Candidate Survey: Dylan Diggs for Frederick County Council, At-Large
Candidate Survey: Dylan Diggs for Frederick County Council, At-Large
TheDuckpin.com Candidate Survey
Name*
Dylan Diggs
Age*
36
Office Sought*
County Council
County*
Frederick
District, if applicable*
At Large
Political Party*
Republican
Education*
Masters in Government, Georgetown University; Bachelors in Political Science, Johns Hopkins University
Career/Occupation*
Evaluation Specialist
Political Experience*
President of the Republican Club of Frederick County; Various presidential and congressional campaigns since 2008.
Social Media Accounts*
Facebook - Diggs4MD; Twitter - Diggs4MD; Instagram - Diggs4MD
Website*
Why are you running for office?*
I’m running for this position because I believe that Frederick is at a critical crossroads. We face mounting challenges: a growing government that feels more distant, families are struggling under rising prices, insufferable traffic, and increased taxes and businesses and farmers face incredible strains. All are surmountable, but ultimately at such a critical moment I believe it is up to good and principled men and women to get involved where they believe they can make an impact. I’ve lived in Frederick for most of my life. I know this county is powered by a strong and virtuous people with an entrepreneurial spirit. We need to unlock that and we can do so by advancing responsible, conservative governance in Frederick. Only by doing so can we build the foundations for freedom and opportunity to be fertile ground for future generations. Through this campaign, I have and intend to continue to prosecute the case for responsible conservative governance, engage with everyone who asks questions, like in this survey and operate with principle and determination as we reach voters.
Who do you consider your political role model, and why?*
This is an oddly difficult question because no political actor is perfect – far from it. In fact, our system was wisely built assuming that lack of perfection. I will say that for my Hall of Fame, Thomas Jefferson, despite all his warts, remains a key factor in much of my thinking. His contributions in the Declaration of Independence laid the foundations of freedom in our country. While not realized in his day, or even in his own livelihood these provided what Lincoln called a “Hard nut to crack” that sustained throughout our history’s history. His other writing, such as the Notes on the Virginia Constitution, laid out the argument for small government and individual freedom in our country so clearly that they’re woven in our American character. Yet he mixed his ideological principles with a pragmatism that set up our country for success for decades after his presidency. I also appreciate Jack Kemp’s efforts to use conservative governance to reform the nature of government in the United States with the acknowledgment that government can do good things. If we’re thinking locally, David Brinkley was very literally a role model for me since I was in grade school, prosecuting the case for thoughtful conservative governance with logic and data.
What is your favorite book about politics and policy, and why?*
Too often my favorite book is the one I recently read. I will say Yuval Levin’s “A Time to Build” is intriguing about how we must commit to building and rebuilding institutions and mediating forces in our community. As a believer of localism and a rebirth of defined institutions, Levin’s contributions speaking about how local and discrete communities rely on these institutions to create the pillars of our nation is an important message. Oren Cass’ The Once and Future worker is an interesting deep dive into the future of work and how a conservative policy can adapt to these new dynamics. Given my profession, you can’t get much better than “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville, who analyzed the American character, about how we engage each other and the nature of our community, in a way that is so important today (check our Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” for a more contemporary analysis).
What will be your top priority in office?*
The next County Council will be responsible for really figuring out how Frederick County will grow into the future. We’ve had periods of rapid growth matched with waves of heavily limited growth. Moving forward we will have to work with our municipalities, and an iterated Livable Frederick to determine a path forward for Frederick County that finds a better balanced. We need to make sure infrastructure (road quality, school construction, etc.) is in place to catch the demands when houses get filled. To do this, we should be using the tools at our disposal Relatedly, we need to work to ensure that businesses have the least possible barriers to entry for them to fill lots and demands across the county. Also, we must to make sure that law enforcement has the support they need to handle the growth as it comes. Finally, as this happens, we need to ensure that we’re being fiscally responsible by stemming the growth of government (which has grown dramatically in Frederick over even the past three years) so that we can give more of our citizens’ money back to them.
What is the biggest issue facing your area?*
I talked about growth above. I want to emphasize that growth is not a bad thing. Providing housing that meets demand is critical for early family formation and helping families access wealth. Folks just want us to tackle land use in a way that doesn’t bring enormous traffic strains and also doesn’t imbalance the market in such a way that housing prices skyrocket. Related but additional issues include: community safety, rebuilding our small and medium businesses that got hit so hard over the past two years, and the rising costs and taxes of Frederick citizens. I’m worried about the increasing burdens that face our citizens. Individuals and families are facing rising costs, higher taxes and decreasing opportunities. They are paying more into a system and getting less out of it. These strains stem from a plethora of issues but maybe the greatest is that we are not working together to find long term solutions. Political posturing is poisoning our politics. I want to work with all stakeholders, parties and people to ensure government is efficient, effective and encourages business growth, taxes are low and we have a strategic and informed approach to growth.
What are the three biggest issues facing Maryland?*
Taxes, crime and pressures on families, especially those making it harder for seniors to retire here.
