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Buyout: Believe it or not, Frederick mayoral candidate Ron Tobin doesn't cringe when the word is mentioned.

He also doesn't withdraw when probed about how he's going to navigate through the questions of whether he thinks his decision to benefit from the city's contentious Early Retirement Incentive Program last year will hamper his mayoral campaign.

In fact, as he sat at a downtown coffee shop on Monday explaining a laundry list of projects that he's tackled as the executive assistant to Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R), and the ones he plans to take on if he wins his boss's seat in the fall, the issue of the highly contentious program is tacked on as another topic to take on if necessary, and if he's elected.

"I had absolutely nothing to do with that program," Tobin said. "It was worked on in the finance and human resources departments. I did not participate in meetings about that program. I was not consulted about the program. It was a legislative action and I received the benefit."

Tobin, who has maintained a low profile in his years as the mayor's assistant, addressed the issue for the first time last week during a radio appearance, and explained Monday that as a 68-year-old, two-time retiree, he took an offer that was presented to him, and faced the same risks as other buyout beneficiaries.

"I don't feel guilty about it because I had to do what was best for my family at the time," Tobin said. "In hindsight — as they say, it's golden — I understand the issues, but I had an opportunity, and it was not easy. Would I have done the same thing? I can't say that."

But what Tobin does say with certainty is that what he has done in the last four years for the city just may be unmatched in this year's candidate line-up. A retired executive from some of the largest hospitals in the country, including Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Tobin said that he is riding on the momentum of simply getting things done.

In his current job, of the projects he oversees, he boasts many successes. These include bringing the Weinberg Center out of the red to becoming less dependent on the city's budget funds; saving the city thousands in negotiating for the Frederick Keys to take over more fiscal responsibilities.

His oversight of the construction for parking decks downtown will bring the city more than 1,000 spaces just this year. Recent contracting for the airport will begin the process for an air traffic control tower, which will allow corporate jets to refuel at the airport and bring in fuel flowage fees for the city. And 97 percent of the design for the second phase of development of Carroll Creek Linear Park, headed by the Department of Economic development is complete.

John Healey, executive manager of the Weinberg Center for the Arts, with whom Tobin has worked on large projects, attested to his style and assistance.

"Ron Tobin has been very helpful with the Weinberg Center to make sure things got completed, asking us what we felt was needed in moving forward and has been instrumental in assisting us in helping us make the great progress we have made in the last few years," Healey said. "He said that he was there to help, but not there to run the place. And he stuck to his word, so things worked out."

Tobin admits that he retains a lot of Holtzinger's pursuits, such as capitalizing on the sports travel industry by developing Hargett Farm into a regional park, reducing the property tax rate, and continuing to monitor infrastructure projects.

"This is not jazzy stuff, but things people need to know about," Tobin said of the city's accomplishments during Holtzinger's term. "This is where Jeff and I have different views — people need to know what we're doing — we've accomplished a lot."

In addition to bi-weekly press conferences — something Holtzinger has replaced with more technological access to city business — Tobin promises that his administration will be his own, full of new ideas that have not been at the forefront of the current administration.

For example, Tobin believes it's urgent that the Frederick Police Department get a new headquarters, and proposes the idea that what they lack in manpower they could gain in surveillance cameras in high-crime area—an idea never really broached before.

"We couldn't hire police officers to be everywhere at the same time," Tobin said. "Our front-line officers need to be competitive in the marketplace."

Tobin also hopes to support a new downtown hotel and convention center, revamp the city's workforce priorities and budgetary process, and take an aggressive approach to streamlining the process for those looking to open businesses downtown.

"To predict how you're going to be different from someone else is very hard," he said. "But I'm ready to hit the ground running."

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