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Frederick County Council Member Jerry Donald is running for state delegate with the goal of bringing more tax dollars back to legislative District 4.
Donald, a Democrat, is currently serving his third on the County Council. Frederick County doesn’t allow County Council members to serve more than three consecutive terms.
Donald announced his run for state delegate on Monday, but has yet to officially file as a candidate with the state Board of Elections, according to their website.
District 4 includes most of Frederick County outside the city of Frederick, including the municipalities of Middletown, Brunswick, Rosemont, New Market, Burkittsville, Walkersville, Woodsboro and Myersville.
In an interview on Tuesday, Donald said he is motivated to run for office in District 4 because its current representatives have not been able to bring back as much funding as their peers in District 3, which covers the city of Frederick.
“There’s a tight budget. And in effect, to get money for your district, you generally have to vote for that budget,” Donald said. “And if you’re not going to vote for that budget — and you’re going to be, as you can see, shut out of the negotiations — then you’re not going to bring things back.”
During the 2025 legislative session, the state delegation for Frederick County secured $2.66 million in capital project funding through bond bills.
Of that, $2.43 million was secured by the District 3 delegation and $235,000 was secured by the District 4 delegation.
The current District 4 delegation includes Sen. William Folden and Dels. Jesse Pippy, April Miller and Barrie Ciliberti — all Republicans.
The current District 3 delegation includes Sen. Karen Lewis Young and Dels. Ken Kerr, Kris Fair and Karen Simpson — all Democrats.
“I’m going down there to Annapolis to work hard to bring things back to Frederick County, to legislative District 4 in particular,” Donald said. “And I think I have a record of doing that in [Council] District 1.”
Donald said there are a number of capital projects in legislative District 4 that he would seek funding for as a state delegate. Chief among them, he said, is the Brunswick High School replacement project.
According to the Frederick County Public Schools Educational Facilities Master Plan for 2024, Brunswick High School has had no renovations other than minor systemic repairs in more than 50 years.
“I will advocate with the Interagency Commission [on School Construction] … to get that school built,” Donald said.
Donald also spoke about the need to secure funding for a $40 million upgrade to the Middletown Wastewater Treatment Plant — an effort that in recent years has been spearheaded by Lewis Young.
“That’s who Middletown has gone to to get the project, because right now their own delegation can’t bring the money home,” Donald said.
Last month, Folden, Pippy and Miller announced their plans to seek reelection in 2026. They plan to run as a Republican team with Jason Keckler, a retired Frederick Police Department officer and former Maryland parole commissioner.
Ciliberti has indicated that he is “leaning” toward retiring at the end of his current term, but still has not committed either way.
Donald said he plans to officially launch his campaign with an event in Middletown on Oct. 5.
Alleria Stanley has also filed as a Democratic candidate for state delegate in District 4, according to the state board of elections website.
The 2026 primary election, where voters select nominees for their party, will be on June 23. The 2026 general election will be on Nov. 3.
The deadline to file as a candidate is Feb. 24, 2026.
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