Danny Farrar – County Council At-large (R)

(4/2018) On November 7th, the signs come down, direct mailers will no longer fill your mail box, door knocking will quiet, and phone dialing will cease for these offices for the next four years. Most importantly, our county, state, and nation will move forward with the ramifications of the ballot box from the day before. Make no mistake about it, you vote whether you do it at the polling station or not.

Not voting is, in and of itself, a choice. None of us are perfect and the only person you will agree with 100% of the time is you. Unless it’s your own name beside the oval, rest assured we will all disagree at some point. That’s the thing about the way forward, there are as many ways to get there are as there are people to make the trip.

So where does that leave us, this Republic that seems so fractured and divided? I’d caution that we ought not to be looking for the perfect person, rather, we should be hoping to find a public servant, committed to doing all he/she can in the service of others.

We have numerous issues facing our community: rapid growth that leaves schools overcrowded and roadways backed up, first responders doing all they can with much less than they need, and an opioid crisis that has hit us all far too close to home. We have a community that we love that must somehow evolve for the future without losing the roots that made us plant ourselves in it in the first place.

Yet, with all those challenges I just listed, there are so many more left unsaid. More worrisome still, along with all the promise that the future holds, there will be new problems we have yet to consider that will require teamwork to face head on. As much as planning for the future is important, having a demonstrated ability to calmly weather the storm is even more so.

For the last four years we have watched as time and time again, the vote simply went 4-3 on the dais as name calling and walking away were the theme of the day. As it spiraled out of control with angry people unable to coalesce around the betterment of Frederick, it reminded me of a quote from Governor Hogan I heard on the campaign trail: "There are people who like to come to Annapolis and make a lot of noise, but they never seem to get anything done."

Our county has been plagued by those types of people for some time now--more concerned with getting the credit than getting it done. They can’t tell you why nothing they want gets passed, but they can sure tell you they are right. Some will challenge me and say that focusing on conversation and compromise is a weak stance. To those people, I would simply ask how strong is losing every vote 4-3?

What our county needs more than anything else is a proven track record of team building and people with enough confidence to not take disagreements so personally to then walk away from the table. My resume speaks to that need more so than anyone else running. From the Pentagon on 9-11, to the front lines of Iraq, to years of Service in the Fire Department, I have lived and breathed service. From homelessness to owning one of the fastest growing companies in America, I know the power of the American dream. As a family man, I know the importance of ensuring it remains for generations to come here in Frederick. Most importantly, I know that I accomplished none of that alone. Self-made men never amount to much.

As I stand before you asking for your vote, I assure you that I put in the work before I did. I have fought for, protected, rescued, worked for, and employed my fellow Americans for the past 20 years. I understand the importance of both getting and signing that paycheck. I understand the worry that comes with not being sure you are going to be able to make that next payment, and more importantly the despair that comes when you can’t. I have very real empathy for you because I am just like you. I have been there and made it out. Now, I want to do all I can to help others join me.

So…my pledge to you is simple: to always remain seated at the table and inviting you to join me, to always listen to you, to care about your ideas even when we disagree and to find a way to the middle (where the clear majority of Americans reside), and to work with you to find a way forward from there.