From McGrady for Mayor Campaign:
Patrick McGrady is announcing today his candidacy for Mayor of Aberdeen for the election on November 8, 2011.
Patrick is a long-time member of the Aberdeen community and small businessman who is currently actively investing in his lifelong home, the City of Aberdeen. To spur investment in the city and achieve lower taxes for all residents, McGrady proposes reducing the red-tape at City Hall and getting Aberdeen back to work and creating jobs.
McGrady’s campaign will focus on fighting against higher taxes and water bills and working to make Aberdeen an easier place to invest and create jobs.
“After long deliberation with my family, business associates, and friends, I am running for Mayor of our City. Aberdeen has a bright future, but we need City Hall to facilitate investment, rather than scare it away.”
McGrady has a long record of standing up for the citizens of Aberdeen against tax increases. He has actively protested the toll increases at the Hatem Bridge and collected signatures to bring to the ballot SB167, the Maryland law that provides in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. McGrady has also led efforts to reduce property taxes in Harford County and has consistently called for reduced spending and improved government efficiency.
“The City of Aberdeen needs representatives who will advocate for the folks who live here. It’s a big responsibility to be Mayor, and I’m ready to take it on and go to work for the citizens of Aberdeen,” Says McGrady, “There’s no reason that our city should have budget problems and increased spending year after year. We are perfectly located and we should be able to stand on our own without new and unreasonable taxes. The hard-working families in Aberdeen can’t afford any more tax hikes or high water bills.”
On the McGrady Campaign website at www.McGradyforMayor.com, McGrady has laid out his “Principles of Responsible City Government for a Prosperous Aberdeen” that explains the vision for his administration in Aberdeen.
“Aberdeen can be great, but we need City Hall to focus on communities to make it happen. That’s why I’m running for Mayor.”
Sounds like my kind of Mayor.if he can accomplish a third of his intended goals. the first is getting elected. that in it’s self is a challenge.
I have read his web site and read the article and still don’t know who the guy is. I see a church getting restored and will bring the downtown alive. But it fails to mention that there are other accomplishements. Why would this be a major accomplishment? Hasn’t a church been there already and left? I have been in the military for 22 years and been in war. Doesn’t give me a edge up on politics. I am for a man who is straight forward and lets people know something other then a flashy web site. Call me a true American, but I want substance instead of fluff.
Good points. Thank you for your service.
I’m from here and I have seen for years the issues we face. I want to give consumer choice to the people who live in Aberdeen. Aberdeen can really be great– despite the naysayers–with just a vision for a government that doesn’t get in the way of investment and success. Why can’t Aberdeen have a downtown area where people want to visit? It’s not because there is no desire for it.
I don’t think that I’m special. I just believe that if we want to fix the problems faced by residents and businesses in Aberdeen, we need to elect people to office that will realize that we can achieve prosperity through community better than we can through government.
Be specific Mr McGrady. Tell what you perceive as problems and how you will fix them. By the way, national corps, like Waste Management, are not our community. The city workers who pick up my trash are. National corps like American Water are not my community. The people in city hall who take my bill are.
Does he Live in Aberdeen? I thought he lived on Stepney Rd.
Pretty sure he lives in Aberdeen City proper.
Dear Mr McGrady,
How do you plan on “reducing the red-tape at City Hall and getting Aberdeen back to work and creating jobs”? How specifically do you propose that the mayor can create jobs? Without revenue, how do you plan to renovate the water and sewer system in Aberdeen which is literally falling apart? Would your privatization plan include our water, sewer and trash which currently are far cheaper than the rest of the county which has privatized water and trash collection? What specific “mandates, excessive regulation, and additional expenses from the federal or state government” will you resist and how do plan to be effective in this resistance? How specifically do you plan on “reducing spending and making government operate in a more restrained and efficient manner”? Why do you think Aberdeen government is too large? What specific positions would you cut? While I think it is admirable that you will donate your salary, to how much does that actually amount in savings? Please don’t just give us a handful of promises and Tea Party talking points. Please give us your specific plans and solutions. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Ryan Burbey
I didn’t see anywhere on Patrick’s platform that it included the continuation of trash collection for Aberdeen. I don’t think he’d consider it a core function of government. Forcing everybody to get their trash picked up is like forcing everybody to get health insurance.
Forcing everybody to get their trash picked up is like forcing everybody to get health insurance. by QUESTION.
Are you kidding me. If McGrady is proposing Aberdeen govt not be responsible for trash collection and allows each household pick a private contractor means less govt interference and more private choice. Its easier to change trash contractors for bad or expensive service than it is to change a govt policy. Also you can choose to haul the trash to the dump yourself. With Obamacare you must pick or get fined. If you are fined you get no health care,just a fine.
