So here’s the big announcement we teased last week: The Dagger will host and moderate Aberdeen’s Meet the Candidates Forum, scheduled for Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 128 in Aberdeen.
Also, the forum will be streamed LIVE exclusively on www.daggerpress.com.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the forum will begin at 7 p.m. Questions will concern issues facing Aberdeen, and candidates’ answers will be limited to 90 to 120 seconds. Click on the e-mail link below to send your question to us for consideration.
Invitations have gone out to the mayoral and council candidates who have already filed, and we’ll post a final list of those participating after the RSVP deadline next month.
The forum is sponsored by the Harford County Municipal Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 128.
Keep an eye on The Dagger in coming weeks, we’re preparing a comprehensive election guide for all the Harford races.
Fantastic! This forum will allow the public to become involved, present or not. Good idea for other elections, such as county and state elections. I, for one, would welcome the opportunity.
I agree with Delegate Riley–I think forums for every seat on the ballot would be very informative and interesting. Town of Bel Air Commissioner election too. And how awesome for people not able to attend personally for it to be streaming live. The citizens of Harford County are waking up and we are ready for this. Keep up the good work!
Well this should certainly be interesting.
Remembering that the current mayor’s favorite book is Harry Potter he may want to bring his own “cloak of invisibility” to the forum. He refuses to return phone calls or take appointments from citizens these last two years so I’m wondering if he will even agree to post. Couple that with recent posts from the Aberdeen Police Department and the growing unrest at the DPW and the city workers may just take this first opportunity in 24 months to vent.
I certainly hope that the moderators will ask the hard questions that get sent in. Of course if this will be the case, Mike Bennett mat not show. It will be awfully hard to stumble and stammer an answer when Art has not supplied talking points,
Does anyone remember that soon after the last election when Ruth Elliott stated that this would be her last term? Ruth flat out said that she would not be running again and I see re-elect Ruth Elliott signs on Bob’s truck. What’s that about? Did Ruth lie? Did we put up with her for these last 2 years knowing that there was light at the end of the tunnel and progress may once again come to Aberdeen just to be told another lie?
Good job Dagger in securing the moderator job. Although I won’t be able to make it due to a prior engagement, as soon as I get home I will be logging on. Keep up the good work!
Thanks to the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 128 for their sponsorship of this important event, and thanks to The Dagger for existing. I am certainly looking forward to participating!
Here’s a questions folks- Where is it legal to post your signs? I alway thought YOU ASKED the property owner for permission and then posted your signs? If not the Helton/Bennett team are OK if permission must be given then below is a list of illegally posted Bennett signs. I know they are illegal because the owners did not grant permission. I guess the “IT’S A MATTER OF TRUST’ does not apply to the Helton/Bennett group.
Here’s a SHORT LIST of the illegal Helton/Bennett sign postings.
Rt 40 across from WalMart, Rt 40 in the median by Bay country, plus several others on Rt 40.
Corner of Paradise Rd and W. Bel Air Ave, Rt 22 behind Home Depot and Beards Hill Rd (the Old Harco property) By the way folks this rule applies to all. YOU MUST OBTAIN PERMISSION PRIOR TO POSTING A SIGN and not just post one because someone else has one at a location. I guess the Helton/Bennett team is either just TOO LAZY or so far above the average person they feel they do not need to talk to anyone about anything. Stupid statement-the current mayor has avoided talking with the Aberdeen citizens or attending any public city event for the past 2 years.
Da Deacon got one by the train place on Rogers Street. Dat place don belong to da deacon.
This perpetually gray area of campaign signage rules/laws/etiquette was further, and perhaps completely, marginalized a couple of elections ago with the “Who is Fred Simmons” movement. That proved essentially that as long as you don’t state that you’re a candidate or running for a specific office, you can have signs out in yards and towed by airplanes anytime you like – not just within the campaigning period specified by city elections regulations.
