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Results confirm city's votes for mayor, aldermen
Originally published November 06, 2009


By Adam Behsudi
News-Post Staff


Elections officials Thursday presented certified results showing little change to the group of six people chosen to lead the City of Frederick for the next four years.

Voters selected five new aldermen: Democrats Karen Young, Michael O'Connor, Carol Krimm and Kelly Russell and Republican Shelley Aloi.

The final results also widened the margin of victory for Republican Mayor-elect Randy McClement, who defeated Democrat Jason Judd in Tuesday's election.

The three incumbent aldermen in the general race, Republicans C. Paul Smith and Alan Imhoff and Democrat Donna Kuzemchak, were not voted back into office. Democratic Alderman David "Kip" Koontz failed to advance past the primary.

The certified results counted 375 absentee ballots. Total voter turnout came in at 23.8 percent of the city's 30,655 registered voters.

Write-in votes for mayor also revealed 84 of 95 went to Jennifer Dougherty, who lost in the Democratic primary to Judd. Dougherty served as mayor from 2001 to 2005.

McClement was more confident to move ahead with plans to organize his transition team after hearing Thursday's results.

"The transition teams have to be set first," he said. "I'm hoping to have that wrapped up by the weekend."

McClement said he was disappointed by the low turnout.

The city's 2005 general election drew 31.8 percent of the city's voters.

"I feel that voters who did vote this time were well-educated," he said.

McClement won a majority of votes in the nine of the city's 12 precincts. His best showing was 68.4 percent of Precinct 2's 57 votes, the smallest precinct in the city with 323 total registered voters. The precinct, on the city's north side, includes the neighborhoods of Tuscarora Creek and Cannon Bluff.

McClement won 60.4 percent of the precinct that includes the Whittier neighborhood, where 278 of the 1,242 registered voters turned out.

Results by precinct show Judd won three of the city's 12 precincts. The three precincts -- 1, 3 and 5 -- include areas of downtown and neighborhoods surrounding Baker Park and Hood College.

Judd received the most votes, 63 percent, in Precinct 3, which includes an area that stretches from downtown east of Market Street to the city's eastern boundary. Of the precinct's 2,067 registered voters, 620 turned out to vote.

The low turnout of Tuesday came as no surprise for some observers after September's primary election drew less than 18 percent of city voters.

The turnout renewed calls to change the city's election cycle to coincide with national or state votes to harness the larger voter turnout that occurs during those elections.

Local political pundit George Wenschhof said it was a sign the city needs to move its elections to the presidential election cycle.

"What's happening now is just not acceptable," he said. "Twenty-four percent, that's not democracy in action."

Alderwoman Marcia Hall said changing the cycle will bring more people to the polls but not necessarily a more knowledgeable voter base.

"Will people be better-informed? Probably not," said Hall, who did not run for another term.

Mayor Jeff Holtzinger, who decided against running for a second term, is considering adding the issue as an agenda item in the final weeks of his administration.

But he was not encouraged by the lack of public interest in a potential election cycle change when it was discussed months ago by the board.

Despite advertising the issue for weeks, he said City Hall received sparse feedback.

"That doesn't make me real confident people want it changed," he said.


Mayor

Randy McClement, R 3,712/51.3% Jason Judd, D 3,431/47.4% Write-in votes 95/1.3%

Alderman

Karen Young, D 3,765/11.6%

Michael O’Connor, D 3,573/11%

Shelley Aloi, R 3,481/10.7%

Carol Krimm, D 3,419/10.5%

Kelly Russell, D 3,393/10.4%

C. Paul Smith, R 3,325/10.2%

Donna Kuzemchak, D 3,235/9.9%

Alan Imhoff, R 3,229/9.9%

Amanda Haddaway, R 2,824/8.7%

Chris Huckenpoehler, R 2,267/7%

Write-in votes 30/0.1%

*Percentages rounded to the nearest tenth




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