New Mayor Restores Harmony at City Hall
Spotlight-Shy Holtzinger Wins Plaudits but Is Dogged by Nepotism, Other Controversies

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 5, 2006

The former Frederick mayor's tart send-off -- "Irish diplomacy: the ability to tell someone to go to hell so that he will look forward to the trip" -- is gone, and the wall where the framed saying had hung is blank.

Gone, too, is the big City Hall group portrait, which showed the last mayor and members of the former Board of Aldermen standing shoulder to shoulder, all smiles, before their days in office became synonymous with relentless political warfare.

These days, a prominent fixture in the roomy, antique-filled quarters of new Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) is a colored map of the city's zones for future water service. And, to the surprise of some inside and outside the government, the neophyte politician has helped usher in a mood of cooperation at City Hall.

Holtzinger, 42, a lawyer and former city engineer who pulled off upsets of favored opponents in his first bid for elective office last year, convinced voters that as a newcomer, he could put an end to the bickering and get down to business. Six months into his term, he's won praise for restoring calm. But he's also suffered missteps, including a nepotism controversy at City Hall.

Since his January inauguration, Holtzinger has established a reputation as a wonkish, head-down leader more eager to talk about wastewater treatment than politics. Uneasy with speeches and the spotlight, he has been quick to share credit with the Board of Aldermen for several early successes, including an important water-sharing agreement with the county.

But Holtzinger has also been distracted by an ethics controversy over the hiring of his sister-in-law, lingering questions about his residency and criticism over a shake-up in City Hall that resulted in the demotion or departure of some high-ranking officials.

Joe Volz, a columnist at the Frederick News-Post, created a stir in June when he gave Holtzinger an "F" for hiring his sister-in-law and an overall grade of "C." All of which has fed a sense in this city of 57,000 that Holtzinger is learning on the job.

"I think he's different from what we expected," said former mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty (D). She accused Holtzinger of "cronyism" for hiring his sister-in-law and called it a sign of stubbornness.

The mayor helped hire his sister-in-law before the city's Ethics Commission ruled that it was a mistake. She resigned and was rehired without his input.

"The Ethics Commission told him it wasn't kosher. Yet, lo and behold, she applies and, lo and behold, she gets the job. If you can't trust him on something so black and white like you can't hire your sister-in-law -- twice -- how can I trust him again?" Dougherty said.

Others say Holtzinger needs more time to settle in.

"I would say for someone who wasn't a politician, he's doing very well," said Guy Djoken, president of Frederick's NAACP branch. "You have to give people time to learn how to do something."

Randy A. McClement, a former Republican aldermanic candidate who owns a bagel shop, said customers gossip about the mayor's mistakes but with a reserve of goodwill.

"He's just trying to feel his way around," McClement said. "It's the chuckle factor, I call it. They're not laughing at him. They're laughing with him."

McClement said he senses that many people are simply glad for the change of tone in city government.

"At the board meetings, you see very nice, respectful arguments," McClement said. "They may even get testy. But they are not carrying it with them."

That is a departure from the previous administration, when votes often fell along party and sex lines, and discourse was often heated and personal. Those were the days when a former alderman called Dougherty a "dictator" during a public hearing, Alderman Donna Kuzemchak Ramsburg (D) labeled a former colleague an "idiot" in a radio interview, and a shouting match erupted between aldermen and audience members.

"It's nice not to have to walk into someone's office and have them call you a dictator -- or worse," said Ramsburg, an ally of Dougherty's. Ramsburg, however, said she sometimes wondered whether city leaders have given up on straight talk while trying to be nice.

"I think the only thing I fault this board for is not disagreeing at times when I think we should," Ramsburg said. She said she also missed Dougherty's hard-charging tempo, when several projects were juggled at once. This board and mayor, she said, are more inclined to focus on a topic at a time.

"Life is good. Slow , but good," Ramsburg said.

In a lengthy interview in his office, Holtzinger acknowledged that he is still learning and admitted that some of the criticism bothers him.

"I take a little offense to people who moved here, have been here a couple years, and all of a sudden tell me I am a good ol' boy," Holtzinger said. "Give me a break. . . . Some of these people don't know the first thing about me. They don't know me at all."

He said his administration has achieved notable successes. Before he marked his first 100 days in office, for example, Holtzinger fulfilled a campaign promise by reaching agreement with the Frederick Board of County Commissioners on a key water-sharing agreement, breaking a stalemate between county and city officials that had lasted for most of his predecessor's term.

The city also adopted a $62 million budget without changing the tax rate, which Holtzinger said he would eventually like to cut. And he also reorganized City Hall by putting the public works, planning and engineering departments under one head -- a shake-up that caused some officials to resign. And he removed four Cabinet-level posts set up by Dougherty and the "chief"-level pay grades that came with them. That change cost Police Chief Kim C. Dine, a holdover from Dougherty's term, about $2,000 in pay.

Next up are plans to develop a city law, known as an adequate public facilities ordinance, that would require developers to show that there are adequate schools, roads, water and police around a proposed project before construction can proceed.

Holtzinger also is trying to build interest for something he knows is a big snore: expanding the city's wastewater treatment capacity before the city's growth outpaces its ability to handle sewage. The plant is already nearing capacity, he said. "We cannot let that issue get down to the last year or two and say, 'Oh, geez, we got a problem.' Because it's a big issue," he said.

Others might talk about slowing growth because they want to preserve scenic farmland, but Holtzinger sees things as a civil engineer: He is cautious because he knows what happens when a city's growth outpaces its supply of water, as occurred during the 2001-02 drought.

"One thing I've made a quote -- and I get lectured about saying things like this, but I'm going to say it anyways because I'm a blockhead -- I'm probably the least pro-growth mayor this city's had," Holtzinger said.