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

Artfully Done: How To Win An Election The Wrong Way

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

Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off

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

The Day the Election Stood Still (updated)

Experts say the most important thing to remember in a hostage situation is to not attempt to negotiate or argue with the hostage taker.

They also recommend against making threats, demands or personal attacks as a means to diffuse the situation.

On Thursday, the Aberdeen City Council got about half the guidelines right – avoiding direct confrontation with the man holding its future hostage, but at the same time laying into him with a savage display of public repugnance.

You see, as of Wednesday afternoon, would-be council candidate Steve Johnson and his team of lawyers and political advisors effectively took the Aberdeen election hostage. Continue reading The Day the Election Stood Still (updated)

Stop the Election!: Candidate Maybe Wins Round 1 (updated)

Last Wednesday, Steve Johnson stood, dressed in a tan sport coat and a dress shirt, on the sidelines and watched as candidates for mayor and Aberdeen City Council passed a microphone in front of a crowd of 120 voters. This Wednesday, Johnson stopped the election.

Tossed from the ballot by Aberdeen’s Board of Elections over questions of whether he lives within city limits, Johnson won the first round in his legal quest to get back on the ballot late Wednesday afternoon when Harford County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Waldron put the election on hold until the matter can be resolved. Waldron will decide Friday on whether to rule on the injunction himself, or to let the sitting city council decide Johnson’s fate.

Wait. That sound you just heard was the needle screeching off the record. That’s right, folks, the city council, including the bloc Johnson described late Wednesday night as “The Three Amigos” could well decide the fate of a man threatening their own incumbency. Johnson’s attorney will be arguing vigorously against such a scenario Friday. Continue reading Stop the Election!: Candidate Maybe Wins Round 1 (updated)

A Fair Aberdeen Election?

You’ve no doubt heard about it by now, so here it is for your perusal – the full contents of the mysterious letter mailed Saturday to registered voters in the City of Aberdeen.

What’s so curious about the letter is the entity which purportedly mailed it, Concerned Citizens For a Fair Aberdeen Election, used the address for another prominent citizens group, Aberdeen Communities Together.

The letter, as you can see for yourself, asks for Art Helton, a former state senator and member of the New Harford Democratic Club; Steve Johnson, chairman of the city’s Economic Development Commission and a potential city council candidate if the Harford County Circuit Court validates his candidacy; and Steve’s wife, Julie, to be taken off the city voter rolls. The back of the letter contains a petition for citizens to fill out and mail to city elections judge and former city council president Gina Bantum regarding the rights of the trio to participate in Aberdeen elections. Continue reading A Fair Aberdeen Election?

Candidate Zero’s condition upgraded to Candidate Maybe (update)

Forced to keep quiet before the court of public opinion during last week’s Aberdeen candidate forum, Steve Johnson will get a chance to speak out today (Monday) in a much more official court when he makes his plea to be certified as a candidate for city council in the Nov. 6 election.

Johnson, chairman of Aberdeen’s Economic Development Commission, owner of Johnson Family Pharmacy in downtown Aberdeen and, until recently, thought to be a resident of Perryman, was invalidated by the city’s Elections Board last week, but will take the issue today (Monday) before the Harford County Circuit Court.

Under the city charter, candidates for elected office in Aberdeen must have resided within the municipal boundaries of the city for a minimum of two years. It is well known Johnson has been living outside the city (he acknowledged as much before us and a group of exasperated city residents a year or so ago). It is just as well known that this particular piece of election law is easily worked around. Continue reading Candidate Zero’s condition upgraded to Candidate Maybe (update)

In Atlas We Trust

As one Dagger reader in attendance described it, last night’s Aberdeen FOP candidates forum was “pretty vanilla.” That it was. There were no meaningful outbursts from the crowd, and only glimmers of passion from the candidates. Even the powerful Redshirts showed up in their new, more subdued blue shirts. The questions, written down by attendees and apparently selected for mildness by FOP officials, were beach balls. But some of what went down before – and after – the forum was a bit more interesting.

Before things got started, as 19-year-old mayoral candidate Nicole Burlew (who could make national news with her campaign if she sharpens her act just a bit) stood for a TV interview, we at the Dagger hung out in the background at Festival Park, booting a soccer ball around. Mayor Simmons stopped by, and it was only a matter of minutes before he’d removed his suit jacket and was bearing his right bicep, showing off fresh ink. Flew the guy up from Florida to do the job, Fred said, explaining that he’d been to famous tattoo shops in Vegas and South Beach, but could never find an “artist” qualified to give him his only tattoo: that of Atlas. Anyone who’s been in the War Room at City Hall might have noticed a statue of the Greek Titan, a revelatory symbol of Fred’s guiding philosophy; the same, still red from the etching now holds up a bluish sphere on the mayor’s arm. Just as the conversation turned to how clean the park looked, a homeless woman approached to ask Fred why he doesn’t put out ashtrays. Continue reading In Atlas We Trust