Charter Board Special Election Petition Falls Short or Required Signatures

(5/13) President Blaine Young of the Frederick Board of County Commissioners issued the following statement regarding the unsuccessful petition effort to require a special election for the Frederick County Charter Board.

"Today marked the end of the first chapter in the book to create a future charter, or constitution, for Frederick County. The Frederick County Board of Elections on Monday, May 9, received 2,915 signatures submitted under the Maryland Constitution requesting a special election for the membership of the Charter Board, and after an exhaustive review process by their professional staff, they were only able to verify 1,741 signatures and falling short of the constitutionally required 2,000 valid voters.

"The Board of County Commissioners believes that we appointed a very diverse and representative group of civic minded individuals draft this document for the citizens to ratify or defeat at the ballot box on November 6, 2012.

"While I do appreciate and support the constitutional right to petition our government for a special election, I am extremely heartened during these very challenging economic times the taxpayers of Frederick County will not have to pay for an unnecessary special election that would cost upwards and possibly in excess of $250,000.

"I encourage every Frederick County voter to closely monitor and follow the Charter Board’s deliberations and progress, to give any feedback, and then cast their vote in support or opposition to the final document. All of this can be done without any expense to the taxpayer.

"On behalf of the County Commissioners and the citizens of Frederick County I wish to convey our sincere appreciation to the diligence and efforts of the Board of Elections for their expeditious resolution of the petition process.

"As I stated, this chapter is now complete. The Charter Board can now move on to the vast challenges that await them."

Read other articles related to the Charter Writing Initiative