Dagger Detour

For those who missed the punchline last week, let there be no confusion: The Dagger has not been bought, sold, traded, dissolved, dismantled, eradicated, defused or otherwise eliminated.  You can’t get rid of us that easily.

Click to continue to The Dagger.

DaggerRadio: A Sign(off) of the Times

By Brian

“So what impact do you think the blog has had on things?”

That was the question, at least something along those lines, posed to us by WAMD 970 AM host Mark Schlottman during his ‘Aberdeen Happenings’ show.

It’s a simple, yet meaningful question. For a better, truer, evaluation, Schlottman, a member of the city’s Board of Elections and Planning Commission, might have asked what impact The Dagger has had on on us - its founders, managers, editors, photographers and writers.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Matt and I were invited by Mark to be this week’s guests on his radio show, which aired this morning at 9 a.m. The show is recorded in advance, so Matt and I met Mark at the WAMD studio off Hiobs Lane on Wednesday afternoon. We spent some time warming up to one another (discussing cats, 80s bands and old ghosts who used to haunt the WAMD station) before turning on the microphones and engaging in a wonderfully open, adventurous and revealing half-hour of radio.

That was not the show you heard this morning.

Because of a computer malfunction over the weekend, likely passed along from WAMD’s corporate headquarters somewhere out West, the entire Wednesday evening show was lost.

We thought it was a joke, then we thought it was a conspired set-up, then we thought it was just one of those things that was meant to be.

So Sunday morning Matt and I reconvened with Schlottman, this time accompanied by fellow Dagger Josh, with wife and daughter in tow, for a second shot at it.

Anyway, that’s when we decided we would just go for it and [READ MORE]

A Good Day to Die: A Dagger Obituary

By Brian

Well folks, it’s finally come to this.

The Great Aberdeen Election of 2007 is over.  Former mayor Fred Simmons packed up his City Hall “war room” and left town on his motorcycle.  Art Helton and the would-be Wetlands Golf Course developers are about to sue one another into oblivion.

A lot has been changing around here lately.

In just two months The Dagger has succeeded in pissing off the masses, getting disowned by nearly all our former acquaintances and, in general, burning every available bridge.

We made some friends, but more enemies. We made some people laugh, but many others cry (yeah, you know who you are). We like to think we informed some of you, but are resigned to the fact that we likely only added dirt and water to what was already a muddy scene.

We are loved, but moreso hated. I mean, our freaking web site logo was vandalized over the weekend (OK, I admit to being responsible for tagging The Dagger header with cyber-graffiti, but cateogorically deny having anything to do with the real-life tagging of Fred Simmons’ Route 40 billboard any of the three or four times it was vandalized).

It’s with those sentiments that we here at The Dagger decided, not without some regret, that it is time for us to move on as well.

Change is a natural occurance and we recognize it is futile to attempt to defy it. This has been building below the surface for awhile and we figured it’s not worth trying to fight anymore.

In anticipation of our announcement, we agreed to make a radio appearance Tuesday at 9 a.m. on WAMD 970 AM to discuss our meteoric rise to local superstardom (read as: small fish in a small pond) and the circumstances leading up to our decision to move on this week.

The show, Aberdeen Happenings - hosted by city election board and planning commission member Mark Schlottman, delves into how and why we started The Dagger and what our mission was as well as exposing the rationale behind our recent decision to change the course of our future.

I guess it’s only fitting to make such an announcement from a 500-watt, predominantly oldies format, station broadcasting from a cornfield on the outside edge of Aberdeen.

We pre-recorded the episode (a couple of times) with Mark, who is a splendid host, and the show went as well as can be expected given the circumstances.

 So with that, there will be one final, special posting here Tuesday morning regarding our radio appearance and then this page will be shut down for good.

 We hope you enjoyed the ride.

Revenge of the Nerds

By Carlin 

For most of us, the perfect definition of a nerd consists of only two words: Dungeons & Dragons.

For those who have been sheltered from the world of the overly-intellectual and hyper-fantasized, Dungeons & Dragons is rightfully the nerdiest thing in the world. But within this magical realm of Wizards and Halflings exists a group of people who greatly surpass D&Ders in their nerdy thirst for questing and goblin killing:  we’re talking about Live Action Role Playing (LARPing for short).

The hobby of sitting in a friend’s Mom’s basement, drinking energy drinks, eating Cheetos and navigating through fictitious worlds of yore, started a long time ago and blossomed into a community of highly imaginative dreamers, who found a way they could escape their less than satisfying lives as students, accountants, corporate guinea pigs, etc. with the roll of a multi-sided die.  But the new phenomenon called LARPing has taken that imaginative whimsy to a level that will forever claim ultimate nerdom.

In the original setup of Dungeons & Dragons, a player creates a character using attributes such as charisma, intelligence, dexterity, strength, constitution and wisdom. Players get to choose a race and class for their character, which they also name and bestow a physical description upon. This way, everyone playing has a persona they have built from the ground up. When the role-playing commences, battles and luck-based events are decided due to the role of the dice, with attributes and special abilities of the characters taken into account to determine if warrior kills orc or orc kills warrior.

Now this all sounds extremely nerdy and you may be asking:  Carlin, how can anything top this nerdy-ass past time? To that question I proffer this:  Imagine a whole swarm of Dungeons & Dragons nerds deciding to brave the sunlight and come out of their parents’ basements to try and make their characters come to life. Literally. Is this already sounding worse? It should.

Much like Civil War reenactors, those who participate in LARPing don costumes, paint on make-up and become their fantasy characters to take part in battles that are 100% fake.

For an accurate portrayal of what goes down in these LARPing sessions, please do yourself the favor of going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ekugPKqFw and watching some videos of the height of nerdocity (WARNING:  If cardboard armor, tinfoil lightning bolts and quasi-choreographed shadow boxing skits get to you, watch at your own risk!).

The amount of time put into the elaborate costumes can be admired, but the lack of self-respect cannot. The battlefields of unreal skirmishes show a propensity for the melodramatic and exude a downright sense of confusion. Example:  In D&D, rolling dice decide how much damage a player gives or sustains, while in LARPing the rules of when to live and when to die seem to exist only in the ill-fitting wigged heads of its participants. The days of arguing who wins a battle of attributes from the comfort of an old couch are long gone for those who LARP. Now they can settle their disputes like the ruffians of medieval times:  with foam weapons.

Many people who created LARPing characters have supposedly said they did so to offer them a chance to become what they long wished they could be. And when they slip into these new personas on the weekend, they feel powerful and are able to exercise real control over their lives - even if it is complete fantasy. If that is what keeps you happy in life, so be it.

As someone who has had experience playing Dungeons & Dragons, I understand the draw to fantasy world explorations. So to all LARPers out there I say this:  More power to you, but you’re still the biggest nerds on this planet!

P.S. - For those wanting more than what the Internet can offer of this LARPing, just wait for the documentary “Darkon” to come out on DVD. I know I’m anxiously awaiting its release.

Painted With An Obscure Brush

 By Matt     

     From the field office, comes this weird one, as if many of you hadn’t already seen S. Fred Simmons’ most recent defacement.

     What’s different this time is the vandal’s literacy.  Supplanting the anarchy symbol and goofy, tagger-style lettering of the preceding spray-painting is a quote from Ayn Rand’s more obscure philosophical ramblings: “The law of identity does not permit you to have your cake and eat it too.”  I suspect the vandal chose this quote because it sounds like something a bad sport would say to someone he or she had defeated in, say, a local election – or dodge ball.         

     Read in context, however, this cryptic quote means next to nothing unless you’re a member of the rarified, crusty, Randian faithful (Alan Greenspan is in this group, if that tells you anything).  Some say it has tangential ties to Aristotle, but a cursory, meaningless Internet search for the nature of the great philosopher’s connection to this cursory, meaningless quote turned up little.

        The thing that has us a bit puzzled on this one is, it takes some real moxie to climb up and deface a billboard that’s out in the open on Route 40, and has been tagged at least three times before.  I’m picturing a middle-aged person, pulling his or her car over to the side of the road, and just going for it – or a young punk reading off a cheat sheet some middle-aged person gave him along with a $20 bill to carry out the misdemeanor.

      At any rate, this detail comes to The Dagger from a local journalist, a friend of ours who notes, “The workman who was getting ready to cover up the latest mess told me it was the fourth time he’s replaced the billboard, so the State Farm ad was going to be moved to a higher billboard up in Churchville and a public service announcement put in its place.” 

     His nameplate removed from the dais, his big black truck no longer parked outside city hall, his 15-foot head no longer greeting travelers from the north, and his Wetlands annexation ally, Sam Smedley, arrested on gun charges, it seems that – for the moment – the only indelible mark Simmons has left on the city from his two years as mayor is the large bell hanging in the council chambers.

Why Billy Will Stay Put

By Brian and Matt

Barry Glassman, after years of biding his time, playing it cool, and largely avoiding major election-year face offs many thought he could have won (the Heltons came awfully close to ousting David Craig last year, after all) looks poised to assume the position of Harford’s Northern Senator.  With Hooper set to step down before the end of the year due to failing health, Glassman’s competition for the gubernatorial appointment to replace him looks slim – in the early stages at least.   

The real question will be, Who Replaces Barry.  It will not be Council President Billy Boniface, who would be nuts to give up his seat in Bel Air.  As a friend of The Dagger so eloquently put it, “the chief of seven is better than the freshman minority of a circus of 143.”  Former Del. Joanne Parrott, after being booted just last fall, and letting her public image slip a bit beforehand, is less than likely to win the support of the county’s Republican Central Committee.  Former council prez Rob Wagner, who we can’t imagine wanting to join the throng on the House floor (and who’s had some image problems of his own), lives outside the Northern district. 

As The Dagger hears it, central committee members Teresa Reilly and Chad Shrodes, in his first year as a county councilman, are both considered serious early candidates to replace Glassman.  Reilly, in the vein of her  husband, Clerk of the Harford County Circuit Court Jim, is a political construct who has served on enough committees, campaigns and fundraisers to be considered for the delegate spot (for more case history on the rise and fall of a political constructe, please see Sheryl Davis-Kohl).

Shrodes is a Democrat turned Republican who might be itching to move on up - especially with whispers former county councilman Lance Miller, the man who formerly occupied his seat - is eager to get back into the game.

God knows we’ll probably hear from Bob Thomas before this one’s over, as he’s so far yet to reject his role on the committee as He Whom No One Wants To Let In Out Of The Rain.  In fact, a parade of failed candidates and up and comers will likely ask for the spot.

 Perhaps the two fine young Republicans most hoping for an untimely death or well-timed political scandal to escalate their political careers are former county councilman Mike Geppi and current Bel Air Mayor Terry Hanley.

Unfortunately for them, neither lives in Glassman’s Northern District 35A, so any interest in political ascension would have to be to take on Barry for Hooper’s senate seat.  Geppi was once the GOP golden boy and was rumored to have formerly boasted of making a run for council presidency, which never materialized.  For Hanley to move on up he’d have to take on a former colleague at nearly every step - ‘Cap’n’ Jim McMahan at the county council and Del. Susan McComas in Annapolis, both were former Bel Air Town Commissioners.  His try for Hooper’s senate seat would likely just be to garner future name recognition and credibility.

As if that wasn’t enough, it’s likely the entire cast of characters who ran against Shrodes in his bid for the Northern District D seat on the Harford County Council - Charles Burns, Amy Hopkins Daney, Jason Gallion and Doug Howard - are opening exploratory committees.  We won’t be holding our breath on this one.

I is for International Imbroglio

By Josh

     Starting this is hard. I promised to have this done by Sunday night, and here it is Saturday night and 20 words down. I needed a deadline to actually produce, so I told Matt Sunday night. So here I am, the wife and baby asleep, trying to produce.

     Matt asked me what I was going to write about. “Something geopolitical,” I said. Smart sounding way a of saying I’m not sure. “Something geopolitica,l” it can really cover an endless body of blathering, as I hope we will soon find.

     Maybe an introduction first, I’ve been on the boards but this is