Kirby Delauter

Kirby Delauter (born 1964) is an American businessman and politician. He is a former Commissioner of Frederick County, Maryland, and a former member of the Frederick County Council, representing District 5.

Kirby Delauter
Frederick County Council, District 5
In office
December 1, 2014 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byOffice created
Frederick Board of County Commissioners
In office
2010–2014
Personal details
Born1964 (age 56–57)
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Political partyRepublican
ProfessionBusinessman
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1982–1988

Delauter served in the United States Army between 1982 and 1988. In 1993, he bought and became president of the family construction company W.F. Delauter & Son, which was founded by his grandfather and father.

He ran on Frederick County's Republican Conservative Team slate with three other candidates and was elected to a four-year term in 2010 on the Frederick Board of County Commissioners. His campaign platform stressed fiscal responsibility and making the county business friendly.

After the county commissioner government changed into a charter government, in 2014 he defeated Democratic candidate Mark Long in the Frederick County Council District 5 election for its first representative on the new county council. In January 2015, Delauter told a Frederick News-Post reporter on Facebook that he would sue her if she used his name again without his authorization. The incident received national and international coverage, and he apologized for his remarks.

W.F. Delauter and Son

Delauter is the president of W.F. Delauter & Son, a development and construction company based in Emmitsburg, Maryland.[1] He owns over half of the company.[2] The company was paid $525,309 by Frederick County, Maryland, to improve the Libertytown, Maryland, pump station.[3] According to The Baltimore Sun, the company "builds roads, water and sewer systems, storm water management and other forms of infrastructure".[4] Founded in 1955 by Delauter's grandfather, Willie F. Delauter, and his father, Russell Delauter, he bought the company in 1993.[5] W.F. Delauter & Son does business in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.[5]

Frederick County paid W.F. Delauter & Son $72,557 for snow removal services in 2009.[3] Delauter said that upon being elected county commissioner, he would recuse himself on voting on issues involving his company. He would continue to bid on county projects and would consult the county's Ethics Commission if there were any issues.[3]

Political career

Frederick Board of County Commissioners

Delauter was one of a group of three politically conservative, pro-development candidates elected to the council in 2010, he Billy Shreve and Blaine Young won and dominated the 5-person Council.[6][3]

He was one among 11 candidates running for five seats in 2010.[7] In his campaign for county commissioner, Delauter's campaign plank was to cut spending[1] and make the county more business friendly.[8] Saying the county was too big,[3] he supported reducing expenses by privatizing county departments.[1] Delauter aimed to make the county more business friendly by cutting taxes and fees, as well as simplifying the permit process.[9] He ran on Frederick County's "Republican Conservative Team" slate with three other candidates, Blaine R. Young, Kirby Delauter, Billy Shreve and C. Paul Smith,[10] who all won.[11] Delauter finished in fifth place, receiving 35,536 votes in the election and a seat on the five-member county board.[12] After he was elected, he was sworn in on the Great Frederick Fair land as a commissioner on December 1, 2010.[13]

Delauter was assigned to be a liaison to the Agriculture Business Council, Frederick Municipal Airport Commission, Retirement Plan Committee, Roads Board, Social Services Board, and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee.[13] After he received the next county commission meeting's agenda at the end of each week, Delauter used Saturday and Sunday to review it. If he wanted clarifications, he dispatched county employees to obtain the details. He said that by the Thursday meeting, he had formed a stance on most matters.[14]

In February 2011, Delauter joined three other county commissioners in voting 4–1 to cut $2.3 million from the county's Head Start Program. His remarks generated controversy, and were covered in The Baltimore Sun and Maryland's The Gazette. During the county meeting, he had said that women can best take care of their children by remaining married and being stay-at-home mothers. He also had cited his wife as an example, noting that although she had attended college, she stayed at home for 18 years to care for their four children.[15][16]