What is your position on life issues? (abortion, assisted suicide)*
While this is not something that will not be addressed much on the County Council, I am pro-life. I appreciate that there is a lot of division on the issue and it is a fundamentally human story. We should approach life issues with compassion to the mother and the unborn. That said, at the county-level, we don’t have a lot of authority on life issues. And frankly, regardless of what happens with the legal framework, we should look towards our approach to families. A pro-life party must be a pro-family party. We need to reduce barriers to family formation where we can and find ways to make it more affordable to raise a family. Also we want to look at growth and how we’re reduce traffic and also making our communities livable and workable so folks can find more time with their families and better manage challenges with day care. Additionally, making sure that communities have adequate natal and crisis pregnancy support systems should be a priority of government, religious and community groups. Even rhetorically, we need to shift out thinking on these issues to consider the lives of babies and children. We’ve seen the discussion too often not focused on our fundamental end users: the children. While the national legal framework is shifting on this, and the state framework is mostly settled law, I think it will help us to have more conversation about how we’re helping children and working families support life.
What is your position on taxes and spending?*
Government revenue is taken from citizens’ well-earned money and should be treated as such. This necessitates responsible stewardship of this money. Where we can help citizens keep more of their own money we should do so. Lower taxes let citizens better plan with their own money and invest for their families, pay their bills, pursue their dreams and produce more wealth. All levels of government should be constantly assessing how we can not only reduce waste, but identify how we can revise operations and programs to be more cost-efficient and effective in producing meaningful results for citizens. Especially in times like these when costs have increased so much, we had opportunities in Frederick County to provide a tax cut to all Frederick citizens. The current Democratic administration chose a spending spree instead. If Republicans win in Frederick County in 2022, I intend to help to stem the growth of government, make government more effective where it can meet a need and give more money back to citizens.
What is your position on gun rights?*
Our Constitution is the law of the land. American citizens have a right to bear arms, and I believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to enjoy their rights to protect themselves with reasonable checks and regulations that don’t infringe on those fundamental rights. It’s not a county code issue, however, and as such not much within our scope, so more specific issues should be addressed to folks at the county and state
What is your position on the legalization of marijuana?*
I’m a research-based guy. I think that we’re learning a lot about marijuana and the effects of it on communities from communities experimenting with it. Medical marijuana is one thing as that is carefully managed and has demonstrated some real benefits. If there is legalization we should make sure that a regulatory system is in place to ensure safe use for both the individual and community, and that it is a revenue generator.
What is your position on the current three-tiered system for the sale and distribution of alcohol?*
It’s a system that has produced some benefits here. While I abhor overregulation, any movement away from this system should make sure to still protect local and smaller breweries. We don’t want to (no pun intended) distill the market to large retailers. Instead, I do think making sure we have a varied and vibrant local sale and distribution system is a benefit currently, though I’m confident there could be some ways to improve new efficiencies.
What is your position on land use, growth, and development?*
I mentioned a lot about growth above. In order to avoid superfluous repetition, I will just reiterate that we need balanced growth in the county. We can’t choke off the pipeline of growth, but we do need to better manage it. In particular, we need to look to grow in ways that works in concert with municipal leaders to revitalize our small and medium towns across the community to ensure growth is well distributed and that business has opportunity across the county. That said, there are serious concerns among many in Frederick about the risks that initiatives such as Livable Frederick and the Monocacy River Plan may pose to their property rights. We need safeguards in place to ensure that property rights and due process is protected. As Frederick is the fastest growing county in the state, improved, data-based planning can help to ensure that development and growth is done right in Frederick and in a way that it does not impose an undue burden on citizens already living here.
What is your position on crime and public safety?*
I am a firm supporter of law enforcement in our county. They keep us safe and free. Sadly many of the challenges we faced four years ago only persist. Frederick has grown a lot since I grew up here. This has come with great benefits, but also many strains. The opioid crisis, increased gang activity and violence are all issues we need to increasingly address. As such, we need to provide the financial and operational support to empower our institutions, such as the Sheriff’s Office, police and emergency personnel, to address these issues. Providing support for staffing when our deputy force is short about 40-50 deputies has to be a priority. Beyond just funding, we need to make sure law enforcement is a respected profession that encourages good cops to sign up and stay. But we also need to invest in the preventative work to address the drivers of these issues on the front end. This should also require offering resources (such as rehab centers) to help those who are caught in this cycle get out. Only a holistic approach will prevent this fire from becoming a conflagration – for too many it already has.
What is your position on county tax caps?*
We’ve seen the county government grow by 4 percent in 2020, 8 percent in 2021 and 10 percent this year. With this unprecedented growth folks have been paying more out of pocket because of how taxes are assessed. This is despite significant surpluses. We could and should have given the taxpayers more of their own money back. I will push to stem the growth of government and holding property taxes to the constant yield.
Was Joe Biden legitimately elected President of the United States in the November 2020 Election?*
Yes
Do you pledge to accept the results of your election?*
Yes