Our endorsements for the General Election

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006

District 6, House of Representatives

District 6 of the U.S. House of Representatives is largely Republican, and spans eight counties that mostly border Pennsylvania.

Voters have the choice between incumbent Republican Roscoe G. Bartlett of Buckeystown, Democrat Andrew Duck of Brunswick, and Green party candidate Robert E. Kozak of Frederick.

Bartlett has held the seat since 1992, and many believe him to be a shoo in for an eighth term. However, we do not believe that is sufficient reason to endorse him.

Our support goes to Duck, who we believe has the potential to represent the future of District 6. We thank Bartlett for his service to this district and the country.

Possibly the biggest issue facing this nation is the war on terror, what some circles are starting to call World War III. Clearly, one of the biggest components of that war is the ongoing struggle in Iraq.

Duck served in the Army for 20 years, and was in Iraq in 2003. He saw first hand the results of the decisions being made, and believes we are headed in the wrong direction. He says we need to change our policies by shifting from combat operations to peace enforcement techniques, as was done in Bosnia.

The details of his position on Iraq are too many to include in this space, but we encourage readers to visit his Web site, www.duckforcongress.org, to learn more. District 6 will benefit from having a representative who not only served in the military, but also was on the ground in Iraq.

In other issues, Duck believes the federal and the local governments need to cooperate more with one another to improve the infrastructure in District 6, specifically Interstate 270. Duck sees the need to extend the HOV lane all the way to Frederick, and for improved mass transit.

He believes in economic development, and that federal telework centers would help. He is also for America working toward energy independence, and believes District 6 could become a world leader in alternative energy research.

With all the farming in Mid- and Western Maryland, the residents of District 6 surely would benefit from this research. We believe Duck's efforts can help lead a growing and changing District 6 in the early years of this 21st century.

State’s attorney

The choice for state’s attorney is between Republican Charlie Smith, the current deputy state’s attorney, and Democrat William Poffenbarger, a defense attorney in Frederick.

Our support goes to Charlie Smith.

Smith argues that Frederick must be tough on crime, and has asserted that continuity in the office is important.

He has said we must focus on prosecuting child sexual predators, working to reduce the presence of gangs in Frederick, and working to punish and ultimately eliminate gun violence.

One of Poffenbarger's biggest criticisms of the state's attorney's office is the lack of mentorship of relatively new attorneys in District Court. He sees a need to revamp the office and align experienced prosecutors with new ones to reduce rookie mistakes.

Charlie Smith is aware of this criticism, but believes it is somewhat misplaced. He says the office has a training program for new prosecutors that works, and that the office has a Circuit Court coordinating committee to offer feedback on the performance of attorneys. While that committee does not cover District Court, he would expand it if elected.

He also has a manual ready to go with policies and procedures that he will implement if elected, another criticism of the office under Scott Rolle. In the end, we believe that Charlie Smith will provide the continuity and experience necessary to lead the office for the next four years.

Sheriff

Our primary election endorsement for sheriff was probably one of the most difficult decisions we had to make because voters had so many good choices. The same is true for the general election, but we believe Chuck Jenkins comes out a head, if only by a notch.

We endorsed Charles Tobery in the primary in part because he had so much experience in the Sheriff's Office. He is retired from the Sheriff’s Office, and spent some time in many of its departments.

But we believe the office would be better served by someone still in the department. Chuck Jenkins has spent 16 years as a criminal investigator with the Sheriff's Office, and is spoken of highly by all who know him.

Jenkins says he will create a multi-agency gang unit to prevent the spread of gang-related crime in Frederick County, which nearly everyone in the law-enforcement community sees as a problem.

He also wants to increase the number of investigators in the Sheriff’s Office, and make monitoring and tracking sexual predators and violent sex offenders a priority. Jenkins is aware of our proximity to Fort Detrick and Camp David, and has said he will continue to develop strategic plans for issues related to Homeland Security.

Board of Education

We support incumbents Bonnie Borsa, Mike Schaden, Jean Smith, and newcomer Angie Fish. While a plethora of reasons can be given to back each candidate, we will boil it down to a few points each.

All four candidates believe that developers should be able to pay for new schools or additions to schools, but that care must be taken when working out the details of the proposals.

It is a reasonable way to build schools when tax dollars are short, but all are aware that the developers’ needs must take a backseat to what the children need.

Schaden would also like to become more involved in developing curriculum and focus on a comparative religion class. He sees the need to prepare students for the High School Assessments, but does not want to lose sight of the whole child.

Borsa would like to continue working on eliminating the achievement gap by focusing each child learning. She would work toward increasing the number of teachers and extending the day at schools that have a high number of minorities.

Smith wants to make a priority out of completing the renovation of Linganore High School. She said it kept getting bumped back because there were areas of the county that had no space for students, but believes the needs of aging schools and new schools need to be balanced.

She also would like to close the achievement gap in part by placing resources into extended learning and mentoring programs for any underachieving student.

Fish used to teach middle school and high school English in Montgomery County, and the Board of Education would benefit from having a former educator bring her insights.

Her top priorities if elected would be recruiting and retaining quality staff, and dealing with overcrowded schools. She says overbuilding schools is better than what the system has been doing — building schools too small only to have to return a year or two later to add portables or build an addition.

We encourage readers to go to our Web site, www.gazette.net⁄election06, to read more about the candidates who responded to our online voter’s guide. And be sure to look in this space in future weeks for our endorsements in the General Assembly and Board of County Commissioners races. Remember to vote Nov. 7.

Happy anniversary

We at The Gazette are celebrating our 10th anniversary of publishing community newspapers in Frederick this month.

We opened our doors with 10 employees at 13 E. Patrick St. We've grown since that time, much like Frederick County. We now have 26 employees who work each week to bring you the best in news, sports, photography, advertising, arts and entertainment, classifieds, and so much more.

Throughout the years, we've sponsored events, participated in parades, and made contributions to organizations too many to list. We are proud to be part of your communities, and look forward to seeing you each week.

Please stop by our office, 2A North Market St., Fourth Floor, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to have a piece of cake and celebrate with us. Happy anniversary, Frederick County.