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A sausage, egg and cheese sandwich wasn't the only thing on Randy McClement's plate Wednesday morning.
As the presumed mayor-elect ate breakfast in his bagel shop the day after the City of Frederick general election, he was enjoying the taste of victory and readying for his first meeting later that day which would start his transition into the next four years of his life.
The results are considered unofficial until absentee ballots are counted later today. According to the Board of Supervisors of Elections, the city distributed more than 400 absentee ballots. Turnout clocked in at 22.5 percent of the city's 30,655 voters.
By Wednesday morning, McClement said he already had lined up a meeting with candidates for his transition team and next cabinet. The rest of the week would be devoted to reaching out to more people to round out his team, he said.
"I've always had in mind who I've wanted in certain places, so I'll be talking to people over the next couple of days," McClement said. "We'll go from there, and see how we get from Point A to Point B."
Equally important, McClement said, is to schedule a meeting with his new Board of Aldermen to outline goals and the administration's approach to achieving them. Communication with the aldermen in the coming weeks is vital, he said.
Voters chose Shelley Aloi (R), Carol Krimm (D), Michael O'Connor (D), Kelly Russell (D) and Karen Lewis Young (D) as the city's next Board of Aldermen.
"It's going to be a team of me and them, and not me against them," McClement said, adding that the new board brings all the strengths needed for a successful administration, even though they are all fresh to city politics.
He said he most wanted to make known his philosophy in running the city: Teamwork.
"You should fight vehemently for your cause, and if you don't win, I ask that everyone step up for the team and move on to the next cause," he said.
McClement, 52, built a low-key campaign that focused on police and public safety, infrastructure and efficient management. He said he would work closely with the W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) administration to get a foundation for his platform goals.
Holtzinger decided not to run for re-election after one term in office, and said Wednesday morning that he looks forward to helping McClement with everything from his Dec. 10 inauguration to the nitty-gritty details of city business, when asked.
"We're going to try to make sure we get as much information transferred, get Randy hitting the ground running the best way we can," Holtzinger said, adding that he has been in contact with McClement since he announced his candidacy.
He said his advice to McClement would be: "Just continue being who he is, stick to his convictions, and I think he will. I think he'll stick to being even-keeled."
McClement's win was praised by many other Frederick County Republican leaders.
"I'm very excited for Randy," said Sen. David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market. "Randy will be good for the city. It's a good victory."
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R) was also thrilled with McClement's win. "The voters sent a message. They're tired of the same, old business at City Hall," Jenkins said, referring to the aldermen incumbents' losses.
Judd (D) conceded at about 9:15 p.m. in front of about 150 supporters at the Democratic party's gathering place at Café 611 on North Market Street.
"It's been a hard fight, it's been hard work, but our race is over," an emotional Judd told supporters. "I am sorry we didn't win this damn thing, but I'm proud of the race we ran."
He went on to thank McClement for a clean campaign.
A newcomer to city politics, Judd, 37, built a campaign to "Move Frederick Forward" by practicing fiscal responsibility, creating jobs and working for an innovative economy.
The trained economist, community organizer and career union executive prided himself on being a world traveler, advocating on behalf of "ordinary citizens," before coming back home to Frederick in 2007.
Judd — who defeated former mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty in the primary election, and had raised nearly five times the amount of every other candidate throughout his campaign — said he couldn't point to any particular reason why he was defeated.
He believed a low voter turnout may have hurt, though there are more Democrats registered in the city. "We're disappointed. We knew it was a close race and we did everything we could think of right to the end," Judd said. He said he did not know if it would be his last run for office, but did say he would stay involved in the city. His immediate future plans included playing chess with his son, something he hasn't been able to do much since he started his campaign.
Frederick County Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) said he was also disappointed by Judd's defeat, but looked forward to working with McClement and the new Board of Aldermen.
"I'm really disappointed to see such a low turnout," Hagen said. "I think Jason would have been a great mayor for the city at a great time in its history."
Some supporters thought that the city simply let itself down.
"The fact that Jason didn't win is not a discredit to him," said city resident Myrna Whitworth. "It showed that Frederick is not ready for a visionary."
Four Democrats, one Republican earn top votes Tuesday
Frederick city voters have reset the lineup for the Board of Aldermen, as they ousted all three incumbents who were up for re-election on Tuesday.
Karen Lewis Young (D) was the top vote-getter with 3,577 votes, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night. Michael O'Connor (D) came in second with 3,393, followed by Shelley Aloi (R) with 3,314, Carol Krimm (D) with 3,254, and Kelly Russell (D) with 3,240.
The incumbent aldermen sat in the middle of the pack, vote-wise: C. Paul Smith (R) earned 3,129 votes, Donna Kuzemchak (D) got 3,079 and Alan Imhoff (R) received 3,030.