That part of Obamacare has been found uncontituional. Regulating trash pick up is something the city should do for health and safety reasons. But there should be choices for the consumer. Waste Management does a good job.
Actually, it is a tie several district courts have ruled against it and several for it. It will end up in the Supreme Court.
It will end up in the Supreme Court, but as if now….it is unconstitutional.
Aberdeen offers what to it’s citizens? An extra bit of police force? Water is no more expensive in the city than in the county. The garbage service is expensive, badly performed and costs the citizen highly in the city property tax. I rather have private collection, I don’t utilize the city garbage, yet my property taxes still subsidize it. Aberdeen has almost 140 people in the police department for a city of less then 15,000 yet the county sheriff has a department of about 400. Why do I pay almost double the taxes of living just out of city limits? I see no benefits of living in the city.
Move.
@Ryan Burbrey – What a sanctimonious lout you are! You’re just the kind of person we don’t need teaching our children.
I am not in the least sanctimonious. Nor am I a lout. I like Aberdeen. I respect the hardworking city employees. I like that my water costs less than when I lived in Forest Hill and was forced to buy water from the private market. I like that we have police and respect the hard job that they do. I love our garbage collection. It cost about a dollar a can. If Mr. Pissed with… does not like the benefits which we citizens of Aberdeen enjoy he should move to anywhere he likes better. However, I would personally like to stay put pay my taxes and enjoy my home. Our taxes are more than fair considering the benefits and services which we are availed. I do not always agree with the Mayor but I think he has done a good job and hope he is re-elected. What I do not like is when people bash our public servants for political gain. I also find it reprehensible for Mr. Patrick to question my dedication to my profession or my competence as the result of a one word comment. Don’t we all have the right to free speech?
@Ryan Burbrey asks “Don’t we all have the right to free speech?”
The answer is yes we do, with limits, and you have to live with the consequences of your speech. You are a teacher who is behaving badly. You should be ashamed and not surprised that parents won’t want you around their children let alone you teaching them your ideology.
PWTG we all know that it is ok to exaggerate on the blogs, but 140 employees in the APD? The City has less than 140 total employees. Try, just a little bit, to make yourself credible.
Don’t think you’re an expert. After all, you lost the election…
@Ryan Burbey, hell of a thing for one union man to say to another.
If you don’t like living here, live elsewhere. I can tell you from experience that it is cheaper to live in Aberdeen than Forest Hill which does not enjoy our city services. I am sorry if you are offended. I like Aberdeen just the way it is. I don’t want to lose the services and benefits that I enjoy and I don’t want any Aberdeen employees or police officers to lose their jobs in favor of “smaller govt” or “lower taxes”.
Well it is not up to what you alone want, it is up to what the people of Aberdeen want, the election will determine this.
Harford county has municipal water by the way, in fact aberdeen draws from it. It is cheaper then Aberdeen Water and Sewer.
What is Maryland American Water then? http://www.amwater.com/mdaw/
Harford Sanitation Services costs about $30 a month, and you don’t have to pay per bag. This would not only allow property tax rates to drop as they subsidize this service, it would perhaps allow the city to be cleaner as fewer people would feel it necessary to illegally dump trash. Neighbors could band together and arrange for neighborhood discount collection, the city as well could arrange for this. Why should government provide services that can be provided better and cheaper with private organizations.
$30 dollars a month versus the 80 cents a week that my family of six currently pays? By my calculations, that is an increase of about $320 a year. But, please keep in mind that garbage collection is not the only service provided by the city. During our harsh, recent winters, our streets were cleared and treated long before my friends’ and families’ in the County. As someone who works hard to raise a family in this economy, I know that we pay extra to live in an incorporated ‘city’.
As a side note, my children were pupils of Mr. Burbey. I am not going to say that he was our absolute favorite teacher (Sorry, Mr. Burbey.), but I will say that he stuck to the curriculum and did not ‘teach them his ideology’. I am not going to run for president of the Ryan Burbey fan club (sorry, again), but that accusation is unfounded.
No need to apologize. We all have our preferences. I appreciate your honesty.
Mr. Pissed, I personally put out less than on can per month. Aberdeen Trash is about one dollar for a 32 gallon can. Also, I don’t teach ideology. I teach reading and writing. I believe children should learn to read, formulate their own ideas and write about them. It is the parents job to inculcate their own children with their ideology should they choose to do so. I do not do this nor will I ever. I have the utmost respect for each parent’s right to guide their own children and would not interfere with this ever. As far a me behaving badly, I am merely exercising my right to free speech in a relatively polite and respectful manner. It is true that it is not only for me to determine but I only hope that the citizens of Aberdeen will be able to make a choice based on facts and not conjecture or falsehoods. Also, I would suggest that rather than hide behind pseudonyms you and the others who do not use their real name to conduct the political banter or personal assaults use their name.
