Jenkins takes another stab at commissioner

Thursday, May 4, 2006

by Sherry Greenfield

Staff Writer

In 2002, Charles Jenkins lost a seat on the Frederick Board of County Commissioners by 2,067 votes. Jenkins finished sixth out of 10 candidates in his first try for county office.

With that campaign experience under his belt, the 43-year-old Republican is hopeful this year his bid for commissioner will land him in the top five.

‘‘This is my second time running and it should be easier than the first time,” Jenkins said this week. ‘‘I didn’t know much then. With experience comes wisdom.”

Jenkins, who filed Monday to run for one of the five at-large seats, said sixth place was pretty good for his first attempt.

Jenkins said he’s running in this fall’s election because of his love for Frederick County.

‘‘We enjoy a terrific quality of life, and I want to ensure it stays that way for all its citizens, current and future,” he said. ‘‘Our schools are first rate, unemployment is low, and people want to live here ...”

Jenkins thinks the county could do better to ensure its quality of life remains first rate.

‘‘The sky is not falling on Frederick County, but we do have issues to address,” he said. ‘‘Our transportation system has not kept up with growth and has been ignored by county and state leaders for too long. Our taxes are too high and are a burden for many, especially for the elderly on fixed incomes with limited opportunities for additional income. We can and we must do better.”

Much like the 2002 campaign, Jenkins is disheartened with how the current commissioners are leading the county. He is frustrated with the commissioners’ failure to address a projected $26 million operating budget deficit for fiscal 2008.

‘‘That is an absolute travesty given the additional revenue people are paying in property taxes,” he said. ‘‘People are paying attention and [commissioners] are not being good stewards of the revenue.”

A resident of Frederick, Jenkins is a real estate agent with Re⁄Max 100. As a local realtor, Jenkins can expect plenty of input from Frederick County Association of Realtors.

‘‘We definitely will support him,” said Mary McLaughlin, liaison to the association’s legislative committee. ‘‘We have a large legislative committee that goes over all the latest laws and questions them.”

Jenkins has a bachelor’s degree in Russian from James Madison University and served in the U.S. Navy. He and wife Delly have two children.