Sen. Hough announces campaign for county executive

May 18—After a rise through Frederick County politics that has taken him to the Maryland Senate, Republican Michael Hough will seek the county executive's office in 2022.

Hough, 41, the current Senate minority whip who represents parts of Frederick and Carroll counties, announced his candidacy Monday morning.

Current two-term County Executive Jan Gardner (D) will be ineligible for reelection because of term limits.

Some of the central themes of his campaign will be reducing overcrowding, congestion and traffic, lowering taxes and support for law enforcement and the Frederick County Sheriff's Office's controversial 287(g) program. He backs the policies in hopes of Frederick not becoming "Montgomery County north," he said.

The county's future will depend on a balanced approach to growth, without too much high-density development, Hough said.

There's a lot of housing already planned in the development pipeline, but the next County Council and executive will have some options on the next wave of development, he said.

With the southern and eastern part of the county growing so quickly, county officials will have to make sure that money and resources for schools and other infrastructure is allocated to the right places, Hough said.

In his day job, Hough works as chief of staff for West Virginia Congressman Alex Mooney (R).

Hough started considering a run for executive during the 2021 session of the General Assembly. He told people that he wanted to get through the session before he made up his mind.

After the session, he and his wife took a trip and talked and prayed about the decision, he said.

Running for county executive will mean giving up the Senate seat he's held since 2015 and his new role as minority whip.

Hough said he enjoys the Senate, but the chamber has lost a lot of moderate Democrats, which has made it hard to do bipartisan policy in the heavily Democratic body.

"It's just been difficult when you're on defense all the time," he said.

Several Democrats have already announced candidacies to succeed Gardner. Among them are Daryl Boffman, the executive director of public affairs for Frederick County Public Schools and a former member of the school board, and County Council members Jessica Fitzwater and Kai Hagen.

The primaries will be held June 28, 2022, and the general election is Nov. 8, 2022.

Hough believes he starts the race in a good position. His Senate district represents a large chunk of the county, and between his House and Senate careers he's been elected in almost every part of the county except for the city of Frederick.

One challenge will be meeting the new voters who have moved recently into the fast-growing county.

"That's going to be a big job for anybody running," Hough said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter:

@RMarshallFNP

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP