Dear Friends,

The chaos and confusion unfolding in Washington are dangerous for our country, our state, and our beloved Frederick County.

Our federal government should be bringing people together and working for everyone, regardless of their ideology or identity. Instead, the Trump administration is taking reckless and illegal actions, devastating our institutions and everyday Americans – especially our most vulnerable. Our nation is so much greater than what we are witnessing from its leaders.

As County Executive, I am committed to leading a government that respects the dignity of every human being, builds partnerships to solve problems, and provides excellent service to our people. I know that our work, now more than ever, is to demonstrate that local government can and will deliver results and improve people’s lives.

That’s exactly what we are doing in Frederick County. In the past month, we:

Announced major investments . I joined Governor Moore to announce the restoration of funding for safety improvements to US-15 and additional funding for local school construction projects [link removed] . These investments were the direct result of our community speaking with one voice about the challenges we face and our strong partnerships with state leaders.

Secured our finances. We earned a coveted AAA bond rating from all three credit agencies: [link removed] . This is the highest possible rating and a testament to our unwavering commitment to fiscal responsibility. We are proud that these ratings allow us to continue to invest in schools and other critical infrastructure while saving millions in taxpayer dollars.

Brought local businesses together. We hosted our second annual Business Insight Forum, where we convened over 100 business leaders to discuss our business climate: [link removed] . We also released our Business Sentiment Survey, which showed a majority of businesses have an upbeat outlook for the year ahead.

Listened to our residents. With our partners on the County Council, we hosted five budget town halls: [link removed] , where we heard from residents about the importance of investing in schools, seniors, and green infrastructure. We also hosted two meetings where we heard from residents as part of our housing needs assessment: [link removed] , which will inform our new strategic plan to increase the availability of affordable housing.

Launched an exciting partnership. Governor Moore launched the ENOUGH Grant, a first-of-its-kind, place-based strategy to address concentrated childhood poverty: [link removed] , and Frederick County was among the first grant recipients. We formally launched this partnership with incredible community partners and local voices and I am excited to see the progress it will bring.

Stood up to PSEG. We announced Frederick County would formally intervene in PSEG’s application to the Public Service Commission to build the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a transmission line that would have negative impacts on our residents, natural and historic resources, the economy, and our quality of life. This week the county followed through on our promise and filed our petition to intervene. [link removed]

We also continued to do our best to respond to the crisis in Washington. We communicated clearly to our workforce that we remain invested in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and that we serve everyone , regardless of their background. We met regularly with federal and state officials to share information, and we convened our local non-profit community to reiterate our commitment to them in these turbulent times. We will not sit on the sidelines – we will continue to fight for our community.

I believe that we are all called to do the best we can, with what we have, where we are. That’s how we are going to come through this crisis – by showing up and doing our best, together.

Sincerely,

Jessica Fitzwater

By authority: Friends of Jessica Fitzwater, Paul Fulcher, Treasurer.
Friends of Jessica Fitzwater
P.O. Box 3574
Frederick, MD 21705
United States
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