The first candidate to file for the first Board of Education elections in Harford County is dropping out of the race in District A (Edgewood/Joppa).
Pastor Antonio (Tony) McDonald of Fountain of Life Fellowship Church in Edgewood told The Dagger that he is abandoning the effort because of other commitments and because of problems getting his campaign team together.
“I didn’t have the buy-in from the team that I needed…I have so many other things going on that I couldn’t fully commit to it the way I wanted to,” McDonald said.
McDonald said he was putting his full support behind fellow District A candidate Jansen Robinson. McDonald denied that anyone had encouraged him to drop out of the race.
The deadline has passed to get his name removed from the official Election Day ballot, but McDonald said he planned to make a public announcement regarding his withdrawal to his congregation next Sunday and said he would consider another run in four years.
Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie had been central in McDonald’s candidacy – from talking him through a change in political party affiliation to walking him into the Elections Office to file for the Board of Education seat.
In an email Monday evening, Guthrie said he agreed with McDonald’s decision.
“Pastor Tony and I spoke about his droping out of the race and I agree with him. Some problems came up in his church, which required his full attention. Both Pastor Tony and myself have put our full support behine Jansen Robinson for the Board of Ed and Rovall Washington for Senate,” Guthrie wrote.
I hope Pastor McDonald doesn’t make that announcement at his church. If he does, he will be violating federal law and his church will lose their tax status.
Trench…have you ever visited a church during an election year? Pastors and Politicians are very religious at election time. You can usually find them sitting next to each other or at least in the front row.
this isn’t a surprise, as clearly guthrie put 2 puppets into this race and chose one after the fact that he’s backing.
I’m surprised he didn’t put multiple candidates on both sides of the tickets in the senate race.
What a bunch of chumps!
You have to look at the politics behind the Pastor’s decision to run in the first place. He was courted by District A Councilman Dion Guthrie to run. The councilman even took him to the Board of Elections to help him file with great fanfare and a related article in the Dagger. Those in the know have always thought that Mr. Guthrie’s interest in McDonald was self serving in that he could use the Pastor to extend his own political influence to the school board. McDonald’s election would be a major coup for the councilman when you consider that the school system accounts for half of the Harford County budget.
The troubles started early in the McDonald camp. He is a registered Republican and Mr. Guthrie took considerable heat from local Democratic Party officials for crossing party lines to encourage and endorse a Republican candidate. The fallout being that Mr. Guthrie, a two term incumbent running for re-election, could not get the endorsement of the local Democratic Club when the votes were taken. With this kind of opposition within his own party Mr. Guthrie could ill afford to continue to support McDonald. With his main benefactor pulling away McDonald had little choice but to drop out of the race.
Next up Mr. Robinson. It was common knowledge in the political circles that Mr. Guthrie wanted to challenge Nancy Jacobs for State Senate, which would have opened the way for Mr. Robinson, a long time protege of Mr. Guthrie, to run for the councilman’s vacated seat. When Mr. Guthrie’s Senate ambitions fell apart the grand plan ran into problems. What to do with Mr. Robinson? Finding a place on the school board for Mr. Robinson solves many problems for Mr. Guthrie. He can loose the baggage around his neck caused by the McDonald fiasco and still get the school board influence he wants with a Robinson election.
The voters deserve to know the entire story so they can make an informed decision when they enter the voters booth in choosing their representatives for the school board and the District A County Council seat. We need to move away from the evidence of “politics as usual” as demonstrated by the Guthrie group and elect candidates based on their qualifications and commitment to service, not on their political connections. If we continue to do things the same way we will continue to get the same result.
Jansen Robinson’s chances of winning the seat are slim to none. Guthrie may have helped himself to a loss this Fall and he has no one to blame but himself.
I love the irony that when I pulled this article up, Guthrie’s advertisement with the words ‘continue the change continue the vision’ was right next to it. What a joke. Electing Guthrie to another term is more of the same inaction, political grand standing (and back stabbing) and more of the same for District A.
lol, that is pretty funny. Happened for me to the first time I opened this. I promise you that was not intentional 🙂
I have supported Mr. Guthrie in the past, but this is the last straw. It is time that we vote out these self-serving politicians and elect good new people who will put their constituents first. Mr. Henkel, you now have my vote!
Old Mariner, is there any other kind of politician besides self-serving?
Not from Here,
There some out there. While I do not consider myself a politician I understand there is the “politics” of convincing people they should vote for you. And while I have never been involved in the political game before I have always been an informed voter.
I do not have an ulterior motive for seeking a seat on the school board. My only interest is in seeing that Harford County schools provide the best education possible to our children and that the taxpayers that fund the school system get the most value for their tax dollar.
When you consider the power over what and how our children are taught, and fiscal authority the school board has we must be certain that those elected are qualified, committed, and of good charcter. Too much is at stake to do otherwise.
Bob Frisch
Board of Education candidate
District A (Edgewood/Joppatowne/Joppa)
Yes, there are some people that enter politics to serve the community and make it a better place to live and work. The worthy men and women who serve as elected representatives focus on allocating the limited resources of government in an efficient manner to improve the way of life of their constituents, rather than focusing on increasing their own standing in order to run for the next office up the ladder.
Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Guthrie cares more about whether Art Helton is a proper candidate for the Maryland Senate, whether he can control the local school board member, whether he has the name recoginition to run for County Executive, whether Joe Bartenfelder is the nominee for Baltimore County Executive, etc. etc, than he does about the CRIME in our neighborhoods, the TAXES we pay, and the EDUCATION our children receive.
It is time for a change. If there is a person that is running for re-election that you believe cares more about himself than the community, then it is time to send a message and elect someone new who will remained focus on our community.
It sounds like you and I are on the same page. Can I count on your vote?
Well said, Old Mariner. Feel free to call me anytime. I’d love to speak with you about my candidacy. 410-679-0545.
Well the first forum/debate for the Board of Education race in District A is history. From the article above we already knew that Pastor McDonald was not going to participate.
Special thanks to the Harford County Council of PTA’s for taking the initiative to organize these events so that the citizens have the ability to become informed voters. Ms. Emily Gudel also did a wonderful job as moderator.
I had a great time and I hope the event was informative for those in attendance. The audience had an opportunity to see the candidates first hand and hear the respective positions on the issues.
Cindy Mumby a regular Dagger contributor regarding Harford County schools and the Board of Education was on hand and taking very copious notes. I am sure an article is forthcoming, and as I do not want to steal her thunder I will leave any additional comments for later.
Bob Frisch
Board of Education candidate
District A (Edgewood/Joppatowne/Joppa)
While we are on the subject of the school board elections lets look at some other candidates. Jerome Foster is running for the school board in Joppatowne and Edgewood. Cassandra Beverley is running in Fallston and Abingdon. Both are sitting members of the Democratic Central Committee and are seeking reelection to those positions. I have serious concerns with this. The school board is the last place where we want partisan politicians, their positions on the Central Committee identify them as such. Educating our kids should be as far removed from raw politics as possible. I would say the same if any Republicans were also trying to double dip for elected seats. That is called hedging your bets, if I don’t get one maybe I’ll get the other. Or just throwing you line in the water and maybe you’ll get lucky and catch a fish. Either way it doesn’t pass the smell test. The other indication that neither is really interested in the school board position is that they are not actively campaigning for their school board seats. We need people on the school board who will be dedicated to the position and if what we have seen from either of these candidates so far is an indication of the value they place on education in Harford County then we don’t need or want them there. The school board job is hard enough and takes too much time to be splitting duties and loyalties. If Mr. Foster and Ms. Beverley want to be school members than they should publicly withdrawal from consideration for the Democratic Central Committee. Make a choice, one or the other, you can’t have both. So which is it going to be, partisan politician or total commitment to the kids of Harford County? YOU CAN’T HAVE BOTH!