Hagen to Run for Second Term as Frederick County Commissioner

Says his experience will help board make informed decisions

Originally posted in the Gazette, Thursday, March 25, 2010
by Sherry Greenfield
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03252010/newmnew164855_32558.php

Frederick County Commissioner Kai J. Hagen believes his four years of experience on the board is an asset that voters should take into consideration when they cast their ballot in the Sept. 14 primary.

If re-elected for a second term on the five-member board, Hagen (D) wants to use his county government experience to help the new board make informed decisions.

“I certainly want to make sure the conversations about the choices we make are informed decisions,” he said. “I think I have brought that to this board. I think I have brought a thoughtful, process-orientated perspective to all these discussions. I hope that the next board has at least three people who support that approach.”

Hagen was slated to officially announce his re-election campaign Wednesday night in front of supporters at the Cultural Arts Center in downtown Frederick, after The Gazette went to press.

Hagen, 51, was elected to the board in 2006. In that campaign, growth was the leading issue, in particular the re-write of the New Market Region Plan.

Hagen, along with Commissioners’ President Jan H. Gardner (D), Commissioner David P. Gray (R) and Commissioner John “Lennie” Thompson Jr. (R) campaigned with the promise that if elected they would scale back the amount of housing development approved for the southeast portion of the county by the previous board.

The four promised voters it would be their first order of business, and they kept that promise.

In September 2008, Hagen and the board approved a new plan that reduced the number of houses to be built over the next 20 years, from 12,200 to 6,600.

“I think during the last four years, the Board of County Commissioners has done a great deal to shift the direction of the county in a responsible way,” Hagen said. “This was one of the first things done as a board.”

The rewrite of the New Market Region Plan also led the board to rewrite the county’s Comprehensive Plan, which outlines the direction of the entire county over the next 20 years.

Commissioners are slated to approve the plan today.

Hagen is also proud of the board’s work to renovate several older schools, including Linganore High, Walkersville Elementary and West Frederick Middle.

Finally, Hagen said his voting record shows that he has been in the majority of a number of key decisions taken by the board. For example, a vote not to dismantle the Frederick County Office of Economic Development, a tax credit for farm buildings, and the small business loan fund.

However, Hagen did encounter a stumbling block when his board colleagues voted to move forward with a trash incinerator, or what some people call a “waste-to-energy facility” because it burns trash to make electricity.

Hagen was the lone commissioner against the incinerator.

In 2008, he mounted a public campaign against the project that came under attack by his board colleagues. “I don’t think the incinerator will be the top issue, but it certainly will be an important issue,” he said.

Hagen is married to Kirsten Waller, head of surveillance in the division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. They have two sons, Tor, 18, and Leif, 12.

E-mail Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@gazette.net.

Name: Kai J. Hagen
Residence: Near Thurmont in the Catoctin Mountains
Date of birth: March 31, 1958
Party: Democrat
Education: An English major at St. Olaf College in North Field, Minn. from 1976-1980.
Work experience: Internet consulting and photography.
Top three issues:
Land use, planning and development are critical issues that will shape the direction and landscape of the county.
Creating effective and thoughtful economic development.
Making wise choices on how we use limited resources and providing critical services during these difficult economic times without raising taxes.
Campaign funds: $5,000 in early contributions.
Previous political experience: Frederick County commissioner from 2006-2010. In 2002, Hagen was appointed to the Citizens Zoning Review Committee, which reviewed the county’s zoning ordinance and a former member of the Frederick County Parks and Recreation Commission.