Twenty-three years ago, Aberdeen mayoral-candidate Mike Bennett made the biggest mistake of his life. This week, as he prepared for a candidate’s forum showdown, Bennett, a Vietnam veteran and ordained deacon, was exorcising old ghosts and cutting off at the pass an anticipated ambush set by his detractors. In 1984, I was six years old, […]
Archives for 2007
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 […]
Former Aberdeen police corporal-turned-council candidate challenges mayor’s “law enforcement strategy”
By Rick Denu (candidate for Aberdeen City Council) http://www.rickdenu.net/ The “Aberdeen Model” isn’t a Model at all! The Aberdeen Mayor claims to have a “model law enforcement strategy”, which was only placed on paper weeks ago, that eliminates crime and now he wants to impose that ridiculous notion outside City limits; has crime been eliminated […]
Press 1 for Intolerance
One of the greatest moments of my career as a local newspaper reporter came a few days after Maryland District 7 Delegates Pat McDonough and Rick Impallaria got into a scuffle with a pro-immigration activist in an Annapolis hallway. I was sitting at a Board of Education meeting and in a break between presentations, listening […]
An ace in the hole: Dealing with the race card in Aberdeen
This is a story about hotdogs and why they are occasionally given out for free. Since Matt already brought it up in an earlier comment, I suppose it’s time to discuss some racial implications that have worked their way into Aberdeen politics. In case you missed it, there was a brief and seemingly innocuous statement […]
Who Said That Local Politics Can’t Be Fun?
What took so long? It’s been six months or so since Aberdeen Mayor S. Fred Simmons, who is also a local airport owner and insurance agent, erected a billboard on Route 40 at the city’s eastern border for his State Farm Insurance business. It wasn’t until this week, however, that the billboard, which features a […]
Fear and Loathing at Campsite 100
The weekend started like this: me, stopping the car at an intersection in the middle of a 44,000-acre state forest, gray dust rolling past the windows. “Do you want to try it?” I backed up the car and eased the 1997 Nissan Maxima (manual, with spoiler) onto the brown dirt ski slope that is Kirk […]
America’s Workaholic No Longer Trendy: Take a Nap
You’ve just had lunch. You’re at your desk, ready to steam engine your way through the rest of the afternoon with a lot of hard work, but before you know it that dreaded Sandman sneaks around the corner of your cubical and you’re suddenly nodding off. When you catch yourself a few moments later, you […]
