Hagerstown City Councilwoman Emily Keller is running for Hagerstown mayor.
Keller, a first-term city councilwoman, announced her candidacy in January 2020 before a crowd of supporters and friends.
“I believe in Hagerstown and that our best days are ahead of us,” Keller, 34, told A Miner Detail.
The South Hagerstown High School graduate ran an aggressive campaign in 2016 for the Hagerstown City Council.
She themed her city council race around combatting opioid overdoses, improving Hagerstown’s economic development, and supporting Hagerstown’s small businesses.
Keller placed first in the 2016 city council election, earning more than 7600 votes in the nine-person contest.
She is the owner and operator of the Emily Keller Insurance and Financial Agency in Hagerstown.
Maryland Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) introduced Keller at her campaign kickoff.
Keller and Trone are political allies.
The two collaborated to tackle the opioid epidemic in Western Maryland.
Emily Keller’s Platform
Keller’s top priorities include “supporting public safety – ensuring that fighters and police officers have the support they need, and ensuring the safety of Hagerstown residents.
She says she will remain focused on encouraging small businesses and development, and she’ll work to streamline the process to make Hagerstown more business-friendly.
“I will work to make sure everyone feels included and welcomed – and that everyone has a voice,” Keller said.
“And, of course, I will remain laser-focused on the opioid crisis, finding necessary resources for those who need it as well as educating our youth to prevent addiction before it begins.”
Keller serves on Project ActNOW, the Maryland Overdose Fatality Review Team, and the Heroin and Opioid Senior Policy Group, which reports to Gov. Larry Hogan (R).
She serves as the Community Advocacy Chairman within the Hagerstown Chamber of Commerce GenNext Committee and is a team leader in Washington County’s Relay for Life. She is mayor and council’s liaison to the City’s LGBTQ community.
Bruchey Running For City Council
A Miner Detail first reported that longtime Hagerstown Mayor Bob Bruchey is not running for re-election as mayor.
Bruchey filed paperwork in January 2020 to run for the city council.
(Bruchey won a council seat in November 2020.)
Hagerstown City Council candidates
Hagerstown’s mayor, all five Hagerstown City Council seats, and four of the seven Washington County Board of Education seats are on the ballot this year.
Hagerstown’s city council and mayor seats are nonpartisan.
Two other candidates – Andi Overton and Michael E. Barnes – ran for Hagerstown mayor in 2020.
Shelley McIntire and Austin Heffernan filed to run for a full term on the city council.
McIntire and Heffernan were appointed to fill council vacancies in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Longtime Hagerstown City Councilman Lew Metzner did not seek re-election.
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