For as hotly contested as the November 3 municipal election in Aberdeen is expected to be, the candidates have been slow to trickle into the race.
As of Thursday afternoon, only two people had filed their certificates of candidacy – Aberdeen City Council President Michael G. Hiob filed his certificate for Mayor and longtime City Planning Commission member Sandra J. Landbeck filed her certificate for City Council. Both certificates have been approved by the Aberdeen Election Board.
While no other candidates, including incumbents, have officially been approved to participate in the election, it doesn’t mean they haven’t yet filed their certificates, which require approval by the Aberdeen Election Board.
In fact, although he has not yet been recognized as an approved candidate, incumbent Mayor Mike Bennett is already fundraising for re-election.
The following Bennett fundraising announcement was sent out Wednesday by Art Helton, who recently aborted his own campaign for state senate:
Fundraiser
Citizens to Re-elect Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett
Where: The Bottomless Cup
2017 Pulaski Hwy, Ste A
Havre de Grace, MD
When: Sunday, September 27, 2009
Time: 4:00pm – 7:00pmMusic, Light Refreshements, Casual Attire.
Donation $30 per person, tickets available at The Bottomless Cup or by mail. Make checks payable to Mike Bennett Campaign Fund, 5 N. Rogers St., Aberdeen, MD 21001
RSVP by September 20th, 443-243-3730
Authority, Elaine W. Bennett, Treasurer
The deadline for filing a Certificate of Candidacy is October 5 at 5 p.m.
The Bottomless Cup? When did Aberdeen annex that property? Wouldn’t you expect someone running for town office support a town tax paying business?
True, but one could see where your choice of venue in town could reflect favoritism, and in a race where this is bound to be an issue, staying neutral with businesses may be a good thing. Just a thought from an outsider with no connection to Aberdeen whatsoever! 🙂
Although it made my hair hurt I watched for the first time the televised Aberdeen City Council meeting last night. Residents of Bel Air avenue and surrounding cross streets marched up to the mike and voiced their opposition to a non conforming skyscraper being built on the old CSX train station property recently aquired by the adaptive reuse developer Art Helton.
Long before Stienbeck coined the phrase for one of his book titles this area of Aberdeen was called Cannery Row, dubbed such for all the beautiful victorian residences lived in by the original corn canning families of Harford County. Couple that with the existence of the historic train station designed by a student of Frank LLoyd Wright and you certainly can understand the anger of the locals who dont want the building or the 200 additional cars parked twenty five feet from their property lines.
I listened intently to the protestations of the locals but there were atleast two 600 pound elephants in the room that no one would address. First of all, Mike Bennett and his director of the Aberdeen Unwelcome Wagon Phyllis Grover, maybe the only two people in Aberdeen that support this project. I heard recently that Mike Bennett called Art Helton “The Economic Engine of Aberdeen”. I know Bennett’s only been Mayor for two years but he’s lived here his whole life and maybe should know that APG as an economic engine makes Helton look as viable as a fart in a wind storm. And second; has everyone forgotten that Helton joined up with the Historical Society to pitch a restoration of the train station along with a rail road theme development in order to persuade CSX to sell him the property? Some how after the sale that union between the historical society and the developer disolved. Now it looks like the train station will remain a rotting eyesore in the shadow of a high rise office building and the traffic on Bel Air Avenue will become even more conjested.
Al you surprise me. was there any doubt this contaminated property was going to be put to good use?
There is perhaps a lack of knowledge by the ProudDemocrat. The fund raiser at The Bottomless Cup has nothing whatsoever to do with staying neutral. The reason it’s held there is because the current mayor is related to the folks who own the business, nothing more nothing less. Please don’t get confused about the mayor wanting to stay neutral, it has more to do with the fact that the only businesses that support him either belong to Art Helton or Steve Johnson (Johnson Family Pharmacy). The current mayor is anti-business as well as anti-development, just look at his record or talk to business folks around town.
The Bottomless Cup is a nice place and if you’ve not been there you should try it.
Actually, Scoops is a pretty nice place, with a really good bakery close by on N. Parke St.
O’L Man is a also a Wise Man! One thing you didn’t mention when you said that “the only businesses that support Bennett, either belong to Art Helton and Steve Johnson (Johnson Family Pharmacy)”. The missing information is that Art Helton actually owns the Johnson Family Pharmacy building and property! So does that mean that the only business that supports Bennett is Art Helton? I believe that may just be the case……..
I’ve been watching this site for a long time, mon. Mr. Thong talks about the Helton property at the choo choo tracks. Back home we always require a thorough environmentl check before a body can build. Has this place been checked for bad stuff like oil and the tar from the choo choo ties? I bet you a dozen coconuts that there is some voodoo bad stuff there.
The Bennett fundraiser announcement was sent out by who….?
Oh yeah….Art Helton (enough said).
A mature place to level your campaign attacks. Grow up Hiob, and notice that all of these extreme Repugs are supporting you on here. That being the case, you should carefully search your conscience… presumably you are a registered Democrat (hence your appearance at the NHDC). Presumably you are a registered Dem because you have a set of beliefs about the way government should work for people (and not just because you want to belong to a particular party, or you think you need to be to get elected, like so many Repugs around here). If that is the case, then maybe it should concern you that so many of the Repugs on Dagger seem to be supporting you. Are you on the right track for your town and county? I wonder….
Nice… sarcastically using the word ‘mature’ and telling Hiob to grow up, while at the same time namecalling Republicans.
However, not surprising at all.
Aberdeen Dem,
Why do you consider “stating a fact” a “campaign attack”?
P.S. Municipal elections AND issues are 100% non-partisan.
I am very proud to have broad support from voters of all party affiliations. You can continue to “wonder”, but you cannot “pigeon hole” me.
I like to see my candidates for mayor bickering like high school kids, really I do.
Why don’t you put your real name on here you empty shirt wimp. Don’t comment unless you have the balls to man up to what you say. Proud Dem always hides when he tries to take someone on. Stand up like a real American and don’t hide in the shadows like terrorists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lance Hersh
I find your comment to be most informative. You have the mistaken idea that government exists for some Utopian idea of one for and all for one. Your statement: “Presumably you are a registered Dem because you have a set of beliefs about the way government should work for people..” tells volumes. The government does not exist to work for people. It is the other way around. Your own disgusting leadership proves this constantly in that the size of government grows at a rate far exceeding the population growth.
We understand that you are still quite immature and have never had to really do much for yourself. Someday you will wake up, grow up and see that the democrat way is pure unadulterated horse shit.
Dave yensan. Hi Dave your republic is showing, Mike Hiob for Mayor !
Mr. Hiob I disagree with you wholeheartly Municipal Election are clearly not non partisan ,why is it that Governor O’Malley has an interest in the Aberdeen race and the former Governor Ehrlich gave his support to a couple of candidates in Bel Air.
Please do not and try to tell us that the issues and elections are non-partisan.
All politics are local.
Local Gal: Mr. Hiob isn’t saying that the elections are non-partisan the election rules say that they are non-partisan. We all know know that party politics comes in to play just as party politics come in to play in daily discussions and other activities. All of the candidates that are running are running against each other not against party lines. The Heltonistas endorsed a candidate, the Heltonistas are all members from the same political party, and the Heltonistas private club that endorsed is a Democrat club and will endorse a democrat even in non-partisan elections. They had two to choose from, one a puppet who does what he is told to do and one who thinks, listens, debates, and decides who isn’t in the back pocket.
Mr. Hiob is a registered democrat however, his party affiliation has nothing to do being on the ballot. Mr. Hiob is not a tax and spend candidate, Mr. Hiob has expressed his beliefs in fiscal accountability. Mr. Hiob, though he may blow his own horn with The Record, has taken stances in the past that benefit all of Aberdeen instead of one section of Graceford Road, one developer, or just his family. Some of that may go against the direction of the political party that he is a registered member, but he is putting the people over the party.
Aberdeen currently has a mayor who wants to be re-elected that saw fit to spend over 20K of OUR money to replace two year old furniture in City Hall in his office because Fred Simmons had touched it or breathed on it or looked at it. 20K of OUR money wasted on personal agenda when the man wanted to hack OUR money away from the Boys and Girls Club. That isn’t how we want someone spending OUR money. This same man saw fit to insult our intelligence by lowering one tax while raising another fee. I don’t know about the rest of you but giving me back $1 so that you can charge me $2 more on another city fee looks like you actually bilked me out of another dollar more which is okay if you remember that it’s not your money to waste and you spend it on city needs and current employees. This man, who couldn’t attend a veterans dedication (Mike Hiob was there) service that took place in this city (which is connected to a military base in case you crawled out from under a rock). The man who wasn’t too busy to spend over $20K in furniture that HE wanted couldn’t show his face at a 1/2 ceremony for veterans held by a veterans association that volunteers to clean the park and memorial and dress it. A veteran of the US Army who served during Viet Nam could not attend a veterans ceremony in the city where he is the mayor, too busy at work to take an hour or two off when another council member could make financial and personal sacrifice to attend because it was that darn important for him to honor and support veterans. If you think that the 20K was all of the money that was wasted there was quite a bit more under this man’s watch including salary and benefits for a person to sit at a desk at city hall and say Hi (who isn’t at the desk half of the time it’s other people that I’ve seen in city hall for years). I wonder if Mike Bennett even gets invited to BRAC meetings any longer, haven’t heard any updates.
RWinger, I’ll keep it short and sweet….Thank You!
Local Gal,
A good relationship with the Governor of your state can be one of the greatest benefits a Mayor can give his citizens. There is so much BRAC money still our there and a hefty portion of the stimulus money as well. The last mayor, although a republican, was asked by the Governor to help consolodate all the municipal and county brac plans to formulate a state brac plan. The new Mayor Hiob can use his close relationship with the Governor to plug the gapeing leadership void in Aberdeen’s involvement in the brac process and once again plant our flag at the epicenter of the biggest brac in our country’s history.
Mr. Thong,
“Plant our flag at the Epicenter”. Now THAT’S a great visual!
Thanks.
Al that has a pleaseing tone too the ear’s. ”New” Mayor Mike Hiob