Five people running to fill Walkersville Town Commission vacancy

Feb. 9—Five people are running in Monday's special election in Walkersville to fill a vacant commissioner seat.

Michael McNiesh, the former commissioner who held the seat, is trying to win it back. The other four candidates are Betsey Whitmore Bannen, Jason Bryant, Duane Musselman and David Toohey.

Voting will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Residents may also vote by absentee ballot. The application for absentee ballots was Feb. 7.

According to Town Manager Sean Williams, ballots will be counted the night of the election, and a winner likely that night.

The town will have 48 hours to certify the election after polls close, he wrote in an email.

Commissioners serve three-year terms. They are paid $3,600 annually, Williams wrote.

Betsey Whitmore Brannen

Betsey Whitmore Brannen says she is an "OG Walkersville," a slang reference to having deep roots in the community.

She graduated from Walkersville High School, as did her father and her grandmother. And after moving around with her husband, Mitchell Brannen, with the Army, they settled down in Walkersville.

Betsey Whitmore Brannen is an assistant branch administrator with Frederick County Public Libraries in Urbana.

"I think Walkersville is the absolute best place to live and to work, and to raise a family. And I've lived all over," she said.

Brannen said the commission needs to be sensitive to the fact that different places in Walkersville have different needs, she said. Some places in the town need growth, while other places need renovation.

"We have to recognize that what is needed in Deerfield may not be needed in downtown Walkerville, and what is needed in downtown Walkersville may not be needed in Glade Manor, but we have to recognize that we are a community," she said.

She also feels like the town's code and ordinance needs to be updated to better reflect the technology available. For example, while she believes government business should be done in person, there are times when people should have the opportunity to attend virtually, she said.

"There is something to be said for, you know, sitting up there on the dais and facing your constituents and answering the questions, you know, face to face," she said. "However, you know, we all have situations where we might need that grace."

Jason Bryant

If elected commissioner, Jason Bryant said, he would want to show the pride of Walkersville.

As a program analyst with Leidos Biomedical, Bryant said his job is about identifying problems and finding solutions. He has said he has done the same for Walkersville as the chair of the town's Board of Appeals.

Bryant said he wants to figure out how to reduce speeding and noise on Md. 194. The town could put a stop sign, look into a traffic circle or even a traffic light to slow people down, he said.

He also wants to look into bringing something akin to the Thurmont Colorfest to Walkersville to showcase the artisans in town and their skills.

"I think it would be kind of cool to have, and it would bring some focus into Walkersville and ... kind of bring people into Walkersville and kind of let Walkersville shine a little bit," he said.

Finally, he wants to look into updating the town website, and maybe even adding a spot on the website he called the "Commissioners' Corner" for residents to send questions.

"It would actually add in a little bit of communication and transparency from the citizens to the commissioners," he said.

Michael McNiesh

Micheal McNiesh believes he should have the seat he was elected to the first time.

"I just feel like I deserve the chance to finish my term that I was elected to," McNiesh said.

Commissioners voted in the fall that McNiesh had too many unexcused absences from town meetings. Per the town charter, he had to forfeit his office.

McNiesh missed the meetings due to job training in Texas. McNiesh is now a certified flight training instructor with Southwest Airlines and said that with a more flexible schedule, he won't miss meetings if reelected.

He wants to finish projects that he started as a commissioner, like fixing the sidewalks in town. He and former Commissioner Michael Bailey made a push to fix all of the sidewalks, he said, but it didn't happen.

McNiesh also wants to maintain communication with residents. He said he has always tried to keep residents up to date on what was happening, and remain transparent.

McNiesh said he also wants to continue to be a voice for those who do not want residential development in Walkersville, which is most of the community, he said. Some are pushing for more residential development, and ignoring residents, he said.

"The majority of people, which is something like 90% or more, are being ignored by the people making those decisions," he said.

Duane Musselman

Duane Musselman said he prefers to get the job done rather than talk about it.

As the co-owner of Musselman Excavating, Musselman said, he has had a hand in many projects with the town, like Heritage Farm Park. He also helps repair things in the town like sinkholes and burst pipes. He wants to get more involved with the community as a commissioner.

"It's something that I grew up with, you know," he said. "You're supposed to be a good neighbor, you help your neighbors when you can, you know, do whatever you can for your community."

Musselman wants to keep the small-town feeling of Walkersville. A commissioner should communicate with constituents, and keep them involved in town decisions when they can, he said.

He understands the desire for Walkersville to grow, and he believes the town should be reasonable about its growth and take a slow approach. It starts with filling vacant business spaces, he said.

Some solutions that he would like to look into are working with building owners to give them an incentive to renovate some dilapidated buildings or help them make their properties more attractive to potential business owners.

"Maybe we need to kind of partner with them and talk to them about what they can do to kind of sweeten the deal for, you know, people to come in and be able to afford rent or the electric bill or whatever," he said.

Finally, as a former football coach and Glade Valley Athletic Association commissioner, he wants to make sure youths in the town have plenty of resources to get outside, such as sports, Boy Scouts, or Girl Scouts or something as simple as parks, he said.

David Toohey

David Toohey feels that trust, transparency and communication need to be brought back to Walkersville.

He wants to use social media to disseminate town news and be consistent in answering emails from residents, he said.

"I just want to be able to be an open voice for the people," he said.

Additionally, he feels the town website should be updated with contact information for those who work for the town, but are not commissioners.

Currently, on the town website, there are only hyperlinks to the emails of commissioners, burgess, director of public works and code enforcement. There are no emails for other employees or members of commissions.

He said he wants the town to grow slowly. As a member of the town's Parks Commission, he feels the town needs to update infrastructure to do so, as well as make walking safer for pedestrians. This is particularly true on Md. 194, he said.

As an employee with the Federal Aviation Administration, Toohey said, he wants to look into modernizing the town's attendance policy, allowing employees and officials to participate virtually. He feels that in this day and age, and with his own personal experience with the federal government and working from home, it can be productive.

"I think that for cases of illness, family obligation, or employment purposes that may take us out of town, that attending commissioners' meetings through Zoom would be perfectly acceptable," he said.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel