(7/24) The Emmitsburg election will be held on September 28. Two seats of the Town Council are up for grabs. Commissioners Tim O'Donnell and Cliff Sweeney are up for re-election for anther 3-year term. As of July 28, only Sweeny and O’Donnell have filed to run.

Candidates shall have resided in Emmitsburg, for at least one year and shall be qualified voters. Town commissioners are paid an annual salary of $4,000.

In 2018, the last time the Sweeney & O’Donnell ran and won re-election, only 48 ballots were cast. Out of a possible 1,700. In 2015, just 38 residents participated in their election.

Sweeney is not only the longest serving commissioner on the current Town Council, but the longest serving council member in the town’s history, having been on the Town Council for 23 years now. (Sweeney was briefly unseated in the 2004 election.) O’Donnell has served on the Town Council since 2009.

When asked what he hopes to accomplish if re-elected, Sweeney said: "To help Emmitsburg to grow and prosper finish the developments out we have bring more commercial development into Emmitsburg and try to bring our community together make it stronger because is the best small town America any state can offer." O’Donnell said he was running to: "continue serving our community."

For unregistered voters, the last day to register to vote via the Frederick County Board of Elections is August 27. Registration applications can be obtained at the Town Office located at 300A South Seton Avenue, or by visiting elections.maryland.gov.

To vote in the Emmitsburg election, a voter must have been a resident of the Town of Emmitsburg for thirty days or more prior to the election.

Individuals who wish to vie for one of the open seats on the Town Council must file a written application for candidacy, along with their financial disclosure with the town clerk no later than 4 p.m. on August 27, in order to appear on the ballots.

Potential candidates who fail to file by the deadline to appear on the ballots can file to run as a write-in candidate no later than noon on September 21.