The State of Maryland’s Youngest Republican Candidate and New Allegany County Commissioner: Jake Shade

After recent elections in Allegany County, on July 5, 2014, Jake Shade 21, was elected as the primary winner and announced as the new Allegany County Commissioner. Shade is the youngest Republican candidate to run for commissioner in the state of Maryland.

Shade is a Cumberland native who has always took an interest in politics. While attending Allegany High School, he says he “…volunteered for a lot of campaigns.” He says, “I was always interested in the government, history, and politics [regarding to getting involved in politics].” So, you can see this ambitious young man already had a future ahead of him.

After high school, Shade was enrolled into University of Maryland, College Park where he studied Government Politics and later graduated. Following graduation, Shade interned for Roscoe G. Bartlett.

Soon after, he himself had begun making major accomplishments including serving on the Allegany County Republican Central Committee, being a delegate to five Maryland Republican Conventions [representing Allegany County], being a member of the Allegany County Republican Club since 2008, being a member of Queen City Lodge #131, and finally being the youngest candidate to win the Allegany County primaries.

Shade was named “Republican of the Yearof back in 2011, and to top it all off, he was also named a “rising star” in 2013 by the Allegany County Republican Central Committee. As you can see, Shade was born to play a role in politics.

Shade says, “I always knew I was going to run for something one day, but I never knew when.” Shade decided to run because he says, “I saw what was being put forward [by other candidates], and I wasn’t impressed.” When he decided that he was going to run, Shade first approached his family and friends with the idea, and they supported him 100%. He says, “I went out and talked to friends, family, and members of the community” and shared his improvement ideas for the county. Shade says, “They liked my ideas [not the entire community].”

Shade says after the long campaign, which began back in February and ended in June, “It’s time for the real work.” He explains that the campaign was a lot of work and he was “a candidate for almost an entire year” and “It’s been a long journey.” When, as Shade describes, the real work starts, Shade plans to focus on four major issues: Budget, Economic Development, Education, and Speed Cameras.

In regards to the budget, Shade plans to ensure that Allegany County is on a “firm financial ground.” He says, “We rely on too much state and federal aid to balance our budget,” so it is necessary to create a budget that does not dramatically depend on the assistance of aid from state and federal. The budget will also focus on bringing in jobs and businesses that will generate more revenue for the County.
Shade’s goal for economic development is to try to attract new businesses, keep current residents, and build opportunities. He says, “A major problem is that students go away to school, but cannot return home because of the lack of jobs,” causing them to move away to other cities and states.

Shade says, “We want to have an economy that allows people to stay in the area,” and “If you want to stay [in Allegany County], you should be able to.”
The third issue Shade wants to focus on is education. First, Shade hopes to rebuilder improve the relationship between the Commissioners and Board of Education since it has been one of the worst.

Shade plans to expand and develop financial literacy, which is required for all high school students. He says, “I want this program to focus a little bit more on the entrepreneurial aspect” such as starting a business, taxes businesses have to pay, issues and hurdles one may face, and so on.

Shade says he wants to expand partnerships with Allegany College of Maryland and Frostburg State University to develop biotechnology and manufacturing programs to assist students with the “We can’t find jobs issues,” and he says they are “still working on the details.”

The fourth and final issue that Shade is focusing on is the speed cameras. He says, “They [speed cameras] are an unfair way for the local and state governments to collect revenue.”
Shade’s goal is to ban speed cameras from Allegany County, making them illegal on county roads, but legal in work zones and highways. Shade feels that speed cameras are a safety issue, bring about privacy concerns, and unfair because they are sometimes inaccurate.

Shade clearly has some examples and reasons to back up his opinions on these four issues and is determined to bring change to Allegany County. Shade says, “It feels great to have this position and it’s a very humbling experience.”
He says, “In 10 years, hopefully, Allegany is growing, it’s population is stabilized, and people are able to stay and be happy.”

For more information on Jake Shade and his goals as Allegany County Commissioner, please visit his website: http://www.jakeshade.com