(12/2018) As we approach the holiday season, it is a time to give thanks, reflect on our blessings, and look forward to the future.

Personally, I am grateful for the love and support of family. I have been married to my husband John for 35 years and together we have three adult children and one wonderful grandson. We are fortunate that two of our children are married and have married wonderful, generous and kind people. We are grateful that all three of our adult children are employed and self-sufficient.

I am greatly blessed to have both of my parents living in good health in their own home surrounding our family with unconditional love and regular advice. My dad has the best sense of humor and is sharp as a tack while my mother remains clearly in charge. I often tell people that I know it’s been a bad day when both my husband and my mother exclaim "You did what"? And, it is no secret that I am more concerned about my mother’s opinion!

This year, I am thankful and humbled by the confidence the citizens of Frederick County have placed in me by re-electing me to continue to serve our community as Frederick County Executive. The trust to provide leadership and to shape our community’s future is a responsibility I take very seriously. It is work that I love. I am committed to represent everyone and all geographic areas of Frederick County. You can count on me to work hard to make life better for the people who live here.

I am filled with optimism for a bright future.

First, I fully expect the newly elected county council to work collaboratively to meld ideas and perspectives to move Frederick County forward. The childish antics of the past will be gone and will not be missed.

Second, I expect open, honest and transparent government. Good processes are already in place and strong ethics laws combined with good people will ensure government that people can trust. Citizens deserve honest government.

Third, I expect a term filled with accomplishment that reflects the priorities expressed by people during the campaign. People clearly want residential growth to be managed better. Citizens want solutions to overcrowded schools and congested roads as well as more options to work locally. And, maybe most important, people want to preserve what we love about Frederick County – our rich history, our cultural amenities, our agricultural heritage and our nature beauty. People want Frederick County to be a special place to live and work with a strong sense of belonging and community.

The time is now to secure our future.

My priorities include adopting and advancing Livable Frederick, a master plan to ensure our bright future; ending school overcrowding by building needed schools and putting strong laws in place to prevent school overcrowding from being re-created in the future; and significantly increasing our investment in agricultural preservation to preserve more land now before it becomes more expensive and impossible to do.

It is critically important that we support the economic viability of agriculture. As agriculture goes, so goes our rural towns and villages. This is easier said than done because local government cannot control commodity prices but we must make a strong effort to support diversity and options in agriculture and to attract a younger generation of farmers.

We will continue to implement the recommendations from our Seniors First Initiative and make sure our Senior Services Division meets the needs of active seniors to our frail elderly. This is a work in progress to make sure our seniors can live life to the fullest and age in place at home.

We are blessed to live in a safe community and feeling safe is fundamentally important to a high quality of life. Keeping our community safe does not happen by accident but rather by good planning and a focused investment in people, training, and equipment. Citizens will soon see the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 which will bring new technology and capability to 9-1-1 Communications. We will continue to invest in our Fire and EMS service as well as in law enforcement to ensure the best and the brightest to keep us safe.

And, we will continue to attract new businesses and jobs as well as support the expansion of our existing businesses by implementing our GO Strategy for economic development so more people can work where they live. Our economy is thriving and we are seizing our opportunity to be a place where people work on the cure for cancer, develop new innovation and technology, and manufacture traditional and state of the art products.

We are not without challenges and one of the most daunting is the heroin and opioid addiction crisis. I look forward to the successful implementation of a detox facility to provide hope for recovery and to working collaboratively with all our partners including law enforcement, educators, public health providers, and our faith community to bring an end to this epidemic. This is a challenge that morphs and changes with stronger and more deadly drugs, but we are up to the fight.

As we approach Christmas and the holidays, take advantage of the many wonderful community events to celebrate the season. There really is something for everyone to enjoy from the Kris Kringle parade, to municipal tree lightings, museums by candlelight, and so much more. Enjoy time with friends and family, reflect on our blessings, and be generous and kind to people in need.

Frederick County is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We have outstanding public schools, wonderful cultural and historic amenities, great parks and libraries, and a truly caring community. Our collective task is to protect what we love and embrace our opportunities.

From my family to yours, best wishes for a joyous, fun-filled, happy and blessed holiday.