Frederick County Council

In 2014, after voters passed a charter government initiative, the county government changed from a five-member county commission into a charter government headed by a county executive and legislated by a seven-person county council.[17] Delauter ran for a seat on the county council in 2014. In his Frederick County Council District 5 race, Delauter campaigned on a platform of continuing to make the county business friendly. He supported implementing tax increment financing paid for by the developers that would improve the county's infrastructure.[18] He was endorsed by Emmitsburg Mayor Donald Briggs, Thurmont Commissioner Martin Burns, and Thurmont Police Chief Greg Eyler. Several officials crossed party lines to support Delauter's Democratic opponent,[19] Mark Long,[20] citing their disagreements with Delauter.[19] Thurmont Commissioner Wayne Hooper, Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird, and Myersville Mayor Wayne Creadick supported Delauter's Democratic opponent.[19]

After winning the election 54.72 percent to 45.13 percent,[21] Delauter was sworn in on December 1, 2014, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts. The ceremony, which cost about $2,000, included lunch, flowers, and technical expenses. To denote his unwavering commitment to fiscal prudence, Delauter paid the county $281.36 to cover around one-eighth the ceremony's cost. He further promised not to use both his council credit card and his council expense account (which gives council members a $2,500 annual allowance for traveling and conferences).[22]

Delauter wrote a January 3, 2015, Facebook post addressed to then Frederick News-Post journalist Bethany Rodgers in which he said "Use my name again unauthorized and you'll be paying for an Attorney. Your rights stop where mine start."[23] The post was in response to Rodgers' article the same day about a dispute over parking spots between the county executive and the county council members.[23] Delauter characterized an earlier article from Rodgers as a "hit piece", saying he had told her not to contact him again.[23]

Frederick News-Post editorial page editor Cliff Cumber wrote a January 6 editorial about Delauter's Facebook posts, titled "Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter", in which he discussed the First Amendment and said "We will not bend to petty intimidation tactics."[24] The editorial mentioned "Kirby Delauter" 26 times in the article's body, not including the fact that the paragraphs' initial letters spelled out "Kirby Delauter".[24] Viewed over 500,000 times within 24 hours, the editorial was noticed by national publications, causing #kirbydelauter to trend on Twitter.[25] The incident received coverage from the national media including The Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and the Chicago Sun-Times[26] and worldwide from publications in Canada, Germany, and Australia.[25] Delauter apologized for his Facebook posts, characterizing them as "wrong and inappropriate" and affirming that "[t]he first amendment is alive and well in Frederick County".[25]

In May 2015, County Executive Jan Gardner and Council President Bud Otis jointly introduced a law that would block a company like Delauter's W.F. Delauter & Son from competing for county contracts if a county official was financially involved with the company.[27] When Otis and Gardner issued a joint statement in response to an ethics commission's opinion without speaking with Delauter, Delauter called Otis "chickenshit".[28] Delauter criticized Otis, a Republican, for being "too much of a coward" and for being too "in lockstep" with Gardner, a Democrat.[27] Gardner and Otis criticized Delauter's accusations.[27] On August 19, 2015, the council voted 4–3 in favor the law.[29] Delauter responded to the Frederick News-Post that his company donates roughly $10,000 to $15,000 every year to charities and that because of the council's decision, his company was no longer financially able to make donations.[29]

In 2016, Delauter spoke with presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally. Delauter said he voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election and has in his office a framed and signed Trump rally admissions ticket.[30] In 2017, Delauter declared his candidacy for the Republican primary in the race for Frederick County Executive in 2018.[31]

Frederick County Executive

In 2018, Delauter ran for Frederick County Executive.[32] In the Republican primary election, Delauter came in second place with 33 percent of the vote.[32]

Personal life

Delauter was born in 1964 in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania,[33] to Russell and Marlene Delauter[5] and grew up in Thurmont, Maryland.[34] In his youth, Delauter played on the Thurmont Little League Baseball team.[35] He attended Catoctin High School from which he graduated in 1982.[9] After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Army and served until 1988.[9][36]

Delauter has been married since around 1986 or 1987 to Tina Delauter,[18] with whom he has four children,[9] Maureen, William, Emily, and Sam.[5][37] Delauter's four children attended schools in the Frederick County Public Schools system.[15]

Prior to becoming a county commissioner, Delauter was a member of the Emmitsburg Business and Professional Association, Thurmont Board of Appeals, and Thurmont Police Commission.[9]

