Four candidates seek to fill Walkersville commissioner vacancy

Apr. 14—Four people are running in Walkersville's second special election this year to take the seat of former Commissioner Michael Bailey.

Two candidates — Betsey Whitmore Brannen and David Toohey — ran in the special election in February for now-Commissioner Michael McNiesh's seat. Bob Yoder has run in the 2018 and 2021 elections. This is the first time Chris Ragen has sought public office.

Voting will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall on Tuesday, April 18. Residents may also vote by absentee ballot. The application for absentee ballots was April 11.

A candidate forum will be held Saturday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

Election results will be announced the night of the election, and certified two days later.

Commissioners serve three year terms and are paid $3,600 a year.

Betsey Whitemore Brannen

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

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

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 works for Deerfield may not work for 'Old Town' Walkersville, and we need to take residents from all parts of the town into consideration," she said.

That includes areas adjacent to Walkersville, she said, since working together for what's best can help those who call Walkersville home.

She said the town's code and ordinances 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."

Chris RagenChris Ragen said Walkersville is at an inflection point.

Walkersville is trying to preserve its small-town feel in the middle of a big building boom, he said. De said he doesn't want to Walkersville to become another story of a small town overrun by development.

The 10-year comprehensive Plan is something that's critical to that preservation, he said.

"If we can set this 10-year period and say we can't build either because the schools aren't ready, the roads aren't ready, the water isn't ready, maybe we can ride this out and see what's on the other side and maybe we can preserve Walkersville as a small town," Ragen said.

But that doesn't mean that certain things shouldn't be developed in the town, he said. Ragen wants to add more amenities for the youth in Walkersville. Without places to congregate, children can fall back on activities like vandalism.

The town can also use existing infrastructure to make such an amenity, he said.

"In Walkersville Park in particular, behind the tennis courts, there's the remnants of a ball field that has no lines, it has what's left of the backstop and the benches have all been destroyed by the kids. What if you put something there for the teenagers that's central to the town?" he said.

As a young historian, Ragen said he is a strong candidate because he looks at the bigger picture when making decisions. He said he knows how to look at the broader, long-term effects in addition to direct impact.

He said he can bring a fresh perspective to the commission.

"I know how the game is played, and I don't like it," he said. "I want to buck that trend and be different than what they call the good old boys."

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

Toohey 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.

Toohey said he wants to explore the possibility of Walkersville getting its own police department. The town has grown and Toohey said he has had safety concerns with recent robberies in the town, so maybe a police department would be a worthy investment, he said.

The town should look into the costs first, he said, because Maryland State Police already have troopers assigned to the area.

"Thurmont has its own police department, I don't see why we shouldn't," he said.

Toohey is a part of the town's Parks Commission, and as such, he is excited to see the planned bike trail that is would come up Fountain Rock Road and through Walkersville. It's a process that he's been getting involved in, 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 said 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.

Bob Yoder

Bob Yoder said that as a Walkersville commissioner, he would help the town look forward.

Yoder said he has managed multi-million dollar budgets and as a "fiscal conservative," he feels he can help the town manage its money more long-term.

"I always had to have a one year, 18 months, five year and seven year plan documents," Yoder said. "Technology changes so I have to vision out where we're gonna be and expense that, understanding where those big things are. I think the town doesn't do a good job there."

He's seen to fruition multiple infrastructure projects. Given that, he said, he feels the town needs to pull back on growth, in order to first build the foundation needed for future growth and handle already blighted buildings.

Before the town wants to begin building anything, he said, the town should be looking into whether or not roads support developments they'd want to build.

One development in Walkersville had built houses before upgrading Biggs Ford Road, and now the residents are paying the price, he said.

"For two years, at least, the town has been trying to get that cleaned up and done, which required removing telephone poles, putting in proper sewage, putting in curbs," he said. "None of that was done. It was done later and now all the residents are paying for that not from the cost, but from the aggravation."

As a retired IT network manager, Yoder said the town has made a lot of progress technologically and with its web presence, but it has a lot farther to go. When he and his wife watch meetings at home, video feeds still buffer and stop, he said.

If the town is telling the residents that watching meetings from home is possible, he said, the technology needs to be "rock solid."

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel