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Hurley last to file in Pocomoke City

Ryan Hurley

Incumbent bows out, sets up showdown for District 4 against Todd Nock in April

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Feb. 8, 2018) Pocomoke native Ryan Hurley filed for Pocomoke City Council District 4 last Friday, setting up a two-man race with Todd Nock.

Incumbent District 4 Councilman Brian Hirshman last month announced he would not seek another term.

Hurley, 44, is the owner of Backyard Escapes, a retailer of Amish-made storage sheds, gazebos, swing sets and other items.

He also serves on the Pocomoke Planning and Zoning Commission and has coached several youth sports, including baseball and basketball.

Hurley called himself “a big advocate of the YMCA” and said supporting youth activities and programs would be a high priority, if elected.

“I’m very involved in the community. I have two teenage sons that are in high school and after being on the planning and zoning commission for the past few years, I kind of got my feet wet and saw what was going on in the town,” he said. “I thought this was the perfect opportunity to move up to the city council where I [would] have more of a voice and more of an opinion, and be able to be more active.”

Hurley said the biggest issue facing Pocomoke is the poor water quality, and praised recent efforts to rehabilitate the water plant and replace outdated infrastructure.

“With the steps we’re doing and the work that’s going on, that’s going to be a major improvement for us. I’ve somewhat been involved with that through planning and zoning … [and] I’m looking forward to the work that’s being done,” he said. “The major problem is over in the Heights area and hopefully that’s going to fix most of the problem.”

Another concern is “the overall condition of Pocomoke,” namely rundown and abandoned properties, Hurley said.

“It’s somewhat been neglected for the past few years – not much has been going on with improving the town,” he said. “I’m hoping not only the downtown area can be improved, but also people’s neighborhood’s and homes altogether. People need to have pride in their property and so much of our town is rental property. It’s a crisis that we’re facing [and] we have a lot of abandoned property in Pocomoke.

“I live on Market Street and if I look outside my front door I can see four or five empty houses that have sat empty ever since I moved in 10 years ago,” Hurley continued. “Hopefully, we can work with the property owners and find money for improvement, and instill some programs to help people clean their property up.”

The deadline to file for office was last Friday.

Because no other candidates filed, District 5 incumbent Councilwoman Esther Troast will retain her seat.

The election will be held on Tuesday, April 3 at the Pocomoke Library on Market Street. Winning candidates will take office April 9 to serve a three-year term.

The voter registration deadline is March 2.