More News

Some answers to residents' concerns can't fit into a sound bite.

This was the motivating factor for members of the city's Neighborhood Advisory Councils as they planned one of the most interactive, up-close-and-personal candidate forums the city has ever seen.

Nearly every candidate has signed on to meet with residents face-to-face on Aug. 19 for the city-wide meet-and-greet forum that was created by neighborhood representatives who wanted to ensure that the finer details of the city's neighborhoods didn't fall through the cracks on candidates' campaign trails. "I think there are the same issues in every neighborhood that people may think are more concentrated in certain areas, but they are happening all over the city," said Stephanie Davis Ambush, community outreach specialist for the city, who oversaw the planning of the forum.

Ambush, who organizes the city's 12 Neighborhood Advisory Councils, said that over the years, fewer people go to the polls, but more problems develop in the city's neighborhoods.

She said she hopes that this forum will be a new way that residents can really drive home some of their issues to their elected officials, and put them on the radar for next four years.

"I think if people really want to do something or change something in their neighborhoods, they really have to meet the candidates," Ambush said. "They really need to hear what the candidates think, and make sure that they understand what their issues are."

The Aug. 19 open house will take place at the William Talley Recreation Center from 7-9 p.m.

Each candidate is provided a table to use for campaign materials and to present their responses to five questions, which will be provided by the neighborhood council in advance.

The answers will not be edited and will not have word limits. Each candidate will bring copies of their answers. Residents are invited to ask any questions that they want as they make their way to each candidate's station.

Unlike other forums, resident organizers said that the Neighborhood Advisory Council's Open House will give voters an opportunity to ask focused questions about issues that can literally be taking place in their backyards.

"It's natural in an election that there are broad brush strokes, but there are details in the brush strokes that get lost," said Beth Conny, community coordinator for the neighborhood advisory council that includes Amber Meadows, North Crossing and Willow Brook developments.

"Even in the local, there's local, and sometimes because of the format of a candidate forum or elections in general, there are details that get lost in the details."

Conny said that her neighborhood has a few issues that have been acknowledged, but not acted upon in recent administrations such as overcrowding, parking, and the future of economic and cultural development in areas outside of downtown.

"We hope to have a strong partnership with the next administration," she said. "We want to know that the future is bright for all of us."

The five questions to be asked of candidates at Neighborhood Advisory Council Open House on Aug. 19 are:

1) What do you propose to do to keep businesses in Frederick, not only in downtown Frederick but also along the Golden Mile and East Street Corridors? What is your vision for Frederick revitalization for the next four years?

2) Increased crime, gang/drug activity, loitering, unruly and/or unsupervised gatherings are safety concerns to residents in all of Frederick's neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods have been particularly hard hit (e.g., Hillcrest, Amber Meadows, North Market Street). How do you propose to address these issues given severe budget constraints?

3) What is your vision for the future of the Neighborhood Advisory Councils?  Should they be strengthened? disbanded? reorganized? Would you support an Aldermanic NAC rotation schedule so that the Aldermen stay in touch with the communities?

4) Many residents believe overcrowding, vacant and derelict properties, commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods, etc., are chipping away at the quality of life in their neighborhoods and are lowering property values. How do you propose to tackle these issues? What role, if any, would code enforcement and rental licensing play?

5) Recognizing the necessity of balancing growth with adequate infrastructure, and also the anticipated pressures to move forward on development projects as the economy recovers, will you support tools such as the APFO to ensure that neighborhood concerns about appropriate infrastructure (schools, water, traffic, etc) are considered in the decision-making process?