Voters in Frederick are to choose a new mayor this fall, and the race has focused more on the political and personal relationships among the four candidates than on issues such as the economy or public safety.
There’s the incumbent Republican, Randy McClement; two Democrats facing off in the September 10th primary, Alderwoman Karen Young and Delegate Galen Clagett; and former mayor Jennifer Dougherty, who is running unaffiliated.
This diagram gives you an idea of how they are all related.
A. Randy McClement and Galen Clagett have worked together to raise seed money for a multimillion dollar downtown hotel project and both are making campaign promises to see the hotel completed.
B. State Senator Ron Young, Karen Young's husband, is Galen Clagett's old friend and former political ally. McClement supported Young in his 2010 State Senate race despite their different party affiliations. Note: Blaine Young, President of the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, is Ron Young's son.
C. Karen Young served on the Board of Aldermen under McClement since 2009, and has been referred to as an “indefatigable critic” of McClement.
D. Ron Young beat Jennifer Dougherty in the Democratic mayoral primary in 2005. Dougherty, according to an article in “The Tentacle,” "was responsible for [Young's] defeat in the 2009 municipal general elections, organizing her friends and fellow-thinkers to oppose him – ceding to the Republicans." McClement supported Ron Young in the 2010 State Senate race.
E. Dougherty and Karen Young publicly feuded in 2003 about the management of the Weinberg Center, a downtown performing arts center. At the time, Dougherty was mayor and Young, then Karen Korrell, was the president of the Board of Directors for the Weinberg Center.