2022 in review: closed meeting, contested election, People's Convoy, COVID restrictions

Dec. 31—From closed session meetings with Amazon Web Services and threats from a nonprofit to close Sugarloaf Mountain, to the "People's Convoy" and President Joe Biden's visit to Western Maryland, here's a look back at politics and government in and around Frederick County in 2022.

January

A new legislative map the General Assembly passed at the start of its session didn't drastically change Frederick County's voting districts, but it increased the number of lawmakers representing the county from eight to 15.

Back in Frederick County, a state board ruled that Brunswick city officials violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act during a closed session meeting back in August.

The meeting — in which city officials met to "discuss a potential business locating in Brunswick," meeting minutes state — was one day after the Frederick County Council convened Amazon officials about a $30 billion proposal that would've brought data centers to multiple parts of the county.

A deal with Amazon didn't materialize, but the drama didn't end.

February

After a News-Post story shed light on why the proposal fell through, state Sen. Michael Hough — a Republican who at the time was a county executive candidate — said that county officials mishandled the proposal and "blew a historic business deal."

Days later, a countywide mask mandate ended.

Without a way for the county to enforce the rule — which the Frederick County Board of Health implemented at the end of 2021 to quell the spread of the hyper-contagious omicron variant — it was up to businesses to ensure that their customers wore a mask.

It was around this time that tensions about COVID-related rules and restrictions were beginning to boil over.

March

As the "People's Convoy" of trucks passed through Frederick County on its way from a staging area at the Hagerstown Speedway to the Capitol Beltway, crowds gathered on overpasses and pulled over on interstate highways to cheer on the miles-long procession of drivers and their supporters from across the country.

Later in the month, a 215,000-square-foot facility with the capacity to produce about half a million COVID test kits per day to be distributed all over the world officially opened.

The facility, owned and operated by the Australian-based biopharmaceutical company Ellume, was expected to manufacture test kits for other infectious diseases when at-home COVID test kits were no longer needed.

Also, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ordered the state's primary election — originally scheduled for June 28 — be pushed to July 19 because of legal challenges to congressional and legislative redistricting maps passed by the legislature.

April

For the first time in more than two years, members of the public were permitted to attend Frederick County Council meetings in person.

As the legislative session wound down, so, too, did the career of state Sen. Ron Young, 82, a Democrat who represented Frederick County in the Maryland Senate for three terms, but is perhaps best known for his 16 years as Frederick's mayor.

Del. Carol Krimm, 71, missed most of the session with what her family said was a medical condition. Krimm, a Democrat, represented Frederick County in the General Assembly for seven years.

May

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 63, suffered a "minor stroke" while giving a speech at a Democratic summit near Cumberland. He said that he fully recovered, The Associated Press reported, and he went on to win reelection with more than 65% of the vote.

Frederick County adopted a $792 million budget, roughly 10% larger than the previous year's.

The budget included a 7% income tax rate reduction for roughly 60% of taxpayers in the county, which is scheduled to take effect in the new year.

June

The Frederick County Council voted to increase the amount of money committed to the general reserve each year, which two county employees said will save the county millions of dollars in interest.

Later in the month, Frederick County officials met with their counterparts from the Frederick city government about plans for a library branch on the west side of the city. But, they were unable to reach an agreement about where it should be.

Community meetings about the west side library have highlighted the mistrust and feelings of exclusion that some city residents have toward the county government.

July

Then-County Councilwoman Jessica Fitzwater won the Democratic nomination for county executive, while Hough, who ran unopposed, secured the Republican nomination.

In the race for governor, two Frederick County residents — one who tried to impeach Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and another who was closely aligned with Hogan — competed on the Republican ticket.

Del. Dan Cox went on to defeat former state Commerce and Labor Secretary Kelly Schulz. He was the first Frederick County resident to win a major party nomination for governor since at least 1915.

While Cox's supporters said he would energize GOP voters in the months leading up to the general election, others in the party felt that his allegiance to Trump and political style would widen divisions within the party and hurt down-ballot candidates.

August

The primary, though, didn't end on Election Day. Or the next day. Or the next week.

Compounded by the rising popularity of mail-in voting, and a state rule that ballots cannot be counted or processed before Election Day, one race held up the final results in Frederick County for an entire month.

The Democratic race for the District 3 seat on the County Council between incumbent M.C. Keegan-Ayer and political newcomer Jazmin Di Cola featured the following: a three-vote victory for Di Cola, a recount, a single-vote win for Di Cola, a residency challenge in court, a judge disqualifying Di Cola and, eventually, the Democratic Central Committee's vote to nominate Keegan-Ayer, which led to two members resigning.

Also in August, board members from Stronghold, the nonprofit owner of Sugarloaf Mountain, upped the ante for the county's plan to preserve the mountain and the area surrounding it, saying they would close the mountain to the public if the county adopted a plan that Stronghold disagreed with.

September

As members of the County Council sought to placate Stronghold and maintain public access to the mountain, supporters of the preservation plan repeatedly alleged that the county government had sought to establish a data center campus near the mountain as part of the negotiations with Amazon.

And as the November election grew closer, Fitzwater and Hough began squaring off in forums that local organizations and clubs hosted.

Fitzwater consistently defended the county's progress during eight years of charter government and advocated for more affordable housing options for residents. Hough advocated for a course correction and said his leading priority would be lowering the county's property tax rate.

October

At the start of the month, Gardner used her final State of the County address to tout the advancements she said the county has made in the last eight years.

The next day, during a visit to Volvo's powertrain manufacturing facility near Hagerstown, Biden painted an optimistic picture of the nation's economy. But, he said, Republican victories in the November midterm elections would undo progress the country has made.

The Sugarloaf saga came to a temporary close.

The County Council voted unanimously to pass the Sugarloaf plan, but it pushed a decision on development restrictions in the area to the next council.

And, a union that represents Frederick County's career firefighters accused the county of "misuse of public funds" and "unethical behavior" for creating a committee in support of a ballot question about who has the final say in bargaining disputes.

November

After a 10-day wait and a nearly-10,000 vote swing following Election Day, Fitzwater was elected county executive. She defeated Hough by less than 1 percentage point.

Four newcomers were elected to the County Council, including Kavonté Duckett, the first person of color to serve on the council, and Mason Carter, an 18-year-old who graduated high school in May.

Democrats picked up an additional seat on the seven-member council and now hold a 5-2 majority.

December

In his bid against Fitzwater, Hough became the first Frederick County executive candidate to break the million-dollar mark in campaign spending, finance reports showed.

The county's delegation experienced quite a shakeup.

The 15 members, which comprise 11 Republicans and four Democrats, voted to elect two Republicans to chair the delegation, much to the chagrin of the Democrats.

For the last four years, the delegation had four Democrats and four Republicans, and each delegation member served for one year as either the chair or vice chair.

In the final week of the year, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin announced that he has been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a "serious but curable form of cancer."

Raskin, a Democrat who won a fourth term representing Maryland's 8th Congressional District in November, is set to begin chemo-immunotherapy and plans to continue working.

Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan