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.
Johnson has used what can at best be described as the Art Helton method of voting in Aberdeen: he lives outside the city the majority of the time, but has a business or other property within city limits he can legally claim as a residence; he voted, unchallenged, in the last election. Helton, who supports Johnson’s candidacy, famously lives in Darlington while voting in Aberdeen.
Johnson, chair of the city’s Economic Development Commission, said Mayor S. Fred Simmons, council president Mike Hiob and councilman Dave Yensan were onto his candidacy from the start.
“After they found out I was running, they appointed two new folks to the election board,” Johnson said, noting that former council president Gina Bantum and ‘Aberdeen Happenings’ radio host Mark Schlottman were recently appointed. Johnson further alleged that the “amigos” (who stood by the Wetlands annexation proposal while it sank in flames) went to Bantum and Schlottman behind the back of the third, more experienced election board member (the esteemed Mary Law) to get his name scratched from the ballot.
So the question for the day is, should the judge or the city council decide if the kindly election board member was the only “law” around which Johnson’s “amigos” maneuvered?
UPDATE: The Aberdeen City Council is scheduled to meet this afternoon (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. in city hall for a special session. I understand this is to be a public hearing to discuss/decide the fate of Steve Johnson’s candidacy. I’m told Johnson has been invited to participate and hear there may be a special appearance by someone from Johnson’s past. There is also speculation swirling that the election could be split – with the mayoral portion being held Nov. 6 as intended and the city council being elected at a later date, whenever Johnson’s candidacy is settled.
What a crock of… I am so disappointed that any judge would do this. It just makes the election look like a joke! Come on people, are we seriously to believe that Mr. Johnson truly lives in the little ol' house near Post while that big ol' house in Perryman is used only as an office… I am upset as a resident of Aberdeen. I am upset as a voter. Heck, I am all fired up.
Well, Johnson and his counsel "forgot" to follow the City Charter and legal procedure. They "forgot" to appeal the matter to the Mayor and City Council as Aberdeen law requires. So, the truly fair and Judge gave the parties until Friday at 3:00 p.m. to resolve this issue or the Judge will be forced to rule. (Most likely to postpone the November 6th election, unless the parties agree otherwise.)
Johnson has to provide documents that his residence has legitimately been within the City of Aberdeen for the past two years, as he failed to do that in his complaint against Fred Simmons, Gena Bantum, Mark Scholottman, etc. He will be required to provide his driver's license and that the address thereon – FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS – has been his principal residence. This may deem to be impossible. Information reveals that Johnson's driver's license up until September or October 07 was that of his real residence at Fords Lane in Perryman. He did change it recently to the 140 Post Road Address so that he could attempt to get declared a valid candidate on the ballot.
Johnson will also be required to provide his 2004, 2005, and 2006 tax returns to show that the address on those returns was his principal residence within the city limits. He will also have to provide his childs school documents showing that his residence is within the City limits for two years. He will also have to provide other bills to show that his principal residence was within the City limits for the past two years.
Johnson will have to explain satisfactorily why on September 7, 2006 he made public statements that he "was NOT a resident of Aberdeen". These statements were made at a community meeting at the Aberdeen Senior Center in front of about 40 witnesses including Mike Hiob, Mr. Salvo, Mr. Vickers and other residents of the City of Aberdeen.
So I think Johnson and Art Helton MAY win this battle !!!!! Right? Nah….
Then, if Johnson wins (OR THE CITY SIMPLY ALLOWS JOHNSON'S NAME ON THE BALLOT) because of Johnson's self-fullfilling statements under oath…..THEN, the VOTERS CAN DECIDE….ON NOVEMBER 6TH.
Let the officials of the City of Aberdeen know how you feel about this situation, is my view. I don't like these Helton tactics…. how about you?
P.S. Don't blame this mess on the Good Judge…he's dealing with the dung he's being provided…..
It just sickens me. Here's a guy who waits untill the very last minute to file in order to be a canidate; knowing all the while his resident status was going to be questioned (he knew it, everybody knew it). Now he goes in front of Judge to prove his residence is in Aberdeen and he, for all purposes, doesn't?
They should make a movie out of this! Again, what a joke!
Non-partisan elections hah. Thank you Mr. Helton – your idol would be proud. The definition of residence rings of "it depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is."
The Mayor and Council should let Johnson run regardless of the fact he can't prove he has lived in the little house on Post Road. Then on November 6th the voters should tell Johnson and the rest of the candidates on Helton's ticket that they are not capable of upholding the City's charter and don't deserve to represent the City.
Vote for Burlew!!!!
Shame on you Mr. Johnson!!!!!!
To question the integrity of Gina Bantum and Mark Schlottman is worse than you trying to become a candidate. Ms. Bantum served this City well as a councilperson and Mr. Schlottman has given countless hours to this City as a volunteer. Both have made Aberdeen a better place. To even suggest that they could be swayed to do anything other than the right thing as far as this City is concerned disgusting.
"What a joke" is an understatement. Art Helton, Steve Johnson, Ruth Elliott, Mike Bennett and the ACT group…ALL ABOUT HONESTY…what a team! What a disgrace it is to reside in this city. Again, Aberdeen is the laughing stock. YOU ALL ARE A JOKE!!! Thank you for making the name ABERDUMP come alive again.
Vote for Burlew? If it wasn't just a class project, maybe. She's really out of touch and when asked about an issue all she can say is "We'll study it". Oh, and I really like the whole toll booth thing!
in my opinion i think simmons and council should stay out of this. the paper calls him a dictator already. i dont believe the johnson or heltons should be able to vote and this should have been addressed long ago. i think i read in the balt sun that johnson recently changed his address to post road. if he is not living there i guess he falsified a document. i agree with acrobat, shame on mr johnson. shame on mike bennett. shame on art helton. shame on all the elected officials dating back for allowing the right to vote for city residents to extend outside the limits.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Johnson was NOT present for his hearing (his attorney presented his case on his behalf). I know he didn't have to be there, but don't you think this was kind of important?
Has Johnson (Helton) ever explained his motivation for running? I'm sure he'll give a real statement like wanting to make a difference. But I mean really, what's his motivation?
Here's something a friend reminded me of that I meant to bring up earlier. For those who might question all the hullabaloo over allowing these three people (Helton, Johnson & Johnson) to VOTE in the Aberdeen election:
In the 2005 municipal election, incumbent city councilman Jerry Hansen lost his re-election bid by 9 votes to Ruth Elliott. If Helton and the Johnsons all voted in that election, which we've heard that they did, thats 3 votes right there that undoubtedly went to Elliott.
That's not to say they didn't also vote for Hansen as one of their four choices for city council, but still it introduces a shadow of a doubt.
Once that margin of defeat shrinks to a half-dozen or less – and considering how the world (or at least a certain golf course just outside Aberdeen) might be different had Elliott not been on council – the importance of just a few people casting ballots when they shouldn't is quite apparent.
matthew2001
Unfortunatly, the City Charter reads that the Mayor and Council are to act as the Board of Appeals for decisions made by the Election Board. Johnson tried to circumvent them by going directly to the Judge (again not following the City's Charter). Harford County Circuit Court would have been his option for appeal if he did not agree with the Mayor and Council's ruling.
Why can't Fred Simmons speak for himself. Rick Denu does.
Perhaps Aberdeen can annex Perryman. Then we can increase our tax base, have a larger pool of candidates and Fred Simmons can kick in some doors at Perrywood Gardens without any flack from the sherrif.
Brian,
That's a very important point you bring up. And there is a lot more at stake for developers and others with business interests in this year's election as BRAC money starts rolling in. Maybe Cal and Billy will come into town to vote? After all, Cal's name is on the property records for a house in Aberdeen (I know, I know, it's probably Sr., but a quick glance at the records don't identify that). And he sure has business interest in the city…
I remember Doug Wilson winning by a single vote a few years ago. Was it Helton's?
acrobat,
In my conversation with Johnson last night, he specifically said he thought Bantum and Schlottman made the best decision they could with the information presented to them. It was Johnson's opinion that his Amigos gave the two new board members limited information, and that they, Los Amigos, are the ones whose integrity should be questioned. -MW
Actually, I'm not sure what part Mr. Wright's playing in all this controversy. Mr. Simmons appears to be risking much in allowing Mr. Wright to front for him as a main theme running through all these blog postings has been concerning non-Aberdeen residents attempting to influence local politics. One would think, if one were using this as a platform issue, one would do everything possible to remove any sign of non-resident influence from one's campaign so that there would be no possible question of impropriety.
While it is true Mr. Wright does own property in Aberdeen, his residence of record is not Aberdeen. This essentially makes him no different that Mr. Helton or, for that matter, Mr. Johnson. All have business interests in Aberdeen, but do not really live here (Mr. Helton may be an exception to this). Mr. Wright obviously supports Mr. Simmons and, I'm told, Mr. Helton and Mr. Johnson support Mr. Bennett. All appear to be non-residents attempting to influence local politics. So what's the difference?
All this discussion about residency and who lives where and supports whom justs seems to be a smoke screen carefully designed to cloud the real issues facing Aberdeen voters: water, crime, BRAC, quality of life and fiscal responsibility. What Aberdeen voters should be concentrating on is who are the best people to manage these issues, not who lives where and supports whom. Any discussion other than on the real issues more rightly belongs as part of a circus sideshow, not as part of informed political debate.
In reading through all the posts on The Dagger, it seems only Mr. Denu really "gets" the issues associated with this upcoming election. He's the only one of the candidates, so far, that has had the "guts" to try and address the real issues using this forum and under his own name. In fact, as far as I can tell, he's about the only candidate who has published anything in any forum attempting to address the real issues. The only other being Ms. Burlew who attempted to answer the questions posed by the HarfordNow blog. Perhaps we should just vote for these two and forget everybody else as these two appear to be the only one's with some idea of what's really important in Aberdeen?
Touché!
Matt
Nice try – what were they presented with the Charter and Johnson's filing papers? I would guess the City Manager handled that situation not the "Los Amigos."
The fact that Helton and the Johnson's voted in previous elections and did not get caught or challenged is irrelevant. I would bet money that they voted by absentee ballot because if they walked in to the Senior Center to vote someone would have challenged them. Why hasn't someone asked them "how " they voted in the past?
I want to know who signed Johnson's filing papers – it is their integrity and motives that should be questioned. Did Mike Bennett sign it? Did Ruth Elliott? Did Bernard Dewitt?
Aberdeen Voter:
The biggest difference between Mr Wright and Mr Johnson is that Mr. Johnson is running for office and Mr Wright is not.
Steve Wright, are you registered to vote in Aberdeen?
I urge all to attend the Council session today at 4 and voice your opinion(s).
Employee, I think you miss the point. The question I asked was what the difference was between Mr. Wright's support of Mr. Simmons and Mr. Johnson's (or Mr. Helton's) support of Mr. Bennett. Both are ostensibly non-residents involving themselves in local politics. There have been long diatribes on this forum blasting various candidates for being supported by non-resident interests. Even the letter from whomever that was sent out grouped candidates as "Art Helton's Candidates" and "Independent Candidates". Perhaps there should have been a third column titled "Steve Wright's Candidates" with Mr. Simmons listed. Perhaps there should have been fourth titled "Towson Tiger Candidates" listing Ms. Burlew. However, such groupings serve no purpose. A more useful grouping might be: which candidates support resolving Aberdeen's water issue by digging more wells, which by building a new filtration plant, which by partnering with the surrounding communities. Then we might be able to ask them why, how and how much.
As for Mr. Johnson running for office, that's still to be determined. If he is allowed to run, I would still want to hear or see his plans for addressing the issues facing Aberdeen in the near and far terms before casting my vote. If he has a reasonable, fiscally responsible plan for addressing the issues and is able to clearly articulate that plan where it could be questioned and discussed, I might vote for him. Shoot, if you had a reasonable, fiscally responsible plan for addressing Aberdeen's issues, I might vote for you whether you lived in Bel Air or Timbuktu, even if you garnered your support from the NRA, AFL-CIO or the "I believe in the Easter Bunny Foundation." The point being who cares who's supporting/endorsing whom? I've recently moved to Aberdeen and I plan to be here a long time. I look at the issues we're facing and they seem monumental. In this election, I'm trying to determine who I think the best people are to work to resolve these issues. And frankly, the only one's who seem interested in discussing the "real" issues are Mr. Denu and Ms. Burlew.
Unfortunately, Herb, some of us have to work and attending a Council session at 4 pm is not possible. Quite frankly, I'd like to see the Council sessions start at 7 pm so I might have a chance to attend.
Will Steve Wright be there?
Actually, acrobat, if you read the filing rules for candidates as posted on the Aberdeen City web site, you would have answered your own questions about who was eligible to sign Mr. Johnson's filing papers. An extract is posted here for your edification:
"Must furnish the signatures of at least 20 registered voters nominating the candidate for the office of Mayor or Council Member of Aberdeen. These registered voters may be relatives but not members of the candidate's immediate family; that is, cannot be a spouse, parent or child of the candidate nor a present Council Member or Mayor of the City of Aberdeen, nor an employee of the City of Aberdeen, nor another candidate in the same election."
The full document may be found under "Candidate Requirements" here:
http://www.aberdeen-md.org/electpack.htm
AAV,
You can thank the current Mayor and Council for moving the times up on meetings, "so they can spend time at home".
Funny since I see a large portion of them at "Grumpy's" or "Appleby's" for food and drinks?
I'd also like to see the Council meetings and work sessions recorded by HCN and broadcast on that same channel.
How about streaming video on the web? I think these small investments would have a bigger payoff.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
Here we go again, "Bad Politics." Once again everyone is missing the point! No wonder less than 1/2 of the people vote. By the time Election Day rolls around the people are so disgusted that they don't care who wins. Yet, each party goes out with their best foot forward trying to convince those who are not registered to register because it's their civic duty. And when they decline, you wonder why they have the attitude, "the politicians can do whatever it is that pleases them, just leave me alone." Then you scratch your head amazed at their lack of interest. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
Exactly what you are doing is why people stay away from Council meetings and elections. They want to hear how their tax dollars are being spent; nothing else matters.IT'S ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
You've been talking about who's qualified to run and who isn't. One side hires an attorney to prove his residency; the other side mails a letter to the public advising them that they should sign a petition in protest because they believe the person isn't qualified. Let the courts decide. Keep your thoughts on the people. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
You all talk about who cheated on a test and question the persons integrity? I guess if your closet is free of cobwebs, then cast the first stone. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
You all talk about a tattoo that S. Fred got. Who cares. It's his body and his tattoo doesn't do anything for the people. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
You talk about what's in it for me. And, if I can gain by it, then that's the person I will support. We'll here's a news flash. The people want to know what's in it for them. When you hit their wallet, you will have their attention. If they need a pothole filled in front of their house, you will have their attention. If their water bill increases; you will have their attention. Why? Because they pay their bills and yours.
Dirty politics as usual and guess what–the public really doesn't care. ITS ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR $
I am,
Dagny
I don't think Steven Wright will be there so could someone post the results?
Futhermore, I think that they could hold the meeting at any time and someone would complain.
if the election is posted at a later date.it could disturb the residents to a point of who cares.the voter turn out is weak as it is. steve ( johnson ) is not likely to win but sure stirred up a stink. and he is agressive.
Stand by for the results…The DAGGER was there.
Looking forward to hearing about it. I got stuck in a meeting, and couldn't get there in time…
greeting's dagger.such a blog as your's was needed.I must admit your attack's are blunt and to the point.reporting at it's best. mr denu has shown his willingness to stand firm. we are waiting your result's.
Vietnam Vet,
You are wise in your observation. I agree with you that Mr. Denu is absolute! He has not entered into any "mud slinging." He is all about the people!
Dagny
Employee,
Most Americans work from 9-5 and having this particular meeting was emergent, however, the regular Council meetings at 6pm has made it very difficult for many people to attend, as I have heard this from many Citizens as I go door to door.
Well it was you say emergent. Did you make it?
One question for you though, what's you personal feelings on the situation with Johnson's attempts to get on the ballot? Specifically, do you think it's ethical and moral of him?
Personally, I don't think it is. However I say put him on the ballot. I think most voters see through his games.
BTW, do you know Vietnam Vet? I think he has a thing for you.
Employee,
No I didn't make it.
It must have been so emergent … that since they know they had to conveign since Wednesday afternoon… they didn't notify anyone until late Thusday…
More importantly, I'd like to know how they notified the public according to the LAW… They didn't.
As for Steve, I'm not judgemental….let's let the Judge be the Judge… Better yet, let's let this play out and I think he'll answer the question for you.
I do not know Vietnam Vet, but he surely knows me and I appreciate his support.
to answer a question. in my travel's. I have observed mr denu while working for aberdeen police.in various part's of town. responding to calls as needed. speaking to the people who came in contact with this officer. I was told they were impressed with his fairness & honesty. places people do not like to enter. baldwin manor swan meadow's etc.it's time he is given the credit he deserve's.poor black hispanic it did'nt matter. we can make a difference by voteing for him. you might be surprised to know most public servant's are observed by the general public.he deserve's our respect.
I would just like to add as a small note, Denu, you make "spending more time at home" sound bad. Politicians have familys too. You have a fairly large family yourself and I'm sure would still want to spend the evenings with them, if voted into council. Who are we to judge where they spend their personal time? Again, I think we can address the issues without being petty.
Citizen,
What???????????
Denu: Bennett made a deal with Helton to make Helton the big cheese of Aberdeen? Bennetts deal for you — make you "Chief of Police". Its all "10-96"! Burlew is for you, NOT Denu…………………………….
I'm absolutely certain there are no "deals" here.
Speculation and guessing games are fun for some, but I deal in facts.
Thanks for your input though.
Does anyone have any questions on the issues or legitimate commentary on the original postings here?
I'm really interested.
if you do.
mr denu-thank you for cutting fair minded (freak) off. i urge you not to play into his/her game. its obvious he/she is not a city resident and can only attack personal issues because he/she is not educated in real issues facing the city. i did pose some questions on issues under another topic. i am glad you are on here addressing issues…stick to them and not personal attacks.
matthew21001,
Thanks matthew. I find this media a great way for people to communicate and I sure enjoy it.
I did see your questions on the other thread and will be glad to answer them.