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Joe Cohen, owner of Classic Cigars and British Goodies on North Market Street, is the third Republican to join the aldermanic ballot.

Cohen, 69, who hails from Machester, England, has been a fixture in the Frederick community for about 10 years and recently made his 23-year residency in the United States official by becoming an American citizen on May 9.

The city charter states that candidates must live in the city for at least a year and be a registered voter. It says nothing about U.S. citizenship.

The July 4-born resident said that he was proud to become an American and a permanent Fredericktonian, and looks forward to joining local politics to capstone the experience.

Cohen has owned his shop in Frederick for nine years, first at Second and Market streets before moving down the block to his new location earlier this year. He has lived in Monocacy Village the whole time, and said that he has always followed the best and worst of city politics.

"I've always been very vocal on local politics about various things that the city has done or not done," Cohen said. "In American politics, I've learned that you have to have harmony if you want to get anything done."

Of note, Cohen said he was particularly disheartened by the discourse in the city's previous administration, which he said he saw beginning to relive itself during the June 4 public meeting.

"There's no harmony in the City Hall," Cohen said. "To scream and shout and carry on and threatening to sue each other, I'm seeing that's happening again."

Harmony is what Cohen says he's all about. His platform is helping Frederick continue to be an attractive place to live and play through tackling issues such as downtown parking, maintaining a strong police department and boosting the city's attractiveness through economic development.

"I am very fair, I'm very honest, and I will make decisions that are for the people, not against the people," he said.

If he becomes an alderman, he promises to lobby for free parking downtown on Saturdays, despite the high revenue the weekends bring in for the city.

"Were not New York, we're not Washington," he said. "The argument that we need the funds — that's nonsense."

Secondly, Cohen said that he feels strongly that the Frederick Police Department needs a new headquarters and full funding, as he believes that public safety is a right, not a privilege.

He also said he would be a strong supporter of beefing up the Frederick Municipal Airport to make it an attractive place for businessmen on the go.

"We have to extend the tax base," he said. "And in order to do that, we need more businesses in Frederick, and we need to entice them."

Cohen joins fellow Republicans Senitta Conyers, John William Shupe and incumbent C. Paul Smith on the ballot. Democratic candidates include John Daniels, Andrew Kotkin, Carol Krimm, Karen Lewis Young, incumbent Donna Kuzemchak, Michael O'Connor and Kelly Russell.

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.