Kai Hagen in Frederick

It was a travel day for me and my girlfriend, hence the lack of posts. We did manage to catch the rally for Kai Hagen in Frederick at the Carroll Creek amphitheater. It was a big crowd, about 200 people, which is quite impressive for a small city on a Sunday evening. Curbing the rate of growth was of course one of Kai's rallying points, but I think that understates why he has attracted such a following. (He's done a impressive job with fundraising, with mostly small donors.) Kai comes across as a very unpretentious fellow; besides his usual all-denim attire, you quickly get the impression that the issue of growth and preserving Frederick County's small-town character really is the primary driver of his campaign, and not his ego, which is pretty rare among politicians. This may be why so many long-time residents of Frederick County of both parties are supporting him: It's a political campaign aligned with a particular social movement, that of preserving a way of life while still being forward looking. I don't know if there's a lesson here for people outside Frederick County, but I think it's worthy of Marylanders' attention.