ENDORSEMENT: Michael Hough for Frederick County Executive
Frederick County needs responsible leadership. And only one candidate offers that.
This December, Frederick County will move on from Jan Gardner’s leadership as County Executive. The two most striking things about her administration are that she opposed ethics reform and her administration’s bungling of a potential Amazon deal that would have brought jobs to Frederick County.
It’s time for Frederick County to move on from Gardner and elect somebody who will put Frederick County first. That candidate is Michael Hough.
I have known Mike Hough for years. Before being elected to the General Assembly, Mike was a legislative aide and led the Maryland Republican Assembly whose mission was to support the election of conservative Republicans throughout the state. Hough has been a dedicated movement conservative who has demonstrated both as an activist and as an elected official, a commitment to conservative principles. As a member of the House of Delegates, Hough had a solidly conservative voting record, including voting against every O’Malley budget and every tax increase proposed during the O’Malley administration. He unabashedly led the fight on many of the most important issues facing our state, introducing legislation to stop the implementation of Obamacare, staunchly defending life and our Second Amendment rights.
He also passed the Frederick County ethics law, Gardner’s objections notwithstanding, protected private property rights by reforming civil asset forfeiture, helped create tougher penalties for heroin dealers by working with Gov. Hogan, coauthored the largest criminal justice reform in Maryland history, and strengthened laws aimed to prevent child abuse.
More than just talking the talk and walking the walk as a conservative legislator, Michael Hough is a decent and honorable man. He is a proud husband to his wife of JoeyLynn and a devoted father to his children. He is a native Marylander and an Air Force veteran.
His integrity was best summed up in a Red Maryland interview in 2011. When asked if he was being lobbied on a controversial piece of legislation like many of his Republican colleagues he stated that he did not have many visits from lobbyists because they knew where he stood on the issues and was likely to remain steadfast in his convictions.
Hough is also focused on the most pressing issues in Frederick County. For too long, Frederick County has been losing its rural character and becoming more and more like its urbanized neighbor Montgomery County. That’s why Hough wants to preserve the open space and agricultural land that makes Frederick County what it is. He wants to work on the traffic congestion that plagues Frederick, especially the I-270 corridor. And he wants to continue to work to stop property tax increases on Frederick County residents.
Hough is running unopposed in the Republican primary. He will be challenged by one of three Democrats, all of whom are just continuations or acceleration over the Gardner years. It’s hard to imagine a scenario under any of their administrations where Frederick County would do anything but continue to become a clone of Montgomery County.
Frederick County needs responsible leadership. And only one candidate offers that. This is why The Duckpin endorses Michael Hough for Frederick County Executive.