Sugarloaf Alliance
Preservation * Smarter Growth * Transparency in Government
Development near Sugarloaf (west of I-270 and north to the Monocacy River) should remain protected and free from commercial and industrial development. Check one
Agree
I grew up climbing Sugarloaf Mountain and exploring the Potomac’s shore at White’s Ferry. I lived in Poolesville from 1974-1978 and have seen firsthand the success of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve. I support the Sugarloaf Alliance and their mission to preserve our natural landscape, protecting this region from suburban sprawl. Frederick County’s beautiful rural heritage should remain safe for future generations, wherever possible.
A Green Infrastructure Plan should be completed and adopted before approving major new industrial rezonings. Check one.
Agree
If elected, do you pledge to never sign an NDA with a data center developer or other developer, nor to be bound by an NDA signed by another county official with a data center developer or any other developer? Check one.
Yes
County legislation should be developed to prohibit County Council members, the County Executive, and county staff from signing any NDA that restricts their ability to inform the public, deliberate openly, or carry out their public duties. Check one.
Strongly agree
Government works best in the open. Throughout my 12 years as an elected official—eight on the Board of Education and four as current State Delegate—transparency has been my cornerstone.
Public officials are trustees of the people, not private corporations. Citizens have a fundamental right to know how their tax dollars are spent and how decisions are made. Transparency must always come first and statewide legislation is needed.
Frederick County should fund a thorough, independent cost-benefit analysis of data center impacts, specifically on Frederick County, regardless of any analysis that may be conducted by the State of Maryland on State level impacts. Check one.
Strongly agree
Frederick County must fund an independent cost-benefit analysis of data center impacts. No other Maryland county faces our unique situation: hyperscale complexes proposed less than 1,000 feet from schools and homes.
A state-level study isn't enough. We need an analysis tailored specifically to Frederick County's local environment, infrastructure, and taxpayers. We should be learning lessons from Virginia's costly mistakes, not repeating them. Transparency and local protection should have come first.
How many data centers should be built in Frederick County? Check the answer closest to your position.
0 (I will oppose all data centers, even those under construction)
What new county data center legislation would you endorse? Check all you support.
Increased distances to residences and public uses, Stricter noise limits, Stricter water use limits, Stricter design, height, and screening limits, Efficiency and power consumption limits, Full disclosure of electricity consumption, water consumption, height and footprint, backup generation capacity, noise and lighting impacts, and infrastructure needs and requirements of proposed data centers., An independent, third-party regularly monitoring data center operation (e.g. noise, water consumption) that reports its results publicly, including additional testing triggered by resident complaints or changes in operations., Mandatory corrective actions within a defined timeframe, with meaningful penalties or operational restrictions if compliance is not achieved (if post-construction monitoring shows a data center exceeds approved limits)., A moratorium on new data centers
I support all of these measures. During the 2026 session, I sponsored HB 1534 to impose strict environmental, noise, and vibration limits on hyperscale data centers- increasing the distance they should be from schools while protecting agricultural and rural legacy.
I also sponsored HB 799 to require these facilities to supply their own power, which was put in the Utility Relief Act. HB 1534 stalled in committee, I am fully committed to reintroducing this critical protective legislation next session to ensure complete accountability.
What are your thoughts concerning environmental issues, preservation, development, transparency in government, and data centers in Frederick County? Describe any priorities, tradeoffs, or concerns that guide your thinking.
Government must prioritize transparency or risk the erosion of public trust. Under the Maryland Open Meetings Act (OMA), government transparency is legally mandated by defining exactly who must meet in public and how those meetings must be conducted. The use and signing of NDA’s by public officials needs to be clarified under current open meetings provisions
and changed, if needed.
I will continue to champion legislation to mandate cumulative impact studies, force grid accountability, protect our schools, ratepayers, residences and our rural legacy.
Currently, the Maryland Department of the Environment fails to evaluate the cumulative impact of hundreds of small locomotive-sized diesel generators when approving new applications. This lack of regulatory oversight is unacceptable.
Frederick County residents already face dangerous roads, inadequate infrastructure, and an unstable grid as well as threats to our county by transmission lines built solely to feed Virginia's data centers. Furthermore, areas surrounding these hyperscale complexes suffer energy cost increases up to 300%, which we are already paying for. We urgently need PJM reform so Maryland families stop subsidizing exponential corporate load growth from Virginia.
At Carroll Manor Elementary, proposed data centers will sit just 900 feet away. The combined noise, vibration, and diesel emissions present a direct threat to our students, particularly those with special needs. We cannot talk about "community benefits" when this neighborhood is paying such a devastating price.