Ronald Nelson Young (born October 19, 1940) is an American consultant, college teacher, politician, and former schoolteacher. He was a member of the Maryland State Senate from 2011 to 2023, and previously served as a mayor of Frederick, Maryland, serving from 1974 to 1990. Background Ronald Young was born in Frederick, Maryland 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 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 degree in administration and supervision from Western Maryland College (later McDaniel College) in Westminster, Maryl 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, 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. Young later served under Governor Parris Glendening 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