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Gardner announces run for third term on board

Former Commission President David Gray to announce his bid Monday

Thursday, June 29, 2006

The questions, assumptions and predictions are over — Commissioner Jan H. Gardner (D) announced Wednesday she will run for re-election.

Standing on the steps of Winchester Hall with her husband, Gardner, 49, thrilled the crowd when she announced her intentions.

‘‘...I am hopeful the electorate will create a bit of change, will choose a board of commissioners that will be kinder and gentler, a board that will be more responsive to citizen input and the desires of the community,” Gardner said. ‘‘I believe the community needs experienced leadership, caring leadership, a voice of reason, balance, progressive thinking. I think we need to empower people to do good things. So I have decided to run for re-election.”

Gardner has wavered in the last few months on whether she would seek another term. The long hours, family obligations and frustration over being on the losing end of many board votes, played into her doubts.

‘‘As you know, life is short,” Gardner said in her speech. ‘‘I turn 50 this year and I’ve thought ‘do I want to spend another four years doing this job, or do something else?’”

But Gardner told the crowd of county employees and elected and community leaders, including Democrats and Republicans, that she has plenty of unfinished business.

‘‘I think I’m back by popular demand,” Gardner announced to a round of cheers and applause. ‘‘I want to work to build consensus on the growth issue. [I want to] shift the rhetoric to the reality, so that we can have a responsible pace of growth linked with our financial ability to support it. If we do not control our growth, we cannot control our budget, the two things are clearly linked...”

One of the loudest in the crowd to show her support for Gardner was former Del. Sue Hecht (D).

‘‘Wow,” said Hecht, who is running this year for state delegate in District 3A. ‘‘I’m thrilled and I’m really surprised. I really didn’t know which way she would go.”

In 1999 Hecht teamed with Gardner to lobby then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening for improvements to Md. Route 85⁄Buckeystown Pike. She said Gardner is the right person to steer the county’s growth in a responsible manner.

‘‘She is the important person to do that,” Hecht said. ‘‘I’m just thrilled.”

To better control growth, Gardner said she wants to strengthen the county’s growth management ordinance, by adding public safety. The ordinance uses a special formula to assure infrastructure such as schools, water, sewer and roads are adequate before new housing development can proceed.

Gardner also pointed out several commissioner candidates in the audience that also believe in ‘‘sensible growth.”

Gardner said she supported five candidates — Richard M. ‘‘Dick” Floyd (D), Kai J. Hagen (D), David Gray (R), John ‘‘Lennie” Thompson Jr. (R), and herself — who would bring balance to the board with a ‘‘sensible growth platform.”

Gray, who served as president of the board during Gardner’s first term, confirmed he plans to announce his intentions to run for a commissioner seat at noon, Monday, in front of Winchester Hall.