Tony Chmelik
Tony Chmelik | |
|---|---|
| Frederick County Councilmember, District 2 | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – December 1, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Steve McKay |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Ijamsville, Maryland[1] |
Tony Chmelik is an American politician. He represents district 2 on the Frederick County Council.
Education and professional career[edit]
Political career[edit]
Frederick County Board of Education[edit]
2008 campaign[edit]
Chmelik ran for a seat on the Frederick County Board of Education in 2008.[2]
Chmelik was opposed to teaching students about preventing sexual assault.[1] Chmelik said that teachers should be required to work for Frederick County Public Schools for a certain amount of time if the county pays for their graduate school tuition.[3]
In the race for three open seats, Chmelik came in seventh place with six percent of the vote in the primary election.[4]
2012 campaign[edit]
Chmelik ran for a seat on the Frederick County Board of Education again in 2012.[5]
Chmelik said his highest priorities would be reevaluating the curriculum and increasing the board's effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency.[6]
When a secretary at Urbana High School put a nativity scene on her desk, the principal asked the secretary to remove it because it promoted Christianity.[7] Frederick County Public Schools' policy said that school employees are representatives of the state of Maryland while performing official duties.[7] As representatives of the state, school employees are not allowed to display a Nativity scene on school property because doing so would constitute the state promoting a certain religion, which is an unconstitutional according to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.[7] Chmelik said the nativity scene did not constitute teaching or preaching of Christianity and should be allowed.[7]
In the primary election, Chmelik came in sixth place with ten percent of the vote, advancing to the general election.[8][9] In the general election, Chmelik receive fourteen percent of the vote, coming in fifth place for three open seats.[10]
Frederick County Council[edit]
2014 campaign[edit]
Chmelik ran to represent the second district on the newly created Frederick County Council in 2014.[11] Stephens Dempsey and Fred Ugast also ran in the Republican primary election.[12]
Chmelik said he was running for Council because he wanted "to keep Frederick County moving in a positive direction".[13] Chmelik said that the biggest issue facing the second district was roads and schools.[13] Chmelik supported improvements to Route 75 and Route 80.[13] Chmelik wanted to accelerate construction of a new elementary school in Urbana, expand the middle school in Urbana, and build a new elementary school in Monrovia.[13]
Chmelik won the Republican primary election with 54 percent of the vote.[14][12] Chmelik appeared on the general election ballot along with Democratic candidate Annette Breiling.[15] Stephens Dempsey renounced his Republican Party affiliation and ran as an independent write-in candidate, saying he could not possibly support Chmelik's campaign.[16][17]
Chmelik promised to never vote to increase his own salary.[18] Chmelik signed the Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes".[19]
Chmelik won the general election, receiving 57 percent of the vote.[20] Following the win, Chmelik promised to work with all other members of the Council, regardless of political party affiliation.[21]
First term[edit]
At the beginning of the term, the Council decided to establish the position of treasurer, and the Council voted to appoint Chmelik to the position.[22] After a year and a half, Chmelik had not yet produced any quarterly financial reports, which he had promised when he was originally appointed.[22] Chmelik defended keeping the position, saying that having a treasurer is the way to provide accountability for spending public funds.[22] The Council voted in favor of abolishing the treasurer position.[22]
In 2015, the Frederick County Council approved a county budget that included $615,000 of spending cuts.[23] Chmelik voted against the budget, saying it did not cut spending enough.[23] Chmelik said he saw the budget as a property tax increase, even though the property tax rate was not changed.[24] The editorial board of The Frederick News-Post criticized Chmelik for not being specific on where he wanted to cut the budget and presenting no budget-cutting ideas during the Council hearing, making the editorial board feel that he had no idea where to begin.[25]
Council members M.C. Keegan-Ayer and Jessica Fitzwater introduced a bill to repeal an ordinance designating English as the county's official language.[26] Rather than repeal the ordinance altogether, Chmelik suggested keeping the ordinance in place while asking Council members to only repeal offensive parts of it.[27] The Council did not approve Chmelik's idea.[27] The bill to repeal the ordinance passed; Chmelik voted against the repeal.[27]
