(3/16) Just when Woodsboro residents thought it was safe to come out – residents will soon be seeing campaign signs for the upcoming election of a Town Burgess and two Town Commissioners, with the election slated for May 10th.
Burgess Heath Barnes announced at February meeting that he was seeking re-election. At the same meeting Commissioner Bud Eckenrode, who was elected in 2021, announced that he was not going to seek re-election.
Commissioner Jessie Case who was also first elected in 2021 and serves as the Council Liaison to the Planning Commission told residents assembled for the March 11th town council meeting that he was running for re-election. "If anyone wants to challenge me, please do," said a smiling Case.
"I just wanted to make sure you know that all of us on the Council want to serve the town. I grew up here. It’s kind of exciding to see someone who is I want to do it too, even if it’s [serving on the council] just for curiosity. I learned a little bit. I strongly suggest that if you know anyone who has an hour to kill on a Tuesday once month, that you encourage them. I think its important that as we have four slots for Commissioners, that we keep cycling people through them, its gets people more informed especially if you have a circle of friends and you want to know something, get someone in that circle to serve on the council, and they can inform everyone every week on what is going on." Case added.
Like Thurmont, Woodsboro utilizes what is called a "nominating convention" to identify who plans to run for Town Office. At the "nominating convention," which will be held April 1st during the regular Town Council meeting. A resident is nominated for the office of their choosing by another resident, that nomination then needs to be seconded by another resident of the Town. Following the seconding of the nomination, the name is officially considered to be on the ballot.
The "nominating convention" provides a forum for those seeking office to tell the residents their goals and objectives if they get elected. In addition, as in prior years, this newspaper will provide all candidates free space in the May edition of the paper to communicate with the residents on their goals, objectives and hopes for the Town.
The Burgess is paid $5,000 a year and Commissioners are paid $3,000. All elected officers serve a term of four years.
The Town’s election will take place on May 10th. Residents can cast their ballots in the meeting hall of St. Johns United Church of Christ, located at 8 North 2nd Street, from eight in the morning until two in the afternoon. The newly elected Burgess and Commissioners sworn in on May 13th.
While the purpose of the nominating process is to identify the names to be put on the ballot, a resident who misses the nominating convention, can still run a write-in campaign, which given the historical low voter turnout for town elections, makes it possible for a resident to win a seat on the Council with just a handful of votes, as many have done in the past.
In the last town election, which took place in 2023, former Burgess Bill Rittelmeyer and sitting Commissioner John Cutshall ran unopposed, with only 39 residents casting a vote.
To vote in the election, residents must be residents of the Town and must be registered within 15 days of the election in Frederick County. Any qualified voter, who is unable to vote in person, may cast their vote using an absentee ballot. Those seeking an absentee ballot must apply in writing no later than seven days prior to the election.
