Looking Ahead To The 2010 Commissioners Race

The field could be open in the 2010 Frederick County Commissioners race.

Commissioners President Jan Gardner, a Democrat and the top vote-getter in 2006, will not seek another term in that office.

"I think three terms is enough," Gardner said. "I think it's time to let some ideas and fresh blood come into it. I haven't decided what I'm going to do next year."

Of the five incumbent commissioners, only Commissioner Kai Hagen, a Democrat, has said he will run again, with Republican commissioners David Gray and John L. Thompson Jr. yet to commit.

Gray said earlier this year that he will make a decision by April 2010. He could not be reached for an update Friday.

Republican Commissioner Charles Jenkins announced in January he is running for the House of Delegates in District 3B, which covers southern Frederick County and part of Washington County. He said last week he still intends on doing so, even though he has yet to file.

The potential lack of incumbents in the race makes the field much different than in 2006, when four incumbents ran.

Underpinning Gardner's decision, she said, are her accomplishments since taking office.

She ran on a platform of improving education and specifically reducing overcrowding.

"The (board) has really focused on solving school overcrowding and has built a record number of schools," she said. "In 1998, schools systemwide were at 101 percent. By the end of the term, schools systemwide will be approaching 90 percent of capacity system-wide, which was the adopted goal."

The current board of commissioners has spent a lot of time on growth issues, passing ordinances that tighten restrictions and require bigger stream buffers, as well as tackling a countywide rewrite of the comprehensive plan and zoning.

In the next election, Gardner thinks developers will most likely advance candidates to shift power back to pro-growth interests and reverse policies forcing developers to pay for infrastructure and prevent school overcrowding.

"Education should always be a priority since our investment in education is important to every aspect of our future success, quality of life and economic competitiveness," Gardner said.

Hagen thinks the campaign will center on growth, but the economy, budget cuts and economic development will also be issues.

And growth should never be far from voters' minds, he said, because it ties into economic development and the shape of a community -- including roads and schools.

"The way in which you plan growth has a lot to do with how you thrive in a challenging and changing world," Hagen said.

He also believes the county's decision to build a trash incinerator, or a waste-to-energy plant, will be a key issue with a subset of voters. That could make the difference in an election, he said.

When it comes to the economy, his message will be that the commissioners have reduced the budget least 10 percent by the end of the term. That's largely because of lower revenue as well as state cuts as the economy has suffered.

"We've been able to manage that effectively, and weather a storm that has had much more dramatic effects in other places, without raising taxes and without crippling core county services," Hagen said.

"I look forward to putting my record in front of the voters, and I hope that the vast majority of people who supported me before will feel good about the work that I've done," Hagen said.

The two undecided incumbents, Gray and Thompson, have a lot of factors to consider in any decision to run for re-election.

Gray said initially he was unlikely to run, then said he would announce either way by next April. One key consideration is whether the decision to build a waste-to-energy plant will be reversed by the next board.

Such a move could cost the county between $1 million and $3 million, Hagen estimates.

He still thinks that doing so would be in the best interests of the county. Gray has disagreed, and said he may run just to prevent that from happening.

Thompson believes he is unlikely to be re-elected if he runs for commissioner again. He may be considering other races, and hasn't ruled out the possibility that he could challenge state Sen. David Brinkley in the Republican primary, or seek another General Assembly seat.

"You have to go back to 1950 to find a County Commissioner who was elected four consecutive times," Thompson said in an e-mail. "It would be very difficult to overcome opposition from the anti-(waste-to-energy) folks, developers, lobbyists, (schools) public employee political action committees and the many 'what have you done for me lately' special interest groups who get money from the County coffers."

Other candidates will likely make announcements in the next six months. No one has officially announced as a challenger yet, but several are rumored to be gathering support.

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