Opening shots fired in heated county campaign
Candidates for commissioner trade barbs and accusations centered on growth and development
Frederick News PostWednesday, July 26, 2006
News-Post Staff
FREDERICK -- Several Frederick County commissioner candidates this week accused one another of lies, smears and political largesse.
Democratic candidate Kai Hagen said Republican Commissioner Mike Cady lied in comments he made to The Frederick News-Post last week; Republican Charles Jenkins said Commissioner Jan Gardner was smearing him as one of the "Builders' Boys;" and Commissioners President John L. Thompson Jr. said he won't appear at a GOP-sponsored forum emceed by his nemesis, local talk show host Blaine Young, also a Republican.
The barbs are the opening shots of what is widely expected to be a hostile campaign centered on issues of growth and development.
Hagen vs. Cady
On July 19, Mr. Cady and John Lovell, incumbents, and contenders Billy Shreve and Mr. Jenkins, all Republicans, were keynote speakers at a meet-the-candidates forum at the Gladhill Tractor Mart on Mount Zion Road.
Maurice Gladhill, the tractor mart's owner, declined to name the "friends of agriculture" who approached him to use his property for the event.
Critics have said that far from promoting agriculture, the forum invited candidates hand-picked by sponsors as the best bet for the development industry to choose a pro-development board for the next four years.
Mr. Hagen questioned Mr. Cady's comment in last week's News-Post that anyone who asserted the event was tied to development, rather than agriculture, was "stretching the truth."
Mr. Hagen said Mr. Cady knows full well that votes he made on rezoning applications had benefited Mr. Gladhill's development interests, contrary to a statement Mr. Cady made last week that Mr. Gladhill's holdings are purely agricultural.
Mr. Hagen questioned two votes by Mr. Cady, Mr. Lovell and Commissioner Bruce Reeder, who also attended the event, to rezone Gladhill-owned land. Mr. Reeder, a Democrat, is retiring at the end of his term.
One approved the rezoning of 155 acres southeast of Frederick near Pinecliff Park, from agricultural to residential. In a separate decision, the three commissioners voted to rezone a smaller property adjacent to Mr. Gladhill's tractor mart from agricultural to commercial.
"To say that the owner of that property, a campaign supporter of Mr. Cady, is merely a farmer who owns a lot of working farmland is an outright lie," Mr. Hagen said.
Mr. Cady sloughed off the charge. Mr. Hagen's accusations were "typical of the quality of his character" and an attempt at mud-slinging.
"I think that's a bad strategy, but that can be his," Mr. Cady said.
Ms. Gardner, who is running for re-election, voted against both rezonings.
"Mr. Gladhill is more than happy to support the two commissioners that added significant value to his land and his personal wealth, as well as the two candidates who believes he will do the same in the future," Ms. Gardner said.
The Pinecliff rezoning was among dozens included in the controversial New Market Region Plan, one of eight maps that make up the county's comprehensive plan.
Mr. Cady said the rezoning was to allow the county to extend public water and sewer service to Pinecliff Park and the county's fire training academy. Both are surrounded by Gladhill property and the rezoning was needed to extend the service, Mr. Cady said.
"It has nothing to do with it being Gladhill property," Mr. Cady said. "It has to do with it being in the same proximity with these other public facilities that need water-sewer connectivity."
Commissioners ignored staff recommendations to retain the growth boundary -- a line that marks the outer limits planned for development -- on county growth maps for the New Market region. Commissioners extended the boundary to add Mr. Gladhill's property to the area designated for future growth, Mr. Hagen said.
Mr. Hagen said the redrawing is counter to comprehensive plan guidelines that the boundary should not be changed until development reaches the periphery, "which we are far from."
Growth boundary extensions were "one of the most egregious parts of the whole plan" and "absolutely inexcusable and indefensible," Mr. Hagen said. "(The supporting commissioners) just redrew the growth boundary directly around the property of some very wealthy supporters."
Mr. Cady said he will happily debate "the merits of the issues," and said he will not stoop to making personal attacks.
"If that's the worst fireballs they have to throw then I don't think it's going to be a very troublesome campaign," he said. "Let's have something with more heat on it."
Jenkins vs. Gardner
Mr. Jenkins bridled this week at being labeled one of the "Builders' Boys" by Ms. Gardner for his appearance at the forum.
"The campaign of smearing is already underway," Mr. Jenkins said.
When hearing about the forum last week, Ms. Gardner referred to the four invitees as "Builders' Boys."
Ms. Gardner, a Democrat, said that the tag "Builders' Boys" is used to illustrate that "these are the folks that are going to vote for whatever the development industry wants."
Mr. Jenkins said he's standing alone and his differences with other candidates would come out as the campaign progressed. His main focus is the county's poorly-maintained roadways.
Development should be considered on a case-by-case basis based on merits, Ms. Gardner said. But people from outside Frederick are influencing the government process.
"Certain people have been asked to vote for 100 percent of everything, whether it makes sense or not," she said. "And that's the group I'm putting (Mr. Jenkins) in."
Thompson vs. Young
An invitation from the Republican Women of Greater Frederick to a candidate forum in August brought a swift "no" from Mr. Thompson, underscoring the intense emotions over the development question even among players on the same side.
The GOP group's president, Jacqui Nigh, invited Mr. Thompson, who is adamantly opposed to development, in a July 17 letter.
"Running for political office takes commitment, patience and character," she wrote. "It can at times be frustrating."
The public would benefit from hearing his views, she wrote.
After learning his longtime critic, local talk show host Blaine Young, would be master of ceremonies, Mr. Thompson declined the invitation.
"I believe that a person who is actively working for the defeat of some of the candidates is not an appropriate choice for (emcee)," he e-mailed. "The selection of Mr. Young for the task of (emcee) would be analogous to having Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken moderate a presidential debate."
Mr. Young said Tuesday he would be able to separate his personal views from his responsibility to be fair during any candidate forum.
"I would not violate the trust the Republican Women of Greater Frederick have put in me," he said. "I would not jeopardize my integrity."
Mr. Young said he has hosted several other forums in the past, including one in which his father was a candidate for mayor.
"I could understand (Mr. Thompson's) fear and statement if I was a candidate," Mr. Young said. "Then he should scurry like a cockroach and run for cover. If he debated me one on one, he would be soundly defeated based on his narrow-minded and nitwit views. But I'm not a candidate ... I completely understand my role."
Mr. Young and Mr. Thompson have butted heads in public e-mail debates, and in a high profile spat after Mr. Young, speaking on his Saturday morning show, compared Mr. Thompson's policies regarding development with Hitler's approach to Jews.
WHY I'M VOTING FOR KAI!
Adam Schultz
Thurmont
As a lifelong resident of northern Frederick County, I know Kai Hagen will represent my interests as a Frederick County Commissioner. His dedication to our community, his commitment to finding the best solutions, and his integrity are unsurpassed. If you're looking for a County Commissioner who will finally stand up to the developers, and stand with us, someone who doesn't see Montgomery County as a model for our future, then Kai Hagen...
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