“A Classic Method of Wrapping Fresh Fish” And Other Uses For A Local Newspaper, Courtesy Of A Local Politician

The prolonged battle between Aberdeen City Councilman Mike Hiob and local newspaper The Record continued this week with the politician getting in the latest jab - a list of the top “uses” for the newspaper he read during Monday night’s city council meeting, which include wrapping fish, washing windows and checking to see how many headlines were ripped from The Dagger.

This war of attrition has been going on nearly since Hiob took office in November 2003 and was likely fueled by Hiob’s dislike for what he has called “sensational headlines” and “wrong information” in the paper and the newspaper’s dislike of Hiob’s propensity for verbose, minute and typically unwarranted/unjustified criticism - or nitpicking. Continue reading “A Classic Method of Wrapping Fresh Fish” And Other Uses For A Local Newspaper, Courtesy Of A Local Politician

Who’s Picking up the Tab?: Aberdeen Calls Off its Unbudgeted, $13,000 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

It has been a tradition each year in Aberdeen for the city to honor its volunteers with a special night for them - a dinner, ceremony and awards presentation to say ‘Thank You’ to those who dedicate their time and energy to making Aberdeen a better place to live, work and do business.

That tradition was threatened last year when Aberdeen, in the midst of going bankrupt, could scarcely afford to put on the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and, with the economic climate in the city unchanged, it looks like it’s in jeopardy again this year.

Aberdeen’s Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was scheduled for March 27 - scheduled by City Manager Doug Miller, who evidently proceeded with organizing a lavish, $13,000 event without consulting the Mayor and City Council or even determining from where in the city’s budget the money would come. The event was abruptly canceled this week when the City Council learned about the expensive engagement. Continue reading Who’s Picking up the Tab?: Aberdeen Calls Off its Unbudgeted, $13,000 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

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)

Aberdeen Candidate Class Superlatives

In less than 24 hours, the polls will open in Aberdeen and a revolution will be underway to sweep clean City Hall…or voters will show their support for the direction the city has been moving the last two years and return the incumbents to office.

Either way, The Dagger couldn’t pass up a final chance to poke and prod the curious collection of characters that made up this year’s candidate class. Without further ado, we present the 2007 Aberdeen Election Candidate Class Superlatives:

Continue reading Aberdeen Candidate Class Superlatives

When The Going Gets Weird…

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…

Show Me The Money

The 13 Aberdeen candidates for mayor and city council have raised more than $40,000 among them, but more than two-thirds of those funds are found in the campaign war chests of just two people – Mayor S. Fred Simmons and incumbent councilman David Yensan.

The duo, which campaigned together two years ago when they were both elected for the first time, has raised more than twice as much money as the other 11 candidates for mayor and city council combined.

Unsurprisingly, Simmons and Yensan, who have been joined at the hip both politically and in their city voting records, share nearly identical campaign finance reports, which show thousands of dollars being donated by entities and individuals with vested interests in the mayor and his right-hand man staying on board for another term.

Get familiar with some of these campaign contributors and political donors. Their names will pop up time and time again. Just like the Matrix (hey, whatever happened to the city’s infamous Matrix anyway?!), the longer you stare at these lists, the better you’ll be able to see the true alignment of the candidates. More so than the color of a T-shirt or which side of the aisle they sit on in city hall, nothing tells the story of an election more than where the money is coming from. Continue reading Show Me The Money

Thanks for the Memories

Some field notes I scribbled down during Wednesday night’s candidate’s forum in Aberdeen:

The Master of Ceremonies mistakenly skipped over and forgot to announce the name of city council candidate Bernard DeWitt. Then, as the catcalls picked up in intensity and he recognized his mistake, the MC had to back up, bend over and look at DeWitt’s name tag before finally saying his name over the sound system.

As much as we all want to love, embrace her and support the idea of her dark horse candidacy, why oh why, did the first 5 words out of 19-year-old mayoral candidate Nicole Burlew’s mouth have to literally be “I don’t really know anything…”?

I was surprised to see every mayoral and city council candidate in attendance Wednesday and I mean EVERY – Steve Johnson, wearing a nice sports jacket, was seated on the periphery with the rest of us who will not be appearing on the Nov. 6 ballot. Recently invalidated as a candidate because he doesn’t reside within the municipal limits of Aberdeen, Johnson, according to the rules of the forum, wasn’t even permitted to submit a question for his one-time fellow candidates. I wonder what he might have asked? Continue reading Thanks for the Memories

Off to the Races (updated again)

The City of Aberdeen will hold its municipal election for mayor and four city council members on Tuesday, November 6 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center at 7 Franklin Street.

The Harford County Municipal Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 128 will be sponsoring “Meet the Candidates Night” on Wednesday, October 10 at The American Legion Post 128, 44 N Parke Street. The doors open at 6:15 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m. Organizers are advertising it as a chance for citizens to meet and ask questions of those running for office.

For those who can’t wait that long or won’t be attending, here is The Dagger’s take. Continue reading Off to the Races (updated again)