Catching up with candidates throwing their hats in the ring for Wicomico County Council
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md.- November is right around the corner and that means so are elections. Two Wicomico County candidates throwing their hats in the ring this year are locals Jeff Merritt and Talana Watson.
“The reason I’m doing this is because I think there is a way I can further help the community in which we live, there’s a lot of struggles out there today,” Merritt said.
“What I like about Wicomico is that it still has that family feel to community, so it makes you want to do all you can to make it a good place to raise your family,” Watson said.
Both candidates are eyeing the Wicomico County Council District 2 seat. Merritt is the owner of Minuteman Press and founder of the non-profit, Operation We Care. He said while he’s no politician, he believes in hard work and being active within the community. Merritt also adds that he’s all about integrity and fairness. “I’m a firm believer in investing in our future, invest in our business, invest in your kids in education, we have to invest in our community,” Merritt said.
If elected, Merritt’s focus is internet access for the whole region and a water and sewer master plan. “The pandemic where everybody had to be put into the position of working from home, learning from home, that would’ve been a clue right there that we really need to get internet access to every home out there,” Merritt said. “Septic systems are, have been and will continue to start to fail and some properties do not have the ability to put in a reserve system. They don’t have the acreage or square footage and that’s going to effect property values if we don’t do something.”
He also would like to bring business owner experience to the Council. “As a business owner, we live in the world of return on investment, so we want to get the most bang for our buck,” Merritt said. “I plan to take that philosophy to the county government.”
Meanwhile, Watson, owner of Lewis N. Watson Funeral Home, also has plans of investing in the community. She says she relates well to others and is not afraid to communicate.
“Education is really important to being the core of a sound and a thriving community, as well as it being necessary to have a good economy,” Watson said. “I know that there is a lot of concern with businesses as far as the costs, but I think we can work together so that we are not alienating any business; but we are still doing things to protect those resources that we have for all of us,” Watson said.
Watson said she also wants to focus on the environment and closing the achievement gap in the educational system. “I strongly believe in having diversity in education for all of us the students, so that they have role models to look up to as far the educators administrators, support staff,” Watson said.
Both opponents will face off in the General Election on November 8.
