The year 2009 opened on a sad note in Harford County with residents still mourning the death of prominent, longtime school superintendent Jacqueline Haas. Before the year was over, Harford County would lose two other wellknown female leaders – former delegate Joanne Parrott and Harford County Councilwoman Veronica Chenowith.
It was also a year of contradiction. Even as President-Elect Barack Obama slowed his inaugural train ride through Edgewood in January to wave and thank a thousand or so supporters, there were a thousand or so more Harford County residents who fought tooth-and-nail in September to prevent President Obama’s live address to be shown to their children during the school day.
Bel Air High School was demolished and Fallston Library was spared from closure. Art Helton survived another political scandal in Aberdeen while Harford County’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly played a furious and humiliating game of musical chairs in Annapolis.
Just two weeks before the city’s election, Aberdeen is proving once again that when it comes to politics, no tactic is off-limits.
A police report filed earlier this summer against a notable local figure has come to light in what may be an effort to turn a dubious allegation into a political hit.
According to the report, former State Senator and Harford County Councilman Art Helton was not charged earlier this year after a 32-year-old woman who rented one of his properties accused him of harassment.
It’s curious that the report comes to light now, months after authorities dropped their investigation, but just ahead of another tight city election.
Helton dismissed the accusations, which were levied in a police report made public last week, claiming the woman “was either mentally irate or on something.” He said the woman and one of her co-workers admitted to him that the accusations were made in an effort ...Continue Reading
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:
In advance of the City of Aberdeen’s November 3 municipal election, the New Harford Democratic Club is imploring its members to attend Wednesday night’s meeting to vote on which mayoral candidate the club will endorse – incumbent mayor Mike Bennett or current city council president Mike Hiob.
Aside from the fact that municipal elections are nonpartisan (although Bennett and Hiob are both Democrats, no party affiliation will appear next to the names of any candidates on the Aberdeen election ballot), the New Harford Democratic Club is also creating a stir because it will be voting to endorse a candidate several days before candidates can even begin to file to run for office.
The New Harford Democratic Club will hold its meeting and endorsement vote on September 2, but the City of Aberdeen’s candidate filing period extends from September 5 through October 3.
So what if the man the New Harford Democratic Club votes ...Continue Reading
Four-year terms, strict residency and age requirements for candidates, and a new process for the recall and removal of elected officials are just a few of the major changes proposed in the revised Charter of the City of Aberdeen.
A draft of the document, posted on Aberdeen’s web site, also shows proposed changes which would empower the city manager with roles previously held solely by the mayor, alterations to who and when residents can vote in city elections, and removal of a long-standing requirement to publish city business in the local newspapers.
Harford County Democrats were briefly invited Monday morning to a fundraiser for Democratic First District Congressional candidate Frank Kratovil. Minutes after Art Helton of the New Harford Democratic Club invited local Democrats to his house for next week’s fundraiser, the message was rescinded.
Instead the Democrats were invited to a brunch at the Helton home in Kratovil’s honor.
Despite a bitter internal feud, no review of the Aberdeen Police Department is needed. Despite being severely fined and penalized in the past, the city should once again pursue sucking more water from Deer Creek. Despite its being in day-to-day control of the city’s multi-million dollar budget, direct observation of the day-to-day operation of the city’s Finance Department is needed.
These are just a few of the highlights from a report on the City of Aberdeen’s operation and health, as conducted by the 28-member Transition Team formed to help new Mayor Mike Bennett transition into office.
The report was unveiled to the public Monday night – nearly three months after Bennett’s November election to office. Put another way, one-eighth of Bennett’s two-year term in office has already been spent compiling this report and it will probably take the remaining seven-eighths of his term to implement its recommendations.
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.
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.