A county law requires contractors to pay prevailing wages, rather than minimum wage, to their employees on school construction projects where the state pays at least one-fourth of the cost.[28] Chmelik called the law a "political boondoggle” intended to please labor labor unions.[28] Chmelik wanted to make it so prevailing wage was only required when the state paid at least half the cost.[28] Chmelik's proposal did not pass the Council.[29]
Frederick County assesses a school impact fee on builders when they construct new residential projects, to offset increased costs to schools due to the additional enrolled students.[30] When Jan H. Gardner considered increasing the school impact fees, Chmelik strongly disagreed, saying the fees disproportionately burden one part of the county's economy.[30] Chmelik was critical of estimates of the impact of building new housing near overcrowded schools.[31]
Council member Bud Otis introduced a bill to make it a conflict of interest for elected officials and their immediate family members to be awarded bids for county projects.[32] Chmelick voted against the bill.[32]
Chmelik supported new zoning standards that would allow solar arrays on agricultural land.[33] Chmelik said he wanted to allow farmers to maximize the use of their land while still being considerate to neighbors' concerns about changes in the landscape.[33]
Chmelik proposed increasing the Frederick County Executive's annual salary to $180,000 in order to attract private-sector executives, rather than only politicians.[34] When the rest of the Council criticized the proposal, Chmelik withdrew it.[34] Chmelik also proposed allowing County Executives to hold outside employment, which had been prohibited, in order to attract candidates who are executives from the private sector.[34] The proposal did not pass the Council.[34]
Chmelik opposed a proposal to increase the county's hotel tax from three percent to five percent, some of which would fund construction and improvements to conference halls and exhibit halls in the county.[35] Shreve also opposed a bill to fund part of the construction of a hotel and conference center in downtown Frederick.[36]
Electoral history[edit]
2012[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Kathryn B. Groth | 11,463 | 15 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Shade | 8,179 | 10 | |
| Nonpartisan | Zakir Bengali | 7,495 | 10 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joy Schaefer | 7,488 | 10 | |
| Nonpartisan | Colleen Cusimano | 6,776 | 9 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tony Chmelik | 6,677 | 8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Emily Ann Meyer | 6,665 | 8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Donna Crook | 6,329 | 8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Pam Ward | 6,296 | 8 | |
| Nonpartisan | Cindy Ann Rose | 5,231 | 7 | |
| Nonpartisan | James E. Hoover | 4,613 | 6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kiesha La Kay Edmonds | 1,607 | 2 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Kathryn B. Groth | 58,525 | 23 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joy Schaefer | 54,237 | 21 | |
| Nonpartisan | Zakir Bengali | 44,623 | 18 | |
| Nonpartisan | Colleen E. Cusimano | 41,861 | 17 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tony Chmelik | 35,387 | 14 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Shade | 18,066 | 7 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 716 | 0 | |
2014[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Chmelik | 2,144 | 54 | |
| Republican | Stephens Dempsey | 997 | 25 | |
| Republican | Fred Ugast | 860 | 21 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Chmelik | 10,108 | 57 | |
| Democratic | Annette Breiling | 6,430 | 37 | |
| Write-in (Stephens Dempsey and others) | 1,055 | 6 | ||
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chmelik, Joe; Chmelik, Tony. "FCPS should stop usurping rights, duties of parents". The Frederick News-Post. December 19, 2007.
- ↑ Breitenbach, Sarah. "Twelve candidates file in Board of Education race". The Frederick News-Post. December 4, 2007.
- ↑ Breitenbach, Sarah. "BoE candidates talk spending, policy at forum". The Frederick News-Post. February 6, 2008.
- ↑ Andyshak, Ashley. "Final vote count shuffles father and son BoE candidates". The Frederick News-Post. February 26, 2008.
- ↑ Ames, Blair. "12 register to run for school board". The Frederick News-Post. January 12, 2012.
- ↑ Ames, Blair. "Chmelik ready to bring ideas to school system". The Frederick News-Post. February 11, 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ames, Blair. "Secretary asked to remove nativity scene from desk". The Frederick News-Post. December 22, 2011.
