Ronald Nelson Young (born October 19, 1940) is an American consultant, college teacher,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and former schoolteacher. He was a member of the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from 2011 to 2023, and previously served as a mayor of

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, serving from 1974 to 1990.

Background

Ronald Young was born in

and was raised in Frederick. He attended and graduated from Frederick High School. Young attended Frederick Community College and graduated with an Associate in Arts degree. He then attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

in College Park, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government. Young completed his formal education by earning a

Masters of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree in administration and supervision from Western Maryland College (later McDaniel College) in Westminster, Maryland.

Public office

Young became involved in local politics in the late 1960s, primarily in the Frederick County Young Democrats organization along with several friends, among them Galen R. Clagett. Young and Clagett both ran for the Frederick City Board of Aldermen in 1969, and Young was elected and served on the Board of Aldermen from 1970 to 1974 during mayor E. Paul Magaha's administration.

Mayor of Frederick

In 1973, Young ran for mayor of Frederick. He defeated former mayor and serving alderman Donald B. Rice in the Democratic primary, and then defeated serving alderman Glenmore Rice in the general election. Young assumed the role of mayor in 1974 at the age of 34. Young was re-elected as mayor in 1977, 1981 and 1985. In 1989, he was defeated by Paul P. Gordon in the general election in a contested election, ending sixteen years of service as Frederick's mayor. During Young's years as mayor, he pursued various projects, including the Carroll Creek flood control project, the Market Street underground wiring project, the Weinberg Center for the Arts,

Harry Grove Stadium Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, located in Frederick, Maryland, is the home of the Frederick Keys, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. Opened in 1990, it seats 5,400 fans. History The stadium is named for Harry Grove, ...

, Clustered Spires Golf Course, and the revitalization of downtown Frederick.

Later years

Young worked in commercial real estate, as a part-time college instructor at Frederick Community College, and as a consultant in the years immediately following his defeat as mayor. In 1991, he worked for the State of Maryland in the

Maryland Department of Planning The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) is a cabinet-level agency in the government of the State of Maryland. The department is part of the Executive branch of the government and reports to the Governor of Maryland. The Maryland Department o ...

. Young later served under Governor

Parris Glendening Parris Nelson Glendening (born June 11, 1942) is an American politician and academic who served as the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995, to January 15, 2003. Previously, he was the County Executive of Prince George's County, Mary ...

as the Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and served as the Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning until leaving in 2000 after a dispute with Glendening. In 2001, Young accepted the position of town manager of Indian Head, Maryland. He served until 2005, when he decided to make one more run for mayor of Frederick. After his defeat for the mayoralty of Frederick City by William J. Holtzinger, Young maintained a semi-retired lifestyle. He is still involved in commercial real estate, consulting, novel-writing, and painting.

In the Senate

In 2010, Young decided to run for Maryland State Senator for District 3. He defeated Don DeArmon in the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Unit ...

in September 2010, and defeated incumbent Senator Alex X. Mooney in the general election in November 2010. Young was sworn in on January 12, 2011 and appointed to the Senate's Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. Senator Young also serves on the Alcoholic Beverages, Environment, and Labor, Licensing, and Regulations Subcommittees. In the 2012 legislative session his social media bill (SB 434) provided the model language for the federal legislation on the same issue. Senator Young has voted in favor of

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, the DREAM act, congressional redistricting, prohibiting smoking in a car where children are present, and to expand gambling. During the 2013 legislative session Young introduced a bill that asks drivers who are renewing or obtaining a driver’s license if they want to opt out of the organ donor program, a change from the current system that asks drivers if they’d like to become a donor. In 2014, Young was re-elected to the State Senate. Senator Young sits on the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee and is Chair of the Comptrollers Issues Subcommittee which deals with Alcohol, Labor, Licensing, and Regulations. He also serves on the Education Subcommittee as well as the Joint Committee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Preservation. Senator Young is a Senate Representative to the Financial Education and Capability Commission and serves on the National Conference of State Legislation's Natural Resource and Infrastructure Committee. In 2021, Young announced that he would not seek another term on the State Senate. He endorsed his wife,

Karen Lewis Young Karen Lewis Young (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician who has served in the Maryland Senate from Maryland Legislative District 3, District 3 since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from Maryland ...

, to succeed him in representing Maryland's 3rd legislative district.

Affiliations

Young is a member of a number of organizations: 1968–Present he helped create and serves on the board of the Frederick Community Action Agency, 2006–present he is on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries, 2008–present he is on the advisory board for Maryland Shakespeare Theater, the president of East Frederick Rising from 2006-2010, and a member of the following organizations: Rotary Club of Carroll Creek, 1000 Friends of Maryland, American Planning Association, American Legion, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Fraternal Order of Elks, Fraternal Order of Owls, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), U.S. Tennis Association, and the Urban Land Institute. Ron Young is also the former President of Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, the Frederick Arts Council, and the Frederick Festival of the Arts. He is a former trustee for the Maryland Art Place and a former member of the Forum for Rural Maryland, Rural Legacy Board, board of directors, and the Way Station. Other organizations that he has belonged to are

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...

;

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

; Elks;

Fraternal Order of Owls The Order of Owls is a secret fraternal order founded in 1904 in South Bend, Indiana, USA, by John W. Talbot. According to its literature, the purposes of the society is "to assist each other in business, to help each other in obtaining employment, ...

;

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

; and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

.Young's official Senate website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ronald N. 1940 births Living people American consultants Schoolteachers from Maryland Maryland city council members Democratic Party Maryland state senators Mayors of Frederick, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni Western Maryland College alumni 21st-century American politicians