Issues
Economic Development and Jobs
"Well-planned, revenue-producing, employment-generating business growth will be the key to our economic future." — Commissioner Kai Hagen
Frederick County is not an island, and our residents and businesses are feeling the serious effects of a global and national economic crisis. The diversity of our local economy, including a strong biomedical research and high-tech businesses sector, has helped us weather the storm. Now our county must continue to support these important economic employment centers while fostering an environment that encourages a diversity of 21st century jobs. It is also essential to recognize that smart growth management and planning goes hand in hand with solid and sustainable economic development.
Throughout the last four years, I have supported virtually every economic development-related program and initiative in the county. Some have suggested otherwise, based only on my opposition to a few individual and high profile annexations or other development proposals. Those often self-serving critics have confused any development (no matter how poorly-planned or premature) with good economic development, and some of the current candidates are doing the same thing today.
Read the Full Position Statement on Fiscal Responsibility and the Budget
Public Education
"We must support excellence in education for all Frederick County children." – Commissioner Kai Hagen
I will continue to vigorously support a strong public education system in Frederick County and will continue to make it one of my top priorities. Public education is an important and essential investment that we make for our children, our citizens, and the well-being of our entire community.
We must maintain an absolute commitment to every student and family in the county: The quality of their education will not be less than those a few years older, or a few years younger, just because they happened to enter or attend school during a challenging economic downturn.
Read the Full Position Statement on Public Education
Fiscal Responsibility and the Budget
"Good process matters." – Commissioner Kai Hagen
The county budget is the single most important responsibility of the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners. How – and how efficiently – we invest tax dollars reflects the values and priorities of a large, diverse and complex community that will always have limited resources and competing needs and priorities. Through four budget cycles, I have engaged this critical process by being as informed and thoughtful as possible, and taking a detailed, thorough and surgical approach, rather than the sort of meat axe approach some candidates seem to be offering.
In short, my position is clear: Continue to reduce spending. Do NOT raise taxes. But, while that is simply stated, in these challenging times it is more essential than ever to have commissioners that do not approach it as simple process.
Read the Full Position Statement on Fiscal Responsibility and the Budget
Growth Management and Land Use
"We don’t have to sacrifice what we love about where we live." – Kai Hagen
When I first I ran for county commissioner, one of the major issues in the campaign was growth (planning and development) in Frederick County. Throughout the county, many people were concerned about rapid, poorly planned and sprawling development that was outstripping the county’s ability to provide the necessary infrastructure, contributing to worsening traffic congestion, overcrowding schools, and exacerbating a long list of other problems, small and large, from the shortage of athletic fields to the prospect of higher taxes.
Read the Full Position Statement on Growth Management and Land Use
“Waste-to-Energy” / Incinerator
I have been fully engaged in this issue in Frederick County since before I was even elected to the Board of County Commissioners. For many different, and yet individually compelling reasons, I am utterly convinced that funding and constructing the now-approved mass burn incinerator is the biggest mistake the county could make. So, let me be perfectly clear:
If re-elected, I, Kai Hagen, am absolutely committed to voting to end Frederick County’s participation in the 1,500 tons per day regional Waste-to-Energy (incinerator) project as soon as possible after the new Board of County Commissioners is installed on December 1, 2010.
In short, the county has greatly overstated the need for this massive incinerator, and dramatically exaggerated the potential benefits. At the same time, the county has failed to adequately assess and has significantly under-appreciated the enormous economic risk associated with the project. And, finally, the county has profoundly under-valued the real benefits of maintaining the flexibility that comes with a more dynamic and integrated approach in a rapidly changing world.
Read the Full Position Statement on Waste-to-Energy Proposal and the Incinerator
Candidate Questionnaires
"Below are links to a few of the completed candidate questionnaires I have received and answered.
League of Women Voters questionnaire
Citizens for the Preservation of Middletown Valley questionnaire
PO Box 803