(Bel Air, MD –April 1, 2009) – – The passing of Councilwoman Veronica Chenowith has left a vacancy in District B (Fallston and Abingdon) of the Harford County Council. In accordance with the County Charter, the Republican Central Committee of Harford County is required to forward the names of three qualified citizens to the Harford County Council. The Central Committee has decided to send names to the council no later than May 4, 2009. The county council will then choose Chenowith’s successor by a majority vote. The council will have until May 22 to appoint a new member.
The Central Committee is accepting applications of qualified persons for appointment to District B. Chairman Kim Wagner stated, “Roni will be truly missed and finding her successor will be a humbling endeavor.”
Those interested should submit a resume and application to the Republican Central Committee of Harford County, attention Bob Thomas, Secretary at P. O. Box 289 Bel Air, Maryland 21014. Resumes and applications must be postmarked no later than April 13, 2009. Applications postmarked after April 13 will not be considered. Applications will be available on the Central Committee’s website, www.harfordgop.org by April 6.
Candidates seeking the position must reside in District B and be a registered Republican voter. The County Charter also requires that an appointee has been a registered voter in the county for at least two years prior to the appointment.
Interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the Harford County Government Administration Building located at 220 South Main Street in Bel Air. Interviews will commence at 6:00 p.m. promptly.
I am anxiously awaiting to see who from Central Committee will be running for this temporary position. Any Guesses? Any folks from the business community in Roni’s district who would be interested?
Here are some names that have been bandied about:
I heard that the council was interested in someone who could hit the ground running because they have so much coming up.
1. I am not sure if any central committee members live in the district, but I heard that Fmr. Councilman Michael Geppi might be on or near the border. Don’t think he is interested though as it seems he is already running for Delegate 35B. Districts B and 35B overlap a bit though. He has more time on the council than almost any current council member. Also it seems that the business community is counting on him to get rid of Mccomas.
2. Joe Chenowith, Roni’s husband. He was a longtime businessman in the county, don’t know if he is still in business or not. ( A traditional way to deal with these vacancies. Who knows?)
3. Pat Hess, School Board President. Owns the Hess Hotels and is a businessman. (and now enemy of most council members, talk about bad timing for a front page fight with the council)
4. Vernan Gauss, former central committee member and current liquor board member. I think he owns a construction company. Probably the solid GOP choice if that is what is important.
5. Norm Cochran, 2 time losing candidate for sheriff and council president. Pretty sure he was a Sheriff’s Deputy. (Also Mike Euler’s boy, remember the Rob Wagener race? I think he ran that race out of Euler’s gas station. Fallston and Euler are not exactly on friendly terms. Twanmoh will eat him up.)
6. Chief Woods of the Fallston Vol Fire Co. (Nice built-in constituency. Young guy who can look the part. Don’t know about the business angle though. Then again Jason Galion was chief at Level forever and that hasn’t exactly helped him.)
7. Steve Moyer, former Democrat bigwig and State Police commander. I think his father was a delegate a long time ago. (Too Democrat tied? Do many people know this guy? Can’t imagine the central committee giving him the nod to begin with)
8. Kevin Keene, ran against Roni. Don’t know what he does. (don’t think he was nice to Roni in that campaign so he is not likely to win over the Republicans)
In the end it will come down to the type of member the council wants with them. Someone strong or someone they can push around? You better believe that the Republicans will be looking out for thier own though.
If I had to ponder, I’d say #1 Geppi and #8 Kane (not Keene) will no way even give it consideration. I thought Geppi was in District E, and Kane endorsed Twanmoh over Roni in ’06 after the Primary. Honestly, I don’t think any of those names will come to fruition, but then again, some of them I do not know.
I think the Central Committee would have to consider electability and fundraising capabilities as major factors over just a ‘party favorite’ since the ’10 campaign will be here before you know it. At the same time, it’ll have to be a person that the Council will approve.
Hmm Interesting. I am not sure if Geppi’s entering that arena would be good for him considering his runn agains McComas. Vernon Gauss I think would be a good choice. He had a long standing business in Abingdon before he went to work for a builder. I am not sure that being a Chief or a fireman is a good precurser for good business accumen. There is no way I would see Mr Hess being successful in the bid given his recent tirade with the council. Joe is a great guy, but he has to be exhausted after what he has been through. Who ever it is, they need to be strong enough to face Twanmoh and beat her in the up coming race.
Not sure who in the business community is supporting Geppi over McComas. As a Republican business owner myself who knows Geppi quite well, and I don’t think he would know the truth, even if it slaped him in his face. The guy always over-promises and under-performs.
For the record, I do not live in Council District B. Not even close. The truth is that I have not even given this any consideration.
I will be announcing my future plans on April 25 at the Equestrian Center in Bel Air.
In the meantime, I will be helping to guide the central committee through this process. Our intent is to select a list of three of the best potential council members possible.
Not one possible applicant has spoken to me about this yet.
That is the truth.
Good thing Mike Geppi told us that was the truth… since everything else he says is probably less than truthful.