Mount Airy Mayor Larry Hushauer announces bid for second term, outlines priorities

Mayor Larry Hushauer announced he is seeking a second term and asked residents to vote May 6 at the Mount Airy Carnival Grounds, saying he wants to continue work on growth control, water contamination remediation, public safety infrastructure and historic preservation.

Hushauer said reining in development was the reason voters elected him in his first term and listed several ongoing priorities. "I believe the major reason I was elected in my first term was to reestablish control over the growth and development within our town," he said, adding the Beck property and the Harrison LeShear farmland north of town were the two major issues when he first took office.

The mayor said the town reduced density on the Beck property and delayed county development of the Harrison LeShear farmland so Mount Airy could be more involved in negotiations. "It is only fair that I remind you that these properties will eventually be developed. But we are now comfortably in the driver's seat and in a good situation when it is time to negotiate what goes on with these parcels," he said.

Hushauer listed other priorities that he said shaped his first term and would guide a second: addressing PFAS contamination in the town's water supply, acquiring land and building a new Mount Airy Police Department facility, creating a safe pedestrian crossing of Highway 27 to relieve traffic during downtown events and to connect recreational amenities, completing a rails-to-trails connection across the Frederick County side of Main Street, and restoring the historic Flatiron Building for retail, government offices and museum displays.

"Shortly after I came to office, we were notified by the Maryland Department of the Environment about the issues of PFAS or forever plastics in the town's water supply," Hushauer said. He also noted the town "have signed a purchase agreement on 2 acres of land and this new building should be completed in about 3 years." On the Flatiron Building, he said his first-term action prevented demolition and he plans to pursue restoration in a second term.

Hushauer closed by asking for voters' support at the May 6 event and reiterating his stated approach of slow, managed growth to preserve Mount Airy's character.