- ↑ Ames, Blair. "Chmelik wins sixth spot on BoE ballot". The Frederick News-Post. April 14, 2012.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Election Summary Report, Presidential Praimry Election, Frederick County, Maryland, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races, Official Final Results". Frederick County Board of Elections. May 2, 2012.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Election Summary Report, Presidential General Election, Frederick County, Maryland, Tuesday, November 6, 2012, Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races, Official Final Results". Frederick County Board of Elections. November 20, 2012.
- ↑ "On the ballot". The Frederick News-Post. February 26, 2014.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Election Summary Report, Gubernatorial Primary Election, Frederick County, Maryland, Tuesday, June 24, 2014, Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races, Official Final Results". Frederick County Board of Elections. July 8, 2014.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Rodgers, Bethany. "County Council District 2 candidate Tony Chmelik". The Frederick News-Post. June 7, 2014.
- ↑ Loos, Kelsi; Mullins, Patti Borda. "Voters pick County Council contenders". The Frederick News-Post. June 25, 2014.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Election Summary Report, Gubernatorial General Election, Frederick County, Maryland, November 4, 2014, Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races, Official Results". Frederick County Board of Elections. November 18, 2014.
- ↑ Rodgers, Bethany. "CASA entreats Md. governor candidate to disavow Jenkins". The Frederick News-Post. August 8, 2014.
- ↑ Rodgers, Bethany. "Write-in candidates fight uphill battle". The Frederick News-Post. October 29, 2014.
- ↑ Rodgers, Bethany. "Candidates discuss changing charter's budget process, cutting elected posts". The Frederick News-Post. July 19, 2014.
- ↑ Rodgers, Bethany. "Young, GOP council candidates sign anti-tax pledge". the Frederick News-Post. August 6, 2014.
- ↑ Loos, Kelsi; Borda-Mullins, Patti. "At-large race favors Republicans in county council". The Frederick News-Post. November 5, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Paige. "County Council pledges teamwork before swearing-in". The Frederick News-Post. November 8, 2014.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Gaines, Danielle E. "Political Notes: Rewriting the Rules, again". The Frederick News-Post. May 12, 2016.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Rodgers, Bethany. "Frederick County Council advances budget with $615K in cuts". The Frederick News-Post. May 1, 2015.
- ↑ Fefield, Jen. "County Council hopes county executive will negotiate on budget". The Frederick News-Post. April 30, 2015.
- ↑ Footloose approach to budget by Shreve, Delauter & Chmelik (editorial). The Frederick News-Post. May 3, 2015.
- ↑ Loos, Kelly. "Bill introduced to repeal Frederick County's English-only ordinance". The Frederick News-Post. June 16, 2015.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Loos, Kelsi. "Frederick County's English-only ordinance repealed". The Frederick News-Post. August 18, 2015.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Fifield, Jen. "Construction law top of mind as County Council considers legislative priorities". The Frederick News-Post. September 22, 2015.
- ↑ Fifield, Jen. "Frederick County's priorities in Annapolis to go to public hearing". The Frederick News-Post. October 2, 2015.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Gaines, Danielle E. "Council discusses proposed increase to school fee paid when new homes built". The Frederick News-Post. December 8, 2015.
- ↑ Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy. "Frederick county council members blast bill to raise developer fees". The Frederick News-Post. February 9, 2016.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Gaines, Danielle E. "New ethics bill goes before Frederick County Council". The Frederick News-Post. January 12, 2016.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Gaines, Danielle E. "County Council works to update regulations of large solar arrays". The Frederick News-Post. May 24, 2016.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 Gaines, Danielle. "Frederick County Council pares down proposed charter amendments". The Frederick News-Post". June 7, 2016.
- ↑ Gaines, Danielle E. "Political Notes: More hotel tax hullabaloo". The Frederick News-Post. March 10, 2016.
- ↑ Lavin, Nancy. "Frederick County Council OKs agreement for downtown hotel". The Frederick News-Post. October 25, 2016.
External links[edit]
 Current members of the Frederick County Council | ||
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| At-large |
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| District-level |
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a President b Vice President | ||
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