(Bel Air, MD –April 17, 2009) – – The Republican Central Committee of Harford County has received 11 applications to fill the vacancy left in District B by the passing of the late Councilwoman Roni Chenowith. The plans to interview all qualified Republicans who meet the requirements of the Harford County Charter.
Timothy E. Braue of Fallston, Hon. Vernon L. Gauss, Jr. of Kingsville, Nicholas Greaves of Baldwin, Hon. Derek J. Howell of Abingdon, Rick McCall of Abingdon, Donald McCreesh of Fallston, Donna Muszynski of Fallston, Gregory Seltzer of Fallston, Patricia Tilley Song of Fallston, Joseph M. Woods of Fallston, Kenneth C. Youngmann of Fallston.
None of the applicants of ever held office, with the exception of Vernon L. Gauss and Derek J. Howell, both of whom are former member of the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland.
Harford County Republican Party Communications Chairman Mike Geppi stated, “The number and quality of the applicants we have received to succeed Roni Chonowith are a true testament to the strength of the Republican Party in Harford County. We obviously continue to mourn the loss of Roni, but knowing her as I did, I am positive that she would want us to select a viable and energetic council member.”
Public Interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the Harford County Government Administration Building located at 220 South Bond Street in Bel Air. Interviews will commence at 6:00 p.m. The Central Committee intends to forward three nominees to the county council who will then select the new council member by a majority vote.
Of the 11 candidates, 7 are from Fallston, 2 are from Abingdon and one each from Baldwin and Kingsville.
Abingdon residents might be looking for more representation, but it looks unlikely they’ll get it through this appointment.
I am sure we will all be labeled a second fiddle. Fortunatley when they have to be elected again if they do not remember to visit (except to go to the movies, target and BJ’s) we might not remember to vote for them.
If I had a vote in this appointment it would be for Vernon Gauss. A good man with strong conservative principals.
I live in Fallston & will be voting for Tim Braue when the time comes. Tim represents our town (Fallston) & county well. He’s a wonderful candidate.
Kerry you are aware that unless you are on the county council or a part of the selection group from the central comittee you do not get a vote on who represents the district. That is until the election.
Isn’t Kingsville in Baltimore County? or did Harford County annex it when I wasn’t looking?
Nope. Didn’t know. Thanks.
While I don’t know too much about the other applicants, Derek Howell is without a doubt an excellent choice. I will vote for him without hesitation, in November that is. I hope to stay in this county for life, I need good people in office to make that work.
Yup, truely Ironic we whine about appointed officials on the BOE and can not simply hold an election to finish the term.
I do not believe that where a person lives makes a difference as to how they will represent their district. I live in Fallston and feel Derek Howell is an excellent choice to replace Roni Chenowith. (By the way, when DID Harford County annex Kingsville?)
I do not know much about the other candidates, but as a Baldwin resident and a graduate of Fallston’s public education system, I can say unequivocally that Derek Howell is the best selection for Harford County Council. He is an upstanding, dedicated, genuine, hard working individual, and I know, if given the opportunity, he will serve our county well.
The only one of the applicants that I would vote for and I’m sure would make an excellent representative is Derek Howell. He has unquestionable character and the highest moral standards. He is the type of person that I would want to be in a leadership position in Harford County.
Gary
I would like to think that where they live should not make a difference….but the fact of the matter is that certian communities within this district have been ignored because all the money and votes are in one area. Some people do a great job and take that into account….Others do not.
Reckord Road, south of Belair Rd has Kingsville addresses. Still in Harford County. No annexation needed…
I know that there is a Harford County Public School system, but is there a Fallston public education system? As for Mr. Howell, never heard of him, never seen him, guess he doen not come to Abingdon, or any Republican events.
I have been involved in Republican Party politics in Harford County for almost 30 years and I have never heard of Derek Howell , Joseph Woods, or most of the other candidates. In fact IMO, the only candidates that have been active supporters of conservative ideas are Vernon Gauss and Timothy Braue. I hope that the Central Committee makes sure that a true Republican is appointed to Roni’s seat.
I agree with Andy, but would also include Greg Seltzer on the list of people that have supported Republican candidates. Greg was the Harford County Chair for the McCain campaign last year. Vernon Gauss is always volunteering to help raise money and campaign on behalf of the party. Tim Braue was one of the “go-to guys” for Harford County when he worked for Governor Ehrlich. All three would be great candidates for Roni’s seat.
Miles, Vernon is a good candidate and you debase him with your Fallston school system comment. Don’t let your remarks reflect on your guy.
Greg Seltzer? He didn’t do enough work for McCain to earn his own vote, let alone do anything as “chair.” He may have had a title, but he sat on the sidelines. Paul Magness did all the work.
If you’re involved you should know Derek, since he’s been on the Baltimore Central Committee, is in the Young Republicans, has worked on several campaigns, and was the treasurer for Brian Young’s campaign.
I agree that the rest don’t seem to be involved in much: only Vernon and Derek have done anything political in Harford, Joe has been involved in the community, and Tim has earned his stripes in DC. The rest need to explain what is missing from their resumes.
Derek Howell is a lawyer and constitutional law professor, and a former trooper. The council, and Abingdon, could use someone with those qualifications. Bob Cassilly was a good watchdog as a lawyer on the council, and it is something that is missed.
I agree with many of those contributing to this blog. We are very fortunate to have several fine candidates for this vacant seat. It speaks well of our district. I want to say that one candidate stands out from all of the rest. From Abingdon to Fallston,
TIM BRAUE is the most well rounded and dedicated of all. I believe that Tim Braue reflects the true core values of the Republican party in Harford County.
He gets my total support.
I met Derek at Mountain Christian Church 13 years ago, where he and I both served as volunteer leaders for the church’s youth group. He, and his wife, are very active in the church. I have known Derek to be intelligent, hard working & extremely conscientious, but more important to me, he is an honorable, principled, gentleman, with a heart for serving. Although Derek and his wife reside in Abingdon, I know he has family that live in Fallston, and I believe Derek will faithfully represent the interests of the entire district.
What does Tim Braue do? I’ve heard good things, and that he has worked in DC, but does anyone (R. Shaffer?) have bullet points from his resume? What is he doing now?
Well, there’s this from June 2003:
“Tim E. Braue, a lawyer who headed President Bush’s campaign in Maryland in 2000, was appointed to a new $90,270 position as special assistant to the secretary of the Department of Business and Economic Development. He said his main responsibility initially was to coordinate the department’s Preakness events, but he also will be working to get more federal grants flowing into the state economic development agency.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/printedition/bal-jobs061603,1,5905205.story?page=1
I have known Derek as a friend and an associate in a number of capacities for years. He is a “true” Republican with high standards and unwavering values. I have always known him to be very dedicated to whatever task he is undertaking, and he makes sure the job gets done right. I trust him with my life and the people of Harford County would do well to have him as their voice.
I had some interaction with Derek when he worked at SFS,PA and he is the type of guy to get the job done and he is a good person. I know he can get be an asset to the position
I am a loyal Republican who worked very hard for President Bush’s re-election in 2004. I am very disappointed that Mr. Howell is even being considered by the REPUBLICAN Central Committee. I certainly hope that the members that we elected to the committee ask him why he decided to donate $380 to the Constitutional Party of Pennsylvania (see website below) instead of to President Bush’s campaign or more importantly to the Republican Party. It is critical that we put someone in this seat who is as fully dedicated to the Republican Party as Roni Chenowith was.
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?zip=21009&last=HOWELL&first=DEREK
Derek was my treasurer for my 2006 campaign for county council, district C. I ended up falling short, but got a lot from the experience. One thing was a stronger friendship with Derek, who is a dedicated republican with experience that would serve the county well on the council. He is a former trooper, and worked undercover to counter drugs and gangs, which needs to be stopped in Harford and Abingdon. He is also a lawyer and a constitutional law professor, important aspects that have been missing since Bob Cassilly went to Iraq. He would be a good choice and a great councilman.
John, great thinking to check on campaign donations. Can you do a check of all the candidates? The donation for Derek you found was actually for 2 tickets he purchased at a Lancaster dinner to hear a speech of Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama court that made the 10 Commandments ruling. I’m sure he would like to talk about that speech and what impact it could have on Harford.
Derek was elected to the Baltimore RCC not long after being eligible to vote, and the only political party he has worked for is the republican party. The party could certainly use pulling some of those constitutionalists and TEA Party attendees back into the fold, though.
Brian – Great thought on searching campaign databases. Here is what I have come up with for the candidates’ contributions in Maryland:
Braue – $500 total (Ehrlich)
Gauss – $7,100 (Stifner, Steele, Shaffner, R Club HaCo, Reilly, Norman, Jennings, Mullahey, Impellaria, Harkins, Harris, RCCHC, Ehrlich, Davis-Kohl, Cluster, Christoforo, Chenowith, Baltco RCC)
Greaves – $0
Howell – $340 total (Barnes, Gahler, RCCHC, Jacobs, Jennings, McDonough, R Senate Slate)
McCall – $0
McCreesh – $1,197.52 total (Chenowith, Craig, Ehrlich, Stifler)
Muszynski – $0
Seltzer – $820 total (Chenowith, Ehrlich, RCCHC)
Song – $0
Woods – $0
Youngmann – $0
The campaign website is very temperamental which makes searching campaign contributions very difficult. I apologize for any omissions.
But should how much you have donated be a factor? Would that not be defacto selling of the seat? I mean I can see who you gave your money too as a factor as to what kind of character you value.
Cdev, the idea is to get as good of an understanding of who these applicants are before Wednesday. How much they donated should be a factor on its face, but what can it tell us about who they are, or who active they are? Personally, I give very little, if any money to campaigns, but expend a considerable amount of energy working on issues and for candidates. Some people do neither, and the question becomes whether or not they are involved in charities, rec leagues, or the community in other ways that give them both the understanding of the community and demonstration of ability to be involved with the high time commitment required?
Vernon, for example, gave money to two committee members’ spouses. Will this be a factor? We could never know if we didn’t know he donated. I suspect that it will not be a factor, as Vernon has shown he has merits on his own to be worthy of consideration.
As we already saw with Derek, the context of the donation also matters. It’s all about putting the whole picture together– and from the votes and community support the picture looks pretty good for Howell.
I would like to give a recommendation to Don McCreesh for county council, district B. Don is a man who will step up and help anyone in need. He has taken his own time and given it freely to help the hurricane Katrina victims, he gathered items and drove them himself to the victims. This is just an example of how he has a heart to reach out and do what is right. I feel that as a representative for this district, Don McCreesh would be a blessing for this county.
Keep track of LIVE updates from the Republican Central Committee nominating committee interviews with the District B candidates on The Dagger’s Twitter now:
Update live on our main home page or at our Twitter site here: http://twitter.com/daggerpress
If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s some of what you’re missing:
“Vernon Gauss handed out a print out from the Dagger and discussed the money he donated over the years, saying he only wanted to be considered on his merits”
“Derek Howell handed out the Dagger poll – which he’s currently leading with 157 votes”