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Candidate Bio
My name is Linda Friday and I recently retired after 25 years as President of the Queen Anne's County Chamber of Commerce. I have lived and worked on the Eastern Shore for 50 years. My husband and I have lived in Hillsboro for over 20 years. I bring a legacy of proven leadership, dedication, and service to the community through my extensive experience in nonprofit and civic organizations.
I’ve served on numerous boards, including the Queen Anne’s County Chamber of Commerce, Chesapeake College Foundation, Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Day Care, Inc., Maryland Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, and Caroline County CASA, contributing to initiatives that supports education, children, workforce development, and local businesses.
As a longtime advocate, I’ve spearheaded programs such as Project Bright Future, connecting students with career opportunities in the local business community, and established the Linda Friday Foundation to support young adults pursuing careers in the trades.
I am committed to being a strong voice for the residents of Caroline County as I run for Caroline County Commissioner, focusing on responsible growth, education, safety, housing, workforce development, and fiscal responsibility.
Some of the issues that are important to Caroline County voters are issues that require long-term strategy, such as Economic Development, Community Development, Housing, and Transportation. What can the county do to help positively influence these larger issues that affect Caroline County families?
“I believe that Caroline County families are affected by the long term issues like you mentioned, economic development, housing and transportation, and the county can play a strong role in shaping positive outcomes. We can do this by working closely with our federal and state partners, for one, and then our neighboring counties. We can also do it by supporting responsible growth, investing in infrastructure, which I understand is desperately needed in some of our towns. That will attract new businesses, protecting our rural character, and would also expand workforce development, improve transportation options, and encourage housing that meets the needs of our working families. It would also help strengthen our communities while maintaining a balance of tax base between residents and business development.”
The county has a very strong work relationship with the Board of Education and the school administration. What would you do to strengthen that relationship?
“Well, first I have to say that I'm happy to hear that we do have a strong relationship between Caroline County and the Board of Ed. It is vital to our success of our students, our workforce, and our community. In my previous work, that's really what I was able to help partner – bringing that strength together. As Commissioner, I would continue to strengthen that partnership by maintaining regular year round communication with leadership to address challenges and hearing the successes. It's important to not only hear the challenges, but what are the successes. I would also work closely on long term planning, including school safety and facility improvements and supporting teachers, staff, and students is also a priority. I have first hand experience with a program that I created called Project Bright Future, which I’m very proud of, which brought students and teachers into the business community to explore opportunities for students. This program was a huge success, and continues today. We were able to get counselors in each high school, and over the last year, we had to add an additional career counselor. This encouraged these types of community and business partnerships to help prepare our youth for meaningful careers and strengthens our county as a whole. I also sat on the task force for Governor Hogan’s career technology education that he was implementing a few years ago, and that was a huge drive in pushing Career Technology Education.”
Caroline County is not divided into election districts, however, there is a sense of North County-South County-Denton. What will you do as a Commissioner to make sure that voters know that you’re representing them at large regardless of where they live?
“As an at-large Commissioner, I will represent all residents, no matter where they live. I think maintaining open communication throughout the entire county is important. I've met with people [from places] like Federalsburg, Preston, Ridgely, Greensboro and Denton, and playing into that communication. So I've been out in the community, meeting with those people in those communities, attending community events and town meetings to hear concerns firsthand, which I've been doing, just going to their town meetings and finding out exactly, you know, what some of their concerns are or issues, and ensuring that the county has resources and services that are distributed fairly. That's another thing, making sure that it's not just North County and South County, it's the entire county. My goal is for every resident and business to know that their voice matters and that I am committed to serving the needs of all communities, not just part of the county.”
The County continues to work through the solar development issue. What is the next impactful issue on the horizon that you view as similar to solar?
“I believe that the solar development issue has shown how critical it is for Caroline County to balance growth, land use, and community priorities. I think looking ahead, I believe housing and workforce development, along with maintaining a balanced tax base between residential and businesses. Development is something that we need to look at, and that would be our next major issue with a similar impact. This includes ensuring that we have housing options for young families and our seniors. And additionally, we have two key projects currently on the books, a new school and improvement to the jail, which will also be top priorities as we plan for the county's long term growth and well being.”
Something that we hear from a variety of people is that "there is nothing to do in Caroline County." How do you and your family entertain yourselves and spend your free time in the county?
“You know, I believe it's important to promote the hidden gems in Caroline County to our residents and our visitors. My family and I enjoy taking advantage of everything our county has to offer. My husband and I spend time outdoors, walking our local trails, visiting parks and camping at Tuckahoe, even though we live close to Tuckahoe, we still camp over there, and attending community events. We also love supporting our local restaurants, our small businesses and culture events that our small towns have, like our Summerfest, 4-H, you know, things like that. Unfortunately, Caroline County doesn't have the population for movie theater, which I have been asked [about] many times. However, some of our small towns do offer movie nights, which I think is an awesome opportunity for towns to be able to provide that service. Caroline County has so much to offer if you know where to look. And as part of my goal as Commissioner, I would encourage promoting and supporting activities, events, and places for families, young people, and our seniors to attend or participate.”
