As Democrats rallied last week in Frederick County, the executive director of the Maryland Republican Party asserted that Democrats can't win in the state's rural counties in 2018 ("Democrats plot strategies for making gains in rural counties," June 20).
Really? During the 2015 legislative session every Republican lawmaker from Frederick County voted against the state's operating budget bill as well as its capital budget bill. Here is what that means for Frederick County taxpayers:
Republicans did not support a $35 million state allocation for the retirement of Frederick County teachers, librarians and community college faculty. Nor did they support a $12.2 million state grant for construction at Frederick High School, a $200,000 state grant for HVAC renovations at Myersville Elementary School, a state grant of $374,000 to renovate boilers at New Market Middle School or a state grant of $164,000 for renovations at Twin Ridge Elementary School.
They also rejected a state grant of $544,000 for roof renovation at Valley Elementary School and a $227,000 construction grant for Frederick Community College.
Other state grants opposed by Frederick County Republicans included support for the Way Station Community Health Facility, the Brunswick Sports Complex and Woodland Park Playground, the Catoctin Furnace African-American Cemetery, the storm water management program at Culler Lake, the Northwest Trek Conservation and Education Center and the Weinberg Center for the Arts.
In short, the Frederick County Republicans did not support the return of Frederick County tax dollars to Frederick County taxpayers. Residents can easily see from the 2015 Department of Legislative Services 90-Day Report how consistently their county's GOP delegation failed to support the county they live in.
Jake Mohorovic, Dundalk