Meet The Candidates: Wicomico County Council District 2
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. — Just days from now, voters in Wicomico County will choose between incumbent James Winn and challenger Jim Adkins for the District 2 County Council seat. Both candidates outlined why they want the job.
Winn said he first ran in 2022 because he was disappointed with the state of the county.
“I never thought I’d talk about trash and roads and litter and all the things that my fellow council members in the back would agree with me that you wouldn’t expect to talk about. But I have grown to love it,” Winn said.
With much of the County Council facing a change of the guard, Winn is one of just two sitting members who could return. However, Adkins said District 2 needs fresh ideas.
“The county needs to move forward, but the main things the county need to remember [are] where we came from and what we are. It’s not move ahead so fast that we lose what we all come to love and enjoy that live here,” Adkins said.
Both candidates discussed the state of Barren Creek Road. Winn said he has been fighting tooth and nail to get the road, which has been closed for a decade, back up and running.
“The council itself has actually stonewalled this. So, I had to get it in the priority letter, which is a letter that goes to the state from the county,” Winn said.
This claim was contested by current County Council Vice President Jeff Merritt, who maintains that Barren Creek Road was removed from the capital improvement plan in 2024 in a unanimous council vote because of a lack of funding, a claim Winn refutes.
“What I did not vote in support of was removing Barren Creek Bridge from the priority letter,” Winn said. “What I had to do was I had to go to the town of Mardela with the county executive and get the town of Mardela to put it on their priority level. And since they put it on their priority letter, we were able to advocate for it on a state level and avoid having to go through the council. So, since that happened, we were able to get the funding, 80%, and make all this happen.”
Nevertheless, Adkins said the project is long overdue.
“We wasted an opportunity 10 years ago to put the road back. The estimated cost now to put the road back is $2 million. I believe school systems, water, sewer systems, the landfill — there’s a lot of projects in this county that $2 million can benefit more than a road,” Adkins said.
Both candidates also acknowledged the county’s revenue cap, with Adkins saying voters should decide whether to keep it.
“The revenue cap was put in by the citizens of Wicomico County, and the citizens of Wicomico County want to do away with the revenue cap. They can do away with it. It’s their choice. It’s not the council’s choice,” Adkins said.
Winn said he fully supports the cap because it keeps the county fiscally responsible.
“I think the revenue cap is a great tool to make our county a fiscally conservative county. It has forced our county to work within its means,” Winn said.
Maryland’s early voting period runs through Oct. 29, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 3. Voters can find additional information at the Maryland State Board of Elections website.
