Our final endorsements
Gazette EditorialThursday, October 25, 2006
The biggest issue facing Frederick County is growth. Practically every other problem in the county — overcrowded schools, clogged roads, and stressed emergency personnel — can be traced back to the number of people who call Frederick home.
But that doesn’t mean we believe growth should stop. In fact, we believe the county should continue to grow at steady pace, and that infrastructure must be in place to support it. Determining that pace is the tricky part, and for that reason, we have chosen five people for the Frederick Board of County Commissioners we believe have the best chance of figuring it out.
Part of what we do when choosing endorsements is look at how the parties would make a balanced team, and if each person would encourage good discussion that represents all sides. We have chosen a mix of Democrats and Republicans, so-called no-growthers and pro-growthers.
We endorse incumbents Jan H. Gardner, John R. Lovell Jr., and John ‘‘Lennie” Thompson Jr. We also throw our support behind Charles Jenkins and Kai Hagen.
Some readers might notice that we have chosen not to endorse Michael Cady in the general election despite the fact we endorsed him in the primary. At the time, he said he had learned during this last term that he needs to be more careful about what he says and how he says it. We hoped he would be true to his word, but the sock puppet incident, in which he publicly mocked two of his fellow commissioners, leads us to believe otherwise.
He says it was in jest, but the fact that it happened with much forethought — and was not a flip remark made in the heat of debate — shows a lack of judgment we believe is important in elected officials.
Democrat Jan H. Gardner has earned the respect of many people, so much so that nearly everyone who pays attention to local politics calls her a shoo-in. We would consider her middle of the road on growth, possibly the swing vote on certain growth issue.
She lists her main priorities as education, transportation and better management of growth. She wants to address overcrowding in schools, build more roads and expand transit, and improve the growth ordinance to, for example, add a public safety provision. She sees a need for partnerships with developers to build roads, and for the county to look at a development’s affect on the community beyond the nearest intersection.
Democrat Kai Hagen is a newcomer to politics, though not to civic activism. He has been involved in many organizations, and was a newspaper columnist — including for The Gazette before he announced his candidacy — for three years. While he does not have a voting record to determine precisely where he stands on growth, he acknowledges that growth is inevitable and should be targeted to existing communities. We would place him between the slow growth and no-growth side.
His main issues are improving the government’s process to involve more residents; shifting the discussion on growth to how we will grow, not if we should; and bringing our infrastructure up to meet our needs. We believe Hagen will jump right in as a commissioner, research issues he does not know well, and add thoughtful discussion to the issues.
We did not endorse Republican Charles Jenkins during the primary election, but it was only by a hair that we did not. He was one of the candidates who made our decision a difficult one in September. As a real estate agent, many people rightfully place Jenkins in the pro-growth camp, but that is not the sole reason we support him. That is also not a reason for people to vote against him.
One of Jenkins’ priorities is building roads, and anyone who drives around Frederick County can see that need.
Republican John R. Lovell Jr. is one of the quieter commissioners, and has been hard to read. We would place him in the pro-growth camp. He points to the accomplishments he helped reach as the pipeline to the Potomac River, the residential sprinkler ordinance, and the solid waste fee, which will help pay off debt on the landfill and help the county finance a long-term solution to disposing trash.
He advocates the building of what county officials and industry insiders call a ‘‘waste-to-energy facility,” and would like to serve another term to see it built. It’s essentially an incinerator — though cleaner than those built 30 years ago — that generates electricity. We agree such a project has promise, and deserves further study.
Republican John ‘‘Lennie” Thompson Jr. has served on the board for eight years, the last four of which have been as president. We would place him firmly in the no-growth side. He speaks to a certain population, and has been a staunch supporter for ethics reform. He deserves a third term if for this alone.
We also respect his never-ending drive to preserve farmland, and believe the board needs that view represented on it. Thompson brings experience, a deep understanding of the internal workings of the county and the issues facing the county, and an important intellectual capacity. Perhaps these would not be overshadowed if he did not make comments that are negative and unhelpful.
WHY I'M VOTING FOR KAI!
Patti Murphy
Myersville
Kai Hagen is the kind of hard working, principled and dedicated individual we need on the BOCC. Kai cares deeply about Frederick County, and has worked tirelessly to protect the quality of life we cherish here.
He's a genuine public servant, whether it's coaching youth sports leagues, volunteering at his children's school, assisting in the development of ThorpeWood and the Catoctin Land Trust, serving on the county's Citizens Zoning...