““It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.” Alex Karras
Wow, you guys certinly take things personally. Anyway, it would be nice to get some fresh ideas from a NEW member of the City Government. BRAC has been here for two years now and what have we seen from it? I’m tired of seeing wharehouses and Helotn Properties! Politics in Aberdeen is a horrible mess. If you don’t agree 110% with the Mayor then you bear the full force of the Bennett/Helton connection. I remember the old quote: “you get the government you deserve!”.
The taxes in Aberdeen do not justify the services! Aberdeen taxes are the third highest in the State! And what was Bennett’s first offical act as Mayor? A tax break for his campaign financer Art Helton. Aberdeen politics are horrible and its time for a change!
Shady McGrady part III; this should be good… I will say that of his 12 principles, there are a few good ones. It should raise the level of discussion some. Way better canidate than old ” I love developers” Simmons.
I worked in Aberdeen for four years while both Simmons and Bennett were the Mayors. I don’t think Bennett has done anything to really enhance Aberdeen, a city I like and spend money in every week. The fact that he was re-elected seems to me that the ones who actually do get out and vote want a mayor that is not hands on and makes no real waves. Sometimes that can be good, but other times, it’s not in the best interest of the city or the people that live there.
As for McGrady’s run, it seems that he will try and get elected for some position any way he can. I wish him luck, but I don’t think trying to privatize or contract every service or organization is the answer. Also, when you say you want to represent all citizens of Aberdeen, it means all citizens…not the ones that agree with your political ideas or personal values.
Dear Mr. McGrady,
While I admire your rehab project at the church, and have often thought wistfully how cool it would be to own, I wonder how rehabilitating this structure would lead to a revitalization of downtown. I am also concerned how you personal stake in this business project might bias your decisions should you be elected. Likewise, I don’t really see the comparison to the downtown area. There are many quality buildings which are vacant; not due to disrepair but to a lack of businesses and consumers. I think this speaks to a larger point of how will you, if elected mayor, create jobs. What industries would you attract? What businesses would you attract? How specifically would you propose, “Aberdeen can develop a downtown where folks want to visit, shop, and invest”? How will this church, “help kickstart investment in downtown Aberdeen”? What do you mean by, “smart planning and hard work”? Why is it that you believe that Aberdeen is not currently a place where “folks want to shop, visit and invest”? I and your other potential constituents would await your thoughtful response.
Sincerely,
Ryan Burbey
I just got a call from our honorable mayor via the auto-tele system. Due to the hurricane, the city will not be requiring stickers for trash this week. I ask you would a private company collect trash for free?
Free? You mean you don’t pay taxes? Hmmm….
Anyways, have a nice day.
Paul
@Ryan Burbrey – You’re right all things great and free spring from government.
Government is there to care for us and private enterprise is there only to pillage from the proletariat. We should make as many businesses municipally-owned or state-owned that way we can take the profit motive out of the equation, provide the free services to citizens and pass on the savings to taxpayers.
As I read McGradys comments, they appear to have no actual merit or standing in critical thoughts and are transparent. This is a thinly veiled attempt to gain votes on some frivolous stance. If this is his stance, than we are in trouble boys and girls, he has obviously taken an interest in some old church located in Aberdeen, and has become a crusader in this pursuit. I have no desire to vote for this guy, as he stands for no real position and can has more waivers than a flag in the Havre De Grace parade, Back and forth easily………….
As for the City Police, we have a very efficient service, that couldn’t be matched by the sheriffs department, without compromising our local identify and control to someone in Bel Air. And by the way, Jesse Bane is an exceptional Sheriff, and I voted for him and would again, but I want our local police.
Yes, I absolutely hate to pay taxes, but the service we get is very comparable for our taxes. I like the fact that the police here in Aberdeen are no more than a 3-4 minute run, if I truly had an emergency where I needed them quickly. The HCSO cannot even come close to this response time and availability. As of last week, I believe the City Police had around 40 Police officers and about eight civilian staff, where did the guy get 140, WTH, you lost all credibility on that one, I stopped listening to you after you made that stupid comment.
To Ryan Burberry, I do not know you , but I genuinely liked your academic references when responding to the thoughtless attacks against you, too bad the caveman who it was directed at didn’t even get the inference, LMAO. I commend you for your courage to state your positionwith precison, and I respect that.
Finally, to the Iraqi Veteran, thank you for your service to our fine nation and your sacrifices, and to all of those who have served in this war and previous, Thank you and Welcome Home brothers and sisters…….
Semper Fi!
AV8TOR from Aberdeen
As I have read all the post, it is clear to me that more facts need to be put on paper instead of just beating around the bush. Av8tor makes some great points. I like the fact that we have our own police force. The sheriff’s office patrols outside the city limits and assist officers when needed. Sheriff Bane has done a good job of explaining his positions on issues. I have the utmost respect for public service workers.