FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. — Frederick County native Kavonte Duckett broke barriers Tuesday by becoming the County Council’s first African-American member elected to office.
“It is a surreal moment. Frederick County is celebrating 275 years of history next year, and to be the first – I would have never thought it,” Duckett said Tuesday night. “But I’m glad that I am in this position and I hope to bring a number of folks up behind me so that we can carry on this mantle.”
Duckett said his family has lived in Frederick County for seven generations and is glad they’ve been able to call it home for so long.
He said he first ran for office in 2018 and fell short, but he “came back better than ever.”
Duckett, 28, will join the Frederick County Council and said he hopes his election will motivate other people of color in the county to follow suit.
“I believe that now is our time, and we are going to do everything that we can do to make sure that everybody in this county has a seat at the table,” Duckett said. “I committed to that on day one, and I’m going to make sure it happens. Representation is everything.”
At 28 years old, Duckett said his age is another form of representation needed in county leadership.
“We need folks that are diverse; we need folks that are young,” Duckett said. “We want everybody to feel like they’re welcome in this county. We want everybody – every young person that leaves this county to go to college somewhere else to come back and work here – to come back and build a home here.”
The Frederick County Council was formed in 2014.
Editor's Note: John Henry contributed to the reporting of this story.
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