As far as placement of signs, it’s my understanding you can put any sign on your own property at any time, but if you want to put a campaign sign on someone else’s property it must be within the designated campaign period (I think one month prior to the election) and you must, obviously, have the property owner’s permission.
This is tough to enforce for many reasons, not the least of which is the city doesn’t have time/money to pay for an election judge to drive around pulling up signs in violation of the regulations. I can remember in past elections that the city’s DPW department was employed to scoop up signs flagrantly placed on public properties, rights-of-way, road medians, etc, but there was always a hint of political motivation as to which signs were plucked up and which were left to sit.
Remember also that this isn’t always the candidate’s fault. If a candidate holds a fundraiser or organizational event and supporters leave with arms full of signs and stickers, those items are out of the control of the candidate – even though the candidate’s campaign may still be held accountable for them.
This reminds me of an incident during the 2006 county elections. I was leaving work very late one night and driving through Bel Air I noticed David Craig campaign signs stuck in every imaginable location up and down the highway and in the median. There were dozens and dozens of them. I remember thinking “Craig is smart enough to know you can’t just plant 120 campaign signs along 30 feet of Rt 24.” I came to the conclusion that Craig must have had a fundraiser in the vicinity that night and one of the over-zealous (and likely over-inebriated) attendees went on an ill-advised sign planting rampage on his/her way home from the event. Creating a mess that Craig and his campaign had to deconstruct in the morning.
I know firsthand of candidates who have had to delicately deal with this sort of well-intentioned, yet dangerously over-enthused volunteer.
You can blame the team for not properly instructing/warning their volunteers about the signage rules, but I wouldn’t directly blame the candidates – not yet at least.
Brian, You are incorrect you can and should blame the candidates, they are responsible or should be held accountable for the people that work for them and the folks posting their signs, Mr. Burkheimmer and Mr. Price both know the correct manner for posting signs and what needs to be done even though neither live in the city. They now need to expend the same energy removing the illegally posted as they spent erecting them, We’ll see, because in your own words “you must, obviously, have the property owner’s permission”.
Brian just for information there is no ” designated campaign period”. That went out, it too was determined illegal but the Aberdeen candidates did agree to post within the 30 days and did pretty much stick to that.
I never said you shouldn’t hold the candidates accountable.
What I was trying to get across was the it might not have been the candidate him or herself who went out knowingly and willingly putting their signs in those locations without permission.
Maybe I’m seeing it from a different perspective because I was in a similar situation some years ago. My band was in full swing and I gave a big stack of stickers to a close friend of mine because he wanted to “help promote.” The next day, it seemed like there wasn’t a street sign in Bel Air that didn’t have one of our decals stuck to it. It didn’t take long before it was traced back to the band and we had to face the music because of our loose cannon of a friend. Did we take responsibility? Sort of. I reported that the stickers were indeed ours, but they have been adhered to the public property by an alcohol-fueled friend. I had to promise that friend wouldn’t have access to anything else sticky.
I would suggest the property owners contact the candidate directly and make him or her either admit to placing them there or acknowledge a campaign team member planted them there without knowing better. And then contact the City Board of Elections.
And according to Part I, Chapter 3, paragraph 3-7, parts A and B of the Aberdeen City Charter:
“A. Campaign signs may be posted in the city no more than thirty (30) days prior to the election. Campaign signs shall be removed within one (1) week after the election.
“B. Campaign signs may be no larger than six (6) square feet in area and shall not be displayed on city property, utility poles or in such a way as to present a danger to person or property, or to limit the visual field of drivers or pedestrians.”
And as far as penalties go:
“Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.), or be imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or both, in the discretion of the court.”
I saw Bennett signs going up yesterday and the “All About Trust” logo. I found it funny that Bennett signs were up on Helton owned properties and Helton owned vacant lots but it was the logo that got me. Trust……Holy Crap Batman. Here is a guy that admitted that he stole test materials while in the state police. I know it’s a dead horse, happened a long time ago, blah, blah, blah…..but it is an administrative finding of guilt of an incident that the courts consider an impeachment of character. Simply put, the man can’t be trusted, his word is tainted because of this character flaw, his words are suspect. I don’t know how much thought went in to the slogan and I don’t know how much thought goes in to interpretation.
Trust Bennett to waste taxpayer money. Trust Bennett to give tax breaks for commercial development along Route 40. Trust Bennett to cater to his little group and fail to acknowledge tax payers or return calls. Trust Bennett to demand that you “speak to the chair” at council meetings. Trust Bennett to have a dumbfounded look on his face when you catch him in a lie or prove fault in a statement. Trust Bennett to waste our money away on over-priced shovels so that the town can dig itself deeper and deeper in a whole.
I can’t Believe he’s stupid, enough to run again. ( Bennett) because he is a first class loser.
Brian;
The cited statements about sign placement are now null and void. There has been a recent court decision that basically says you can put just about any size sign any where you want at any time. Ol Man is right though the Aberdeen candidates agreed to follow the old requirement as “guidance.” The process of sticking signs just anywhere is odious and common as cat doo doo. If you find a sign on your property and didn’t authorize it, take it down and destroy it. Those buggers cost around $7.00 apiece and no candidate can afford to lose too many. Ooops I forgot one candidate has a bottomless source of money.
I remember someone getting in trouble a few years back for pulling signs up along the sides of the road on Route 24. I’ve been tempted before to do the same when I see them in places where the candidate obviously did not receive permission to post them, since the land is not privately owned. Does anyone know if there is a law preventing me from cleaning up land that we all own?
Phil;
Law or no law, I wouldn’t touch any candidates sign. The only way that yo can feel safe in all ways is if the sign is on your property and you didn’t authorize it. As Ol’ Man has noted the locations where the Bennett signs are located, he or she had the good sense not to do anything other than point out the location.
I have a few questions for the Mayoral Candidates:
1. Do you support construction of a NEW rail station near the APG 715 gate? Why or Why Not?
2. Do you support getting our own source for water? Again Why or why not?
3. In the long run wouldn’t that be better for the city than BUYING water from Harford County or Baltimore?
3. Have you discussed BRAC with the APG Post Commander? Have you ever even MET the Post Commander or even know his name? Why or Why not?
On another note, (didn’t want to waste time logging off and on) I was walking through my neighborhood talking to my neighbors (who else) and quickly learned why my neighborhood is divided between their support for the incumbent and the council president. Bennett supporters do not have any affiliation with APG, nor do they want any. They don’t want annexation for development of new homes to support BRAC. They’d just as soon the new arrivals lived someplace else. They don’t want them here. They want to keep Aberdeen small and quiet, peaceful. Well the Baltimore Sun ran an article a couple weeks ago, the City of Baltimore is CLAMORING for these folks because they know there are tax dollars involved. BABS knows this and has gotten Maryland some nice chunks of the defense budget. I don’t know, they say the American memory is short term, must be. I’m a military retiree and I remember why I served and I remember 911 and I know the importance of the work that goes on at APG. aggrrhhh. I got to stop now. Let me leave you with this”
We sleep soundly in our beds, secure in the knowledge that rough men stand ready in the night to do violence on our behalf.
God Bless ’em.
I forgot to mention what my other neighbors were saying. I don’t want to seem biased and I do want to be fair. Supporters for Mike Hiob do have an affiliation with APG, they either work there or someone in their family does. They don’t want to pay higher taxes or buy water from Harford county. They support BRAC and the work that is being done at APG. They welcome new arrivals for BRAC. New arrivals mean lower taxes, better services for the city. They know that prople shop where they live. If BRAC arrivals live in Bel Air or Fallston, at 5’o’clock they’re headed out the gate, hitting I 95 and going home. They’re not likely to stop anyplace and shop. They are going to shop (spend money) where they live. The 19th century thinking has got to go.
Many have been thanked for supporting, sponsoring, and setting up this forum. One organization we cannot ignore is a group whose membership have and always serve the community and country. I hope you all will join me when I say thank you American Legion Post 128 for the use of your hall for this very important forum.
I could’nt think of a better place for it too take place.
Question for all Candidates: Describe, in your own words, the meaning of Constant Yield Tax. Should Aberdeen be following the constant yield? If not, why not.
Sign trivia; Steve Johnson, the muscle branch of the the Bennett, Helton, Johnson triage will place a Bennett sign in any yard or at any business except one. Anyone know which business isn’t getting adorned with “Its all about Trust” signs and why?
His ex-wife’s?
Whoa Hooter. Close. Think business.
Not at the good old Family Pharmacy?
You got it Hooter. Now the why?
AJ – Why not at the Family Pharmacy??
Al J thong knows much. Got a new tip for you. Steve Johnson, the muscled/enforcer is now going to any business or quasi-business and telling them that they have to take their Mike signs down. The facility at the corner of Franklin and Parke, across from City Hall says he came in there and told them that he is a volunteer for the election board and wanted to give them a warning that they WILL lose their tax free status if they didn’t remove all political signage. The poor lady almost wet herself. He told the good folks at one business that they would lose all of their Aberdeen Police business, because ALL of the cops are mad at Mike. He flashed his auxiliary police badge for that one.
He and Helton are a natural pair, just two bullies who are willing to tell any lie to gain their “end game.”
If the Aberdeen Election Board doesn’t take action soon these goons will have bought the City one more time!
How in heck would Steve Johnson get an auxiliary police badge? Is the Aberdeen police that screwed up? Given Johnson’s unstable nature, who in the heck would accpet the liability?
Artorro Nasney, can you please identify the businesses?
I can but won’t Jerry. Most of my information is first hand, but the people asked me not to make an issue of it.
Famous and Spang his brother’s business.
Sign trivia: Answer S.Fred’s
Artorro do you’ why the police would be made at Mike Hoib? as for Steve Johnson’s tactic’s sound’s illegal, & Gestapo
I don’t think that you will see a Bennett sign at Saxon’s or State Farm. I find it interesting that the Bennett signs posted on the vacant properties that Helton owns are accompanied by Ruth Ann Young signs. Could Art throw support behind Ruth Ann just in case his puppet comes up on the loosing end, that way he’ll still have an in with a council seat?
As for Steve Johnson, is the aux. police badge incident verified? If so, was a complaint filed with the police chief? If so, was action taken?
RW- I respect your opinion. Do you think that Ruth Ann Young can be re elected? The big red machine appears to be dismantled and both she and Bennett were anti Simmons votes so this time they will have to run on their own merits which are in short supply. Kupferman will have the same following that he has had for 30 years and there will always be enough cognitive challenged in Aberdeen to elect Elliott so I say Landbeck puts Young to sleep. What do you think?
Al, I like Garner because of his business approach (the same reason I think Lance at Saxon’s would be a great addition), a voice of reason if you would. I think, just my opinion, that Bruce would compliment Hiob and vice-versa. Kup is entrenched, Sandy brings some ideas (original ones at that) to the table. The last seat is going to be just that, the last seat, Ruth vs. Ruth if you will, and quite frankly I look at the above make-up as capable of keeping either of those in check and perhaps letting Aberdeen control Aberdeen and silencing red, green, blue, yellow, purple or whatever color shirts want to come to council meetings.
Ruth Ann Young let me down after the last election. Her original ideas were sacrificed so that she could stand in the shadow of Elliott. At times she came across as confused and too slow in decision making where abstaining was her position. Abstaining brings nothing to the table.
I want to see my police force and my public works people happy AND productive, I want to be able to rely and expect professional just results should I need a city service. More importantly I want to see my Aberdeen department heads held accountable. Public comment is great (even the off the wall ones) but I want to hear my council demand answers and explanations from department heads in a public forum and to post the minutes of work sessions in a timely fashion. I cannot attend every meeting, if I could I would, and perhaps I would have sought office but other commitments are just that, other commitments.
