SNOW HILL Although the elec-
tion is months away, it's guaranteed
there will be at least three new fac-
es on the next Worcester County
Commission after Commissioner
Jim Purnell confirmed this week that
he will not be seeking re-election.
Commissioners Judy Boggs and
Louise Gulyas have already an-
nounced that this would be their last
term on the commission, leaving the
field wide open.
A total of eight candidates have
already filed in addition to the four
remaining commission incumbents,
Jim Bunting, Bud Church, Merrill
Lockfaw and Virgil Shockley.
The most dramatic change to the
commission is the departure of Pur-
nell, a nearly 20-year veteran of the
group. Purnell was the first black
commissioner ever elected in Wor-
cester. He defeated Republican in-
cumbent Floyd Bassett by a margin
of 744 to 659 votes in 1995. Pur-
nell's victory came at the end of a
protracted three-year legal battle
between the ACLU and the county,
which at the time fought to keep an
at-large voting system but was
eventually forced into the current
district system.
The district system resulted in
Worcester's first-ever minority-ma-
jority district, District 2, which Pur-
nell has represented since 1995.
Purnell's departure means the dis-
trict will have a new representative
the first time ever.
So far, Diana Purnell is the only
candidate who has filed to replace
Purnell. She puts education at the
top of her list for where she wants to
see county funding and effort ap-
plied. "I always like to see innovative
growth within the educational sys-
tem. We have excellent schools
within the system, but there's al-
ways a lot more that can be done, I
think. We can always look outside of
the box," she said.
Diana Purnell singled out the
Worcester Technical High School
(WTHS) as one of the county's
proudest accomplishments and
something she would be looking at
if elected to the commission.
"I love the fact that we have a
tech school. I love that tech school
because we have to really prepare
our young people to be the leaders
of our county ... Here's another way
that we can prepare our young peo-
ple to be leaders in our county but
not only our county but within the
state and within the country be-
cause that's one of the things that
we have to prepare our kids for,"
she said.
If she should win in the fall, Diana
Purnell acknowledged that there will
likely be a "learning curve" moving
from private resident to commis-
sioner, but she feels prepared.
"You go in with an open mind,
you go in and you research, you ask
questions," she said. "My being in
business and having done those
things before, I do bring that to the
table."
Another candidate who filed re-
cently is Kathryn Danko-Lord, who
will be challenging long-time incum-
bent Virgil Shockley for District 4.
Shockley has held the seat in 1998.
Owner of Costa Ventosa Winery
and Vineyard as well as president of
the Worcester County Farm Bur-
eau, Danko-Lord has a three-board
platform focusing on small busi-
ness, education and agriculture.
"The majority of our economic
growth in this county has been on
the small businesses," she said.
"We always like to see the big guys
come in if we can but it's the small
businesses, I think, that keep our
machines running and keep our
people employed. So I'd just like to
be able to do more for small busi-
nesses, more support."
As a farmer and winemaker,
Danko-Lord said that balancing
business with preserving agriculture
is important in Worcester. Under-
lying all of that is the need to keep
talented individuals in every occu-
pation in the county, or to prevent
"brain drain," as she calls it.
"It's the whole notion that we
have so many talented people,
whether they're trades people, whe-
ther they're college educated, high
school educated, whatever. Just for
the talent that we have and unfortu-
nately there are so many people
that have to move away to have a
good standard of living," she said.
Besides her current experience,
Danko-Lord has a long list of past
careers and education, including
management positions at Agri
Stats, ConAgra and Perdue.
"I haven't had experience in gov-
ernment but I have had the opportu-
nity, to lead large groups of people
...," she said. "The girl that makes
wine has also had some pretty in-
depth experiences with leading
large groups of people and working
with different stakeholders."
At this point at least one candi-
date or incumbent has filed for
every district. In District 1, incum-
bent Lockfaw is currently unop-
posed as is incumbent Church in
District 3. Dianna Purnell is unop-
posed in District 2 at the moment as
is candidate Joe Mitrecic, a current
Ocean City councilman who is
seeking Gulyas' open District 7.
Danko-Lord and Shockley will battle
for District 4 at this point, while in
District 6 candidate Linda Busick
and incumbent Bunting will have a
re-match from the 2010 election.
Boggs' open District 5 is current-
ly the hottest race, with four candi-
dates filed thus far, including Dem-
ocrat Tom Wilson and Republicans
Grant Helvey, Chip Bertino and Ray
Unger.
District 2's Purnell Confirms He Will Not Seek Re-Election
January 24, 2014
Page 11
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