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Photo by Graham Cullen
Jason Judd addresses a crowd at Cafe? Nola as he announces his candidacy for mayor of Frederick on Thursday evening
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Jason Judd officially announced his candidacy for mayor of Frederick on Thursday night at a packed downtown cafe?.The Democrat and Frederick native has been building campaign support with the theme of "moving Frederick forward" for his first foray into the local political scene. "We need a mayor who has energy, who has vision, who has a hard focus on solutions," Judd, 37, said to a crowd of about 120 at Caf?e Nola on East Patrick Street. "Somebody who expects to be held accountable -- that's the kind of mayor we need," he said. Judd is a graduate of Gov. Thomas Johnson High School and Duke University, where he was awarded a Fulbright fellowship. He is a trained economist and former community organizer. He works on national advocacy campaigns for the Service Employees International Union. In Frederick , Judd is a member of the board of directors for Volunteer Frederick , serves on the city's land management code task force and is a member of the Carroll Creek Rotary Club. He is also director of the Frederick County work-force development board. Judd lives downtown with his wife and two children. In his speech Thursday, Judd blasted the city's current elected officials for fiscal irresponsibility, using examples of a controversial employee buyout program and the purchase of a $795,000 scoreboard and video display for Harry Grove Stadium. "Public money is a public trust, and I won't violate that trust," he said. Former mayor Ron Young introduced Judd as someone who could usher in Frederick 's "second renaissance." Young claimed the first renaissance for himself during his four terms as mayor from 1976 to 1990. "His support base is growing very rapidly," Young said before the speech. "He's a dynamic young guy." Judd was also introduced by Sukhi Gulati, a freshman at Thomas Johnson High School, and Kai Hagen, a Frederick County commissioner. "Right out of the bag, Jason is a front-runner in this election," Hagen said. Judd joins only one other Democratic candidate, Jack Lynch. On the GOP side current Mayor Jeff Holtzinger, Market Bagel and Deli owner Randy McClement and Discount Towing owner Clint Hoffman round out the ballot. Judd will hold an official launch to his mayoral campaign at 6 p.m. March 11 at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, 40 S. Carroll St. The city's primary election is set for Sept. 15. The general election will be Nov. 3.
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