RW, I like Bruce as well and maybe shouldn’t have dismissed his viability in this election but just looking at the raw numbers coupled with the fact that his last campaign lacked energy I minimized his chances. I would love to be wrong. Also Elliott gets a boost from the law of unintended consequences. Hiob needed a third vote to take the power from Bennett and Elliott was his choice. Now I see her signs in many of Hiobs locations. And unfortunately Ruth Elliott has been the greatest impediment to the happiness of the PD and DPW ever since she has been in office. She doesn’t understand public safety so she is constantly targeting the PD for cost cutting
and she has always used the DPW to pave the potholes of her loyal constituents. She will be tough to unseat.
RWinger,
Thanks for the compliments, I wish I could dedicate the time that this City deserves to be a part of the political arena here in Aberdeen. The Citizens of this City deserve someone who can work and concentrate on this City 100% of the time. Thats why I beleive the City Charter should be changed. There should be a fulltime Mayor with no City Manager, and therefore you will have more accountablity instead of all the finger pointing that goes on. I trust my decision that Mike Hiob will do the best job possible for the City of Aberdeen.
When Fred Simmons was Mayor, he was at City Hall everyday, sometimes 10hours a day. His dedication was overlooked because of a negative campaign that was launched way before election time started. Also, if he had 4 years, people would relize that he made great decisions for the businesses, APD, and DPW for the City. Alot of people saw that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side once Mayor Bennett took control. Four year sataggered terms is what this City needs.
I beleive Mike Hiob will be our new Mayor (hopefully) and we will have a council made up of Ron Kupperman, Sandy Landbeck, Bruce Garner, and Ruth Elliott. This would be a good start for a very important 2 years of business that City has facing it.
Lance Hersh
Steve johnson was or still is and Auxiliary.
Yes, Steve Johnson is an Auxiliary Police Officer.
I would think if steve johnson, was a wife beater. she would have a restraining order on him. he was at the pharmacy yesterday.10/8/2009 must be one of those love hate relation ship’s.
It wasn’t Steve Johnson’s current wife that was the battered wife
Ex wife likely trying, to dip in those deep pocket’s. a family inheritance involved.on the johnson side.
Arturro Nasney…Please make contact with your sources. I believe it is extremely important that this be brought to the news media; print and TV. Further the citizens need to know. There is a Council meeting tomorrow night, 10/12 and these business owners should unite and make a statement at the meeting. This is corrupt and its time this kind of stuff stop. People need to stop being scared and stand up for what is right.
As of Tuesday morning, all 3 mayoral candidates (Mike Bennett, Mike Hiob, Barbara Kreamer) and 5 of the 7 city council candidates (Ruth Elliott, Bruce Garner, Ron Kupferman, Sandy Landbeck, Zenobia Todd) had confirmed they will be attending and participating in the Aberdeen candidate’s forum, which will be held two weeks from tomorrow night.
it certainly ought. to be interesting what kind of excuses mayor Bennett will use in explaining, why he has accomplished nothing since he has been mayor.
I couldn’t find the link to submit a question for consideration. Can someone help me out?
Welcome Aberdeen Hill’s Resident. you brought out a very good question. I usally just Hi jack, A post. Ill mannered as it is. I think some one will come along and Answer your question.
You can send all questions, for the forum or anything else, to our email address:
tellus@daggerpress.com
Thanks
Thanks Brian!
The question posed by “Aberdeen Hills Resident” was probably a result of me passing out invitations to the candidate’s forum while campaigning door to door earlier today in Aberdeen Hills.
P.S. I am looking forward to the candidate’s forum.
Thank you. I submitted my question for consideration.
Because the Mayor. is Helpless. he is improveing. please note dureing the council session’s. he requires you to ”speak” directly to him.
When he was campaigning.some one else was talking for him. I ask the some one if he could ”Speak” ( the Mayor) and was told Steve Johnson was just a round the corner.
Of which the speaker. And proposed Mayor. Disappeared. & as for steve johnson I never saw him either.