Taking One for the Team: Can Axing a Chief Save a Sinking Ship?

We’ve all heard the old adage about a captain going down with his ship - a symbol of his being ultimately responsible for whatever the hell happened on the vessel to make it start sinking in the first place.

But there’s another nautically-themed response to save a sinking ship, literal or otherwise, that has become more fashionable in modern times - mutiny.

At issue is the tenuous position of Randy Rudy, chief of the Aberdeen Police Department for the last 8 years, who was strongly aligned with former mayor Fred Simmons. With Simmons out and new mayor Mike Bennett in, Rudy’s future is in question. Even though both come from a background of service with the Maryland State Police, Bennett may see Rudy as one of the last remaining reminders of Simmons’ two years as mayor. It wasn’t Simmons who hired Rudy, but it was Simmons, himself a gun-carrying pilot, who empowered the chief and gave him the funding and support to kick Aberdeen crime-fighting into high gear. Continue reading Taking One for the Team: Can Axing a Chief Save a Sinking Ship?

Room fees, Parking charges, Taxing Districts : Solving Problems in Aberdeen

A pair of Aberdeen city councilmen believe the path to the city’s fiscal salvation can be paved through a series of new taxes, fees and charges - and they just might be right.

Appearing Dec. 18 on ‘Aberdeen Happenings,’a local radio talk show hosted by Mark Schlottman on WAMD 970 AM, city councilmen Mike Hiob and Ron Kupferman specifically detailed plans for establishing parking fees at Ironbirds games to stave off accumulating city debt on the stadium, acquiring enabling legislation from the Maryland General Assembly to charge a fee on every night’s stay in every hotel and motel room in Aberdeen and installing a special taxing district along part of Beards Hill Road to help pay for an untangling of traffic congestion in the area.

But before launching their three-pronged (tax, fee, charge) approach to righting the city’s finances, the councilmen first spoke about the future of Aberdeen given its new leader - Mayor Mike Bennett, who defeated former mayor Fred Simmons in the November election.

“Do you see a new direction for the city with a new man at the forefront?” Schlottman asked. Continue reading Room fees, Parking charges, Taxing Districts : Solving Problems in Aberdeen

29 and Counting…another Member on Mayor Bennett’s Team and it’s another Former APD Cop

The mysterious and previously undisclosed 29th member of Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett’s grandiose transition team was revealed last week to be none other than Joseph Bray - the one-time Aberdeen police officer and Municipal Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 128 president, who was recently terminated from both positions.

Despite his recent firing from the Aberdeen Police Department and forfeiture of his FOP presidency, Bray is expected to remain a member of the now 29-person transition team, so said team coordinator Art Helton.

Although there has been great speculation regarding why he was apparently on some sort of extended leave from APD, Bray’s firing came two weeks ago without an official reason for his dismissal.

“I can only confirm that he was terminated effective 12/06/07. I can’t comment on the reason for the termination,” APD Det./Sgt. Kirk Bane said. Continue reading 29 and Counting…another Member on Mayor Bennett’s Team and it’s another Former APD Cop

Proactive Police Protect People, Prevent Problems, Procure Praise/Prize

Though occasionally accused of being too aggressive and militaristic of law enforcement initiatives for such a small city, the Aberdeen Police Department’s surveillance camera system and Rapid Response Team (RRT) have undoubtedly helped proactively combat crime and clean up city streets.

At a ceremony in Glen Burnie on Tuesday, those efforts by Aberdeen Police were officially recognized when the law enforcement agency was the recipient a pair of crime prevention awards handed out by Gov. Martin O’Malley.

The Governor’s Crime Prevention Award for Outstanding Proactive Crime Prevention Programs in Maryland was awarded to the Aberdeen Police Department for both its Camera Surveillance Project and its Rapid Response Team Safe Street Initiative. Continue reading Proactive Police Protect People, Prevent Problems, Procure Praise/Prize

Return to Sender: What do Aberdeen police have to do to get an RSVP from their mayor?

For the last three weeks, representatives of the Aberdeen Police Department and Municipal Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 128 have been trying to arrange a meeting with newly elected Mayor Mike Bennett.

In that time, at least two letters of invitation sent to Bennett from the FOP have been met with no response, yet the new mayor has found time to meet with Aberdeen’s auxiliary police department - a group in which Bennett’s unofficial and ultimately unsuccessful running mate Steve Johnson is a member.

What’s more, city police officers are now concerned about what they have been told will be the beginning of informal interviews this week conducted by members of Bennett’s 30-person transition team.

“The current concern is that we are not confident in some of the members of the transition team. We believe that there is a conflict of interest and we want to ensure we are represented fairly and accurately. Given the makeup of the team we requested the meeting to give the mayor the majority point of view,” said Aberdeen police officer and FOP Lodge 128 acting president David Swain. Continue reading Return to Sender: What do Aberdeen police have to do to get an RSVP from their mayor?

Long Term Gains: Helton Gets an Aberdeen Tax Break

Convening for its first full meeting since being sworn into office, newly elected Mayor Mike Bennett and the Aberdeen City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a 10-year tax break for a property owned by Art Helton - the Democratic former state senator who masterminded Bennett’s triumphant ascent.

While Enterprise Zone tax credits, 10-year phased reductions in taxes due on properties located in specially designated areas like Route 40, are certainly not unique, it is unusual the city council would act so swiftly after the Nov. 6 election to approve Helton’s tax break. Continue reading Long Term Gains: Helton Gets an Aberdeen Tax Break

An Army of One

Newly elected Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett has announced the membership of his 30-person transition team, which includes his own brother, Art Helton and wife, four failed city council candidates, a former city mayor, a former Havre de Grace police chief and a handful of annexation opponents.

The group, which convened Tuesday night in City Hall and will operate under the control of Helton, has until mid-January to report back to Bennett with information about the failures in city government operation and function.

In forming his team, Bennett was apparently looking for a broad cross section of folks that represented talent in various areas as well as a population diversity representing a cross section of Aberdeen’s citizenry, according to Helton.

Evidently, there are a few names yet to be added to the list once confirmed by Bennett. Any guesses? Continue reading An Army of One

Painted With An Obscure Brush

From the field office, comes this weird one, as if many of you hadn’t already seen S. Fred Simmons’ most recent defacement.

What’s different this time is the vandal’s literacy. Supplanting the anarchy symbol and goofy, tagger-style lettering of the preceding spray-painting is a quote from Ayn Rand’s more obscure philosophical ramblings: “The law of identity does not permit you to have your cake and eat it too.” I suspect the vandal chose this quote because it sounds like something a bad sport would say to someone he or she had defeated in, say, a local election – or dodge ball.

Read in context, however, this cryptic quote means next to nothing unless you’re a member of the rarified, crusty, Randian faithful (Alan Greenspan is in this group, if that tells you anything). Some say it has tangential ties to Aristotle, but a cursory, meaningless Internet search for the nature of the great philosopher’s connection to this cursory, meaningless quote turned up little.

The thing that has us a bit puzzled on this one is, it takes some real moxie to climb up and deface a billboard that’s out in the open on Route 40, and has been tagged at least three times before. I’m picturing a middle-aged person, pulling his or her car over to the side of the road, and just going for it – or a young punk reading off a cheat sheet some middle-aged person gave him along with a $20 bill to carry out the misdemeanor.

At any rate, this detail comes to The Dagger from a local journalist, a friend of ours who notes, “The workman who was getting ready to cover up the latest mess told me it was the fourth time he’s replaced the billboard, so the State Farm ad was going to be moved to a higher billboard up in Churchville and a public service announcement put in its place.”

His nameplate removed from the dais, his big black truck no longer parked outside city hall, his 15-foot head no longer greeting travelers from the north, and his Wetlands annexation ally, Sam Smedley, arrested on gun charges, it seems that – for the moment – the only indelible mark Simmons has left on the city from his two years as mayor is the large bell hanging in the council chambers.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Some final thoughts and field notes on the 2007 Aberdeen Election:

I began the day throwing up in my car on the way to work (how’s that for full disclosure). I’d have taken the bout of sickness as an ill omen if I hadn’t made the same ineffective claim during the last Aberdeen election. In 2005 while campaigning for re-election in Park, Councilman Ron Kupferman was stung at least once by an infuriated yellow jacket. As he swatted at the fleeing insect, I mentioned it probably was something of an ill omen to be stung on Election Day. He agreed and promptly went on to be re-elected in two subsequent elections.

Continue reading What a Difference a Day Makes

Simmons/Yensan Out, Bennett/Young In (Unofficial Aberdeen Election Results)

More than 2,500 Aberdeen voters cast a ballot Tuesday, a greater number than participated in the record-setting pace of the December 2006 special election, flushing Mayor S. Fred Simmons and his right-hand man Councilman Dave Yensan out of office and ushering in a new era for the city with Mike Bennett as mayor and first-time candidate Ruth Ann Young joining incumbents Ruth Elliott, Ron Kupferman and Mike Hiob on the council.

With just 68 absentee ballots left to count Tuesday night and an undisclosed number of provisional votes to be tallied Thursday morning, the results of the 2007 Aberdeen municipal election are unlikely to change.
Elliott, who considered running for mayor herself about a year ago, garnered 150 more votes than Bennett, even though she ran in a field of 10 from which voters could select 4 candidates. Bennett collected about 400 more votes than Simmons and 19-year-old challenger Nicole Burlew didn’t have the impact many hoped she might - bringing in fewer than 200 votes. Continue reading Simmons/Yensan Out, Bennett/Young In (Unofficial Aberdeen Election Results)

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