Frederick City’s incumbent Mayor Michael O’Connor was announced winner of the Democratic primary on Tuesday and will face Republican candidate Tom Trott in the general election.

Mayor O’Connor won the Democratic primary by a margin of 861 votes, taking 57% of the overall vote against his opponent, former city planning commissioner Ron Beattie.

When the primary election concluded on September 9, only 782 ballots had been cast between early voting and in-person election day voting. Officials had to count the remaining 4,963 mail-in ballots by hand.

Once that counting was done on September 16, Mayor O’Connor received 3,303 votes to Beattie’s 2,442.

Incumbent Mayor Michael O’Connor - Democrat

O’Connor is running for his third term in office, having served as mayor since 2017. He says he wants to use the work he’s done over the last eight years as a template to move forward.

Now that he’s one step closer to his third term, O’Connor says he’ll need the help of residents to achieve that goal. “We can’t do this work here without the work of our residents, and their votes are a ratification of the work that we’re doing,” O’Connor told WYPR.

O’Connor said his Democratic opponent, Ron Beattie, raised important issues. He acknowledged the city has room to improve how it connects with and listens to its residents.

O’Connor adds he does not want to take victory in the general election for granted. The mayor plans to reach out to residents in the coming weeks to hear the voice of the people. “The voters are the ones that have the final say, and we have to continue to do all of the things that a good campaign would do,” O’Connor said.

Ron Beattie - Democrat

Beattie served on the city’s planning commission for several years before stepping down to run for mayor. He ran on a platform of change, saying residents weren’t happy because the city wasn’t doing enough to listen to them.

Beattie was not required to step down as planning commissioner, but wanted the ability to speak freely on topics he would have otherwise had to stay silent on. “One of the hot ticket items on the agenda was the cricket stadium.” Beattie explained. “I think our campaign had a major role in delaying that.”

The 5,000 occupant cricket stadium is under consideration by the city. If approved, it would be constructed on a plot of land near East Patrick Street. Residents have expressed concern the stadium would cause congestion on local roads and overburden nearby infrastructure.

Before his campaign, Beattie says not many people were talking about how the city does planning. With his experience as planning commissioner, Beattie explained he could see the flaws. “If we’re not doing effective planning, then we’re in-and-of-itself, making the City of Frederick less affordable,” Beattie said.

With the Democratic primary over, he says he's not sure where to go next with his career but knows he isn’t done either. "Forty two percent voted for us,” Beattie explained. “That’s not an insignificant number, and I think I owe it to them to keep the issues alive for the future of Frederick.”

General Election

Tom Trott is the Republican nominee in Frederick’s mayoral race, having run unopposed in the primary. As the co-founder of Victory Mortgage Solutions, he wants to encourage economic growth. “I don’t think the taxpayers have been put as our number one priority,” Trott said. “I’ve got a big business focus, I want to be bringing more businesses into Frederick.”

Trott claims there are fewer businesses downtown, with buildings being left vacant. He remembers a time when Frederick was more lively and wants to see a return to that era. “We’re going to get things back and get some businesses open and some buildings fixed and working on infrastructure,” Trott said.

Mayor O’Connor challenges those claims, pointing to 400 new businesses that have joined the Frederick community during his time as mayor. He says investments are being made to build up the city. “We’re seeing small businesses grow,” Mayor O’Connor explained. “We’re building programs and supports to make sure that small, women, and minority owned businesses have a fair shot.”

It’s harder for small businesses now than five years ago, O’Connor said, attributing the state of the city to economic ebb and flow. He points to work with the Downtown Frederick Partnership, the Golden Mile Alliance and other organizations as proof to the city’s work. “All of these are efforts that are geared towards promoting and supporting business growth and expansion,” Mayor O’Connor explained. “In addition to making sure we don’t lose sight of Frederick being an attractive, high quality place for people to live.”

How to vote

Frederick City residents are allowed to vote, regardless of citizenship status, due a bill passed in 2024 by the -then- board of aldermen. Registered voters will receive new voter registration cards through the mail showing their city district, alongside mail-in ballots for the general election.

In February, the City Council approved new district boundaries to improve local representation. Two members of the seven member council will operate at large, with the remaining five members each representing a single district. In addition to the Mayor, all seven City Council seats are also on the ballot.

Early voting for the general election will be held on October 24 and 25, with election day voting occurring on November 4.

Residents can drop off their their mail in ballots at the locations bellow:

• The Bourne Building, 355 Montevue Lane, Frederick, MD 21702
• Hillcrest Commons, 1150 Orchard Terrace, Frederick, MD 21703
• Talley Recreation Center, 121 North Bentz Street, Frederick, MD 21701
• Housing Authority Office, 209 Madison Street, Frederick, MD 21701
• Governor Thomas Johnson High School, 1501 North Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701
• Frederick Community College, 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702

Residents can vote in person at the Trinity Recreation Center at 6040 New Design Road, Frederick, Maryland 21703.