning. Myrna informed me they interviewed him for a previous vacant central committee position, but he had not been chosen for the position.

It will be interesting to see how many votes Greene receives after apparently doing nothing more than filing for a seat on the board of alderman.

Knowing all of the Democratic candidates, except for Mr. Greene, voters should feel confident they will be well served by electing any of them.

Make sure on September 10, you vote!

Stay tuned.

 

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