References
  1. Greenfield, Sherry (December 9, 2010). "Frederick County's 2012 budget has $11.8M deficit". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  2. Gill, Thomas (October 28, 2014). "It pays to be a county commissioner". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  3. Greenfield, Sherry (October 21, 2010). "Delauter said he would bid on county contracts if elected commissioner". The Gazette. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  4. "Setting boundaries in Frederick". The Baltimore Sun. May 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  5. "Kirby Delauter: Council Member – District 5". Frederick County Government. 2015. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  6. Spivak, Miranda (December 23, 2016). "Frederick Could Be an Urban Suburb of DC–Unless Its Good Ol' Boy Past Gets in Its Way". Washingtonian. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  7. Tully, Meg (October 29, 2010). "Frederick County Commissioners race delves into ethics issues". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  8. Marshall, Ryan (May 23, 2012). "Delauter defends comment on moving business". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  9. Greenfield, Sherry (July 29, 2010). "Delauter wants to bring changes to county board". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  10. Greenfield, Sherry (September 16, 2010). "Young wants Republican candidates to join slate". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  11. Greenfield, Sherry (December 2, 2010). "New Frederick County commissioners promise big changes". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  12. Greenfield, Sherry (November 3, 2010). "Blaine Young ushers Republican sweep of Frederick County commissioners seats". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  13. Greenfield, Sherry (December 2, 2010). "Delauter refuses to comment on Ethics Commission opinion". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  14. Rodgers, Bethany (July 21, 2013). "Voting history shows power of Young's bloc". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  15. Greenfield, Sherry; Heerbrandt, Katherine (February 9, 2011). "Women outraged over Frederick commissioners' comments". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  16. Marbella, Jean (June 18, 2011). "Head Start: A woman's place — at home or at work?". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  17. Turque, Bill (January 10, 2015). "Recent fiascoes have left Frederick County residents feeling 'embarrassed'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  18. "County Council District 5 candidate Kirby Delauter". Frederick News-Post. April 11, 2014. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  19. Rodgers, Bethany (October 29, 2014). "Disputes strain relationships between Delauter, town officials". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  20. Rodgers, Bethany (October 31, 2014). "Political Notes: Local Republicans report difficulty with voting machines". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  21. Rada, Jr., James (November 24, 2014). "Gardner, Delauter, and Jenkins Among the General Election Winners". The Catoctin Banner. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  22. Rodgers, Bethany (December 26, 2014). "Political Notes: Delauter says he reimbursed county for inauguration". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  23. Turque, Bill (January 6, 2015). "Frederick County official Kirby Delauter threatens to sue paper if it prints his name". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  24. Gallman, Stephanie (January 5, 2015). "Paper responds to 'bullying' by councilman with name-calling". CNN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  25. Campbell, Colin (January 7, 2015). "Delauter apologizes for threatening reporter: 'My statement ... was wrong and inappropriate'". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  26. Zurcher, Anthony (January 6, 2015). "#KirbyDelauter becomes a Twitter punching bag". BBC. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  27. Turque, Bill (May 28, 2015). "Kirby Delauter, of 'Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter' fame, touches off new flap". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  28. Fifield, Jen. "The business of allowing elected officials to bid on public capital projects: A survey of counties". The Frederick News-Post. May 24, 2015.
  29. "Official peeved over ethics vote takes it out on charities". The Washington Times. Associated Press. August 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  30. Hampson, Rick (February 21, 2017). "Camp David neighbors say Trump should visit to see what 'rustic' looks like". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  31. Marshall, Ryan (September 17, 2017). ""Let's fire this baby up": Hogan visits Great Frederick Fair". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  32. "Gubernatorial Primary Election: Frederick County, MD: June 26, 2018: Unofficial Results". Frederick County Board of Elections. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  33. "Kirby E. Delauter, County Council, Frederick County, Maryland". Maryland Manual Online. Maryland State Archives. March 9, 2016. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  34. Heerbrandt, Katherine (September 2, 2010). "Frederick commissioner candidate to sue Thurmont". The Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  35. Cauley, Bill (August 18, 2017). "One more time: Thurmont gives final tip of hat to Little League team". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  36. Jones, Paige (November 8, 2014). "County Council pledges teamwork before swearing-in". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  37. Delauter, Kirby (December 2014). "From the desk of Kirby Delauter: County Commissioner and County Council District 5 Elect" (PDF). The Woodsboro-Walkersville Times. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
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