Simmons/Yensan Out, Bennett/Young In (Unofficial Aberdeen Election Results)
November 6, 2007
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)
Why No One Cares About Bel Air Elections
November 4, 2007
Here we are with some big choices to be made on the eve of Election Day, or should I say, ‘Elections Day,’ plural, as there is of course a second local municipal contest being held Tuesday.
So why is it that there has scarcely been mention here on The Dagger of the Town of Bel Air election also being held Nov. 6?
We’ve been pondering why the Bel Air town elections always seem quite tepid when compared to the generally heated, dirty and heavily contested municipal races in Aberdeen and Havre de Grace. Continue reading Why No One Cares About Bel Air Elections
Trick or Treat?: A $15 Million Halloween Suit (UPDATED)
November 2, 2007
The Wetlands annexation group filed a $15 million defamation suit on Halloween Day against Art and Ann Helton, the New Harford Democratic Club and club president John Haggerty.
The suit stems from a flyer the Heltons and the Club allegedly designed and distributed prior to the December 2006 special election on the Wetlands Golf Course property annexation. The flyer purportedly asked residents to “Save Aberdeen” by voting against the Wetlands annexation and went on to claim annexation of the property would bring 7,800 townhouse units to the site, do away with the golf course, remove all open space and significantly increase crime in the area. Continue reading Trick or Treat?: A $15 Million Halloween Suit (UPDATED)
Artfully Done: How To Win An Election The Wrong Way
November 1, 2007
Like cigarettes, booze or Russian Roulette, it is almost assured that too much of a bad thing will kill you.
At least that’s the hope of Art Helton - political dinosaur, Democratic kingmaker and frequent target of opponents looking to tank the campaigns of candidates with whom he is associated.
Over the weekend, Helton was again the main character in the latest in a string of negative advertisements and vicious smear campaign tactics targeting the candidates he and the New Harford Democratic Club are supporting in the Nov. 6 Aberdeen municipal election. Continue reading Artfully Done: How To Win An Election The Wrong Way
The Creature From The Abingdon Basement
October 31, 2007
Just in time for Halloween come pictures of the now infamous Abingdon Alligator discovered almost by accident in the basement of a local home a week or so ago.
The story, as I heard it, goes something like this: the resident of an Abingdon home was missing for a few weeks and was apparently murdered (that’s a hell of a start for any story about alligators) and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office went to the house with Animal Control Officers to wrangle up a few of the deceased homeowner’s dogs.
It wasn’t until the crew was leaving the house that some neighborhood children asked if they knew about the alligator in the basement. Upon closer inspection, there was indeed an about a four-and-a-half foot long alligator in an aquarium set up in the basement. Animal Control Officers subdued the creature, wrapped its muzzle in duct tape and evidently snapped a few pictures before putting it in a cage and removing it from the scene. Continue reading The Creature From The Abingdon Basement
A Long Lost Friend
October 30, 2007
What with it being Hell Night (the night before Halloween) and the middle of my honeymoon, I’m off to raise some high Hell. In the meantime, please enjoy this wickedly good feature of mine which was published just last week in EERIE PA Magazine Issue 4 (www.eeriepa.net). In the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve, it examines the reality and belief in witchcraft among some in our society. SPOILER ALERT: It involves murder, magic, me and is pretty spooky. Happy Halloween!
Somewhere in south-central Pennsylvania, a family is worried.
A child has fallen ill and shows no signs of improving.
After a fair amount of hand-wringing and soul-searching, a man enters the house to fetch the remedy – not medicine, not a doctor, but a short passage from a small book. Its pages contain neither the telephone number of a trusted physician nor the recipe for a therapeutic elixir, but nonetheless hold a tried and true method of healing.
Quite simply, it’s faith. Continue reading A Long Lost Friend
When The Going Gets Weird…
October 26, 2007
Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of
principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
-Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911
Things started turning weird here at The Dagger this past week, and after kicking it around amongst ourselves for a few days, we’ve decided to open the books and let you all take a look.
First things first. A group of local businessmen, the prospective developers of the Wetlands Golf Course, bought a roughly $250, bumper sticker-size ad in The Record newspaper today to promote The Dagger. Continue reading When The Going Gets Weird…
An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse?
October 26, 2007
Speaking of benefactors, could The Aegis newspaper, Harford County’s community newspaper of record, have been helping the cause of an Aberdeen annexation opposition group behind the scenes last year?
More disturbing details from the testimony of a member of the annexation opposition, as part of the lawsuit that group filed against the City of Aberdeen, indicate the group, formerly known as Say No Annex or unofficially as ‘the redshirts,’ may have had an anonymous “Godfather” pampering them with services, support and cold hard cash – everything the group needed to take on the Wetlands annexation proposal.
It was long speculated such a “Godfather” existed, especially when the opposition group, which consists of Aberdeen and non-Aberdeen resident volunteers, was suddenly outfitted with matching shirts and signs, began distributing information pamphlets and mailers and purchased expensive advertisements in local newspapers. Continue reading An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse?
Elliott’s (Post)Date With Destiny
October 24, 2007
Ruth Elliott, an incumbent Aberdeen City Councilwoman and former mayor, may have participated in election fraud this March when she allegedly had members of the city’s Board of Elections sign and back-date the official results of a special election held months prior.
Such election fraud, according to the city charter, is considered a misdemeanor and, if prosecuted and found guilty of such an offense, Elliott Ruth Elliottwould have to resign from office immediately upon conviction.
The disturbing details came out recently during depositions and testimony in the lawsuit filed against the City of Aberdeen by a group of annexation opponents.
Even more staggering than the revelation itself are its origins and implications. Continue reading Elliott’s (Post)Date With Destiny
Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off
October 22, 2007
As of 9 o’clock this morning life is officially back to normal in Aberdeen.
Well, as normal as can be expected in a city where the gun-toting, airplane-flying mayor is being taken on by a 19-year-old college student, the best source of potable water is straight from the Bay and a Hall of Fame baseball player has nearly bankrupt the place.
Ignoring the advice of his lawyer and legal counsel, who still believe his case to be winnable, Steve Johnson, the would-be city council candidate who may or may not live in Aberdeen, has decided to officially abandon his quest to appear on the Nov. 6 election ballot.
That’s right, I said Nov. 6. Because of Johnson’s decision to withdraw his injunction, he believes the election can proceed as originally planned instead of being postponed until February 2008 or later.
“More important than my candidacy is for this election to go off on time,” Johnson said in an interview Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off
