Ron Wolf enters commissioner race, but Democrats won't have a contested primary

Not long before the filing deadline ten days ago, Ron Wolf entered the race for the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners. Wolf, who is currently serving on the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee, is one of just four Democrats running for county commissioner (that could change, as the central committee still has a few days to add a fifth Democrat to the ticket).

The Gazette article about Ron's filing is included below.

Whether or not another candidate is added, the September primary will not be contested for the four, or five, of us. Ron, Jan Gardner, Richard Floyd and I will all be among the final nine, or ten, candidates vying for five positions in November

It is unusual to have an uncontested primary in the county commissioner race, for either party.

Up until the last day – when, in fact, many candidated filed for many offices – I thought the odds were good that we'd end up with seven or so Democrats in the race. But some of the folks I had heard mentioned as possibilities decided against jumping into the race.

Since then, in discussions about the election, in general, or my campaign, specifically I've heard others speculate as to whether or not it's good for my campaign to be able to avoid a primary. All idle speculation, in the end, since it is what it is. I had been expecting a contested primary, and I expected to do well. Now, at least, I don't have to think about it at all, and can just put my efforts into the general election.

In 2002, there were nine Democrats and eleven Republicans in the primary.

For the record, and listed in the order they finished in the primary, the Democrats were Jan H. Gardner, Bruce L. Reeder, Bonnie Bailey-Baker, George Smith, Belinda Teague-Levy, Richard M. Floyd, Fern I. Hines, Karan Henley and Aref A. Khatib.

Also listed in the order they finished in the primary, the Republicans were John R. Lovell, Jr., Mike Cady, John L. Thompson, Jr., Hugh Warner, Charles A. Jenkins, Mark W. Sweadner, Thomas C. Henderson, Dwaine E. Robbins, Roger Kelly, Charlie K. Baker and Stephen C. Silvious

This year, the Republican side of the primary has fourteen candidates vying for five spots in the general election. Listed in alphabetical order, they are Ronald S. Bird, Mike Cady, Samie Conyers, Micky Fyock, David Gray, Thomas C. Henderson, Charles A. Jenkins, Elaine McCulloh Kessinger, John R. Jr. Lovell, Edward Lulie, Stan Mazaleski, Joan McIntyre, Billy Shreve and John L. Lennie Jr. Thompson.

The field of fourteen Republicans includes three incumbent county commissioners, one former three-time county commissioner and three other candidates that have run for the office before.

Having fourteen candidates competing in the primary would be enough to make the race highly contested and interesting, but it will be all the more interesting because of the tremendous differences between the candidates, especially with regard to how the county should...or will...approach planning and development.

Not suprisingly, the individuals and organizations that favor unrestrained growth (or close enough) have already identified four candidates they will be supporting (perhaps injecting more money into this election that we've ever seen in a Frederick County election for the Board of County Commisioners): Cady, Lovell, Shreve and Jenkins.

From the GAZETTE:

Wolf to run for commissioner seat

Thursday, July 13, 2006

By Sherry Greenfield
Staff Writer

Ron Wolf has filed to run for Frederick County commissioner on a platform that has become the theme of this year’s election — growth.

An active member of the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee, Wolf, 54, is calling on a new board of commissioners to review all development planning decisions made by the current board that have yet to be implemented.

‘‘The goal would be to revise planning decisions to ensure growth remains manageable,” Wolf said.

His campaign already has a working theme of ‘‘slow growth is manageable growth.”

Wolf is also looking to offer the board more effective leadership. He predicts Commissioners Michael L. Cady (R) and John R. Lovell Jr. (R), both running for re-election, will not make it through the Sept. 12 primary election because of their ineffective leadership.

‘‘Voters should replace those commissioners who have served only the interests of developers and those whose actions make the Board of County Commissioners function ineffectively,” he said. ‘‘Management and funding issues of public safety, public schools, roads and transportation and especially growth, can only be improved with more effective leadership.”

Wolf believes residents deserve more from their county leaders and he pledges to work for a more fiscally responsible government.

‘‘Residents of Frederick County should believe that the Board of County Commissioners is working in their best interest,” he said. ‘‘This confidence in the Board of County Commissioners can only be achieved by changes in the current makeup of the board.”

Finally, Wolf wants to see a tightening up of the county’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. The growth management ordinance uses a formula to determine whether new housing development can proceed through the planning process, dependent upon adequate roads, schools, water and sewer.

‘‘The school capacity [formula] needs to be toughened,” he said.

Robert Kresslein, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, considers Wolf a strong candidate.

‘‘Ron is an excellent member of the central committee,” he said. ‘‘I think he is dedicated to bettering the county.”

Wolf and his wife, Patti, have lived in Frederick for 20 years. He is currently employed by General Dynamics and works at Fort Detrick. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the University of Maryland University College.

Return to the BLOG home page.

If you have any questions, please email them to me. If you'd like to receive each blog entry by email, send an email (even a blank one) with "Blog" as the subject line.

WHY I'M VOTING FOR KAI!

Jodye L. Roebuck
Point of Rocks

I used to be just like a lot (if not the majority) of residents in Frederick County - I lived in my own little bubble, busy with work, taking care of my home and family...... Until the day that several utility companies decided they wanted to build power plants in Frederick County. Since one of these proposed sites was literally within view from my back deck - I became a 'community activist' overnight. My life changed, and my little...

More >>