As I travel the county, knocking on doors and talking with voters, the main message I hear is that we need change at the county level. We need leaders with fresh ideas that are able to deliver roads, tax relief, improved services, and economic development to Frederick County.

Frederick has so many advantages that other areas of the state and the country would love to have. We have an educated workforce, great quality of life, we sit at the crossroads of two major metropolitan areas including the nation’s capital, great schools, a major scientific research base at Fort Detrick, and wonderful small town charm that is the envy of so many.

Yet too many of us are unable to fully take advantage of everything Frederick County has to offer. Lack of high quality employers has forced so many in the county to commute. The high taxes and home prices have forced some to move even farther from job centers. Cars have clogged our roadways, robbing people of time with their families and their community every day.

I talked with one resident of Walkersville who spent half an hour on Route 26 trying to get to the Weis Market a few miles from her home. I spoke with another commuter in Thurmont who battles Route 15 and 270 every morning before dawn to reach his job. Thousands of Frederick County residents spend unnecessary hours every day, wasting time stuck in traffic. This is nothing short of a failure of government.

Think about it; as consumers, we would not frequent the same store over and over again if we had to waste time waiting in line for hours, yet that is what we tolerate and have come to accept from our government with traffic. The government has consistently and indifferently failed to provide solutions for this problem.

We can do better in Frederick County. We can make Frederick County a place for employers to do business. Governor Hogan has given us a blueprint for how to make the state open for business and attract high quality employers.

Governor Hogan has also given us a lifeline for traffic relief by widening Route 270 through Frederick with a creative public - private partnership. Yet I have not heard a peep from the county about this plan; the first realistic plan to improve the quality of life for those commuting that has been proposed in decades. Our county leaders need to be championing this plan which will end the suffering of one of the nation’s worst traffic nightmares. This issue begs for new county leadership.

Friends, if you are tired of sitting in traffic every day, if you respect property rights, want lower taxes, and a local government focused on delivering customer service to citizens, I humbly ask for your vote in the Republican primary on June 26.