Campaign Journal: Howell For Council, Seltzer For School Board, Shrodes Seeks Re-election, Redmer For Senate

The 2010 Harford County Gubernatorial Primary Election lost an active candidate and party leader with the untimely death of Steve Wright (Republican/Churchville), whose passing leaves a vacancy on the Republican Central Committee and reduces the Harford County Executive Primary Election to a two-man race.

Meanwhile, a number of other individuals have filed to run for a variety of local seats:

—County councilman Chad Shrodes (Republican/White Hall) has filed for re-election.

—Gregory Seltzer (Fallston), an appointee to the Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees, has filed to run for the non-partisan Board of Education District B seat.

—Al Redmer, (Republican/Middle River) has officially filed to challenge Del. J.B. Jennings for the Republican nomination to the District 7 State Senate seat.

—Derek Howell (Republican/Abingdon) has filed to run for County Council District B

Passed over a year ago in his attempt to secure the nomination to the Harford County Council’s District B seat upon the death of councilwoman Veronica Chenowith, Howell (Republican/Abingdon) filed this week to run for the seat.

From his campaign:

Derek J. Howell filed to run for Harford County Council District B on June 1, 2010. Derek is a decorated former Maryland state trooper who spent over ten years with the Maryland State Police before leaving to obtain his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science, both with honors, from the Johns Hopkins University.

“I will fight for lower taxes, support public safety, and champion the principle of limited government.” Derek, a tea party conservative republican, said and continued “this [campaign] is not about me, but we – we the people; and we the people must ensure that it is the government who serves the people and not the people whom serve the government.”

Derek is a Harford County small business owner. He also teaches at a local community college, and is an instructor on the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and America’s Founding Fathers. Derek is happily married to his wife, Jenna. Derek and Jenna are both committed Christians and are members of Mountain Christian Church. Derek met Jenna, a 2003 graduate of Fallston High School and 2007 graduate of Towson University, when they both served as sixth grade youth sponsors at Mountain Christian Church.

Future campaign events and information will be released soon. For more information about Derek J. Howell and his candidacy for Harford County Council District B, please Facebook Derek at www.facebook.com/derekjhowell or email harfordforhowell@gmail.com. The campaign website, www.harfordforhowell.com, is under construction, but will be up shortly. U.S mail may be sent to P.O. Box 25 Abingdon, Maryland 21009.

–Current District B county councilman Joe Woods has not yet filed to maintain the seat to which he was appointed upon the death of Chenowith, but issued this letter to supporters in mid-April:

It’s hard to believe that it has be a year since I was appointed to the Harford County Council. It has been an exciting and fulfilling year for me and our county. Although I had some challenging and demanding times last years with learning all the details of the county council while still running my company and serving as the Chief of the Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company, I feel the year was a great success. I enjoyed working with members of our communities to preserve and protected our conservative and rural areas of Harford County and meeting with groups of neighbors in Abingdon to work our road, traffic, and zoning issues. But one of the highlights of this year for me was meeting with County employees and learning and sometimes doing their jobs with them. I did this so I could get a better understanding of their role in Harford County and how my decisions on the council would affect them. I got a really good idea of what our highway crews do when I drove a snow plow for 57 ½ hours during the February blizzard.

This year I will be running my first official campaign for the 2010 election. I’m asking for your help. This is my first campaign and I really need the support of our community to make this a success. So far no one has stated that they are running against me but it is still early. My committee is Team Joe Woods and we have been working hard on planning events and making yard signs and t-shirts. To save money we make our own signs, shirts, and pins and print our own mailers and flyers. We will be having many events and opportunities to help out. Your support is welcome and needed.

Next year will be a challenging year for Harford County. Important issues will be in front of the council; issues where we need conservative members of our county government in office who are known for listening to our community needs and concerns. Issues like the future of our fire and emergency medical services, property use and taxes, and the master plan for Harford County. I have proven myself to be one of the conservative members of Harford County government who listens to the needs of our county, and I need your help to stay in office.
Please look over the enclosed list of events. We are looking for helpers, yard sign locations, and of course donations.

Thank You,

Councilman Joe Woods
Harford County District B

—Del. Rick Impallaria (Republican/Joppa) announced his 2010 candidacy and slate of running mates

In announcing his candidacy for re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates, Impallaria laid out his slate of runningmates and explained the experience of serving in Annapolis and why he’d like to continue for another four years:

Thank you for the privilege of serving you for the past eight years in the Maryland General Assembly. This is the official announcement of my candidacy for Delegate in the 7th Legislative District.

I will be running on a slate with Robert Ehrlich for Governor, J. B. Jennings for State Senator, Pat McDonough and myself for Delegates.
We have been an effective team for our constituents, and look forward to serving you once again under Governor Ehrlich.

Serving in Annapolis has been a truly eye-opening experience. The Legislature is full of anti-taxpayer, anti-business lawmakers, but has no shortage of those who advocate for criminals. They have plenty of time for pushing the politically correct legislation which is so destructive to our Judeo-Christian beliefs, tearing apart the family structure, and promoting public irresponsibility. They believe that government is the solution to all people’s problems. Believe me, government is much better at creating problems than solving them.

Being a voice of reason and common sense is not easy in this environment. But I promise that I will continue to support you in the same common sense way that I have in the past, always keeping in mind my belief in God, my battle to uphold the Constitution, and to fight for, support, and protect your families and livelihoods

—Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich endorsed Jennings, Impallaria, McDonough, and Craig.

Ehrlich said the following in a statement released by Impallaria’s campaign:

“J. B., Rick, and Pat have been key leaders in fighting against higher taxes and spending. Their teamwork has helped pass legislation such as Jessica’s Law to protect children, the gangs bills to protect neighborhoods, and important legislation to assist senior citizens. They provide first-class constituent service to the people they represent.

“For these reasons I am proudly providing my only official endorsement in the 7th District to J. B. Jennings, Rick Impallaria, and Pat McDonough.”

And Harford County Executive David Craig (Republican/Havre de Grace) released the following statement about an Ehrlich endorsement himself:

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. formally endorsed County Executive David R. Craig in his bid for another term as County Executive. “I have known David for many years, and have worked with him when we served in the General Assembly together. He truly loves Harford County and has always looked out for the best interest of its citizens. I have followed the County Executive’s progress over the past few years, he truly understands as an executive how to strike a balance in government. As a true fiscal conservative, when the state was raising the tax burden on its citizens, he sought ways to improve efficiency, reduce the size of government, and offer tax relief to Harford’s citizens, Said Ehrlich. He is the right person, for the right job at the right time”.

OTHER CAMPAIGN EVENTS

–Impallaria will have an All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp Feast and Bull Roast on Sunday, August 8 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Columbus Gardens in Fullerton.

— Derek Hopkins (Republican/Pylesville running for Register of Wills) will have a “Barn Dance” on Friday, June 4 from 6:30-11 p.m. at Grimmel Farms in Jarrettsville.

—Jim Rutledge (Republican/Forest Hill running for U.S. Senate) will hold a “Rally For Rutledge” event on Saturday, June 19 from 5-8 p.m. at Ralph Norton’s Place (formerly Camp Hidden Valley) in White Hall. “The flag of liberty must be raised and the fight engaged. Do not sit idly by. Take action now. Freedom isn’t Free. Mikulski is on the ropes, and Jim Rutledge needs your help to deliver the T.K.O.! “

–Craig will hold a grand opening for his campaign headquarters office at 118 S. Main Street in Bel Air on Friday, June 11 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Craig’s campaign kick-off event will be on Sunday, June 27 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Vigdon Manor Farm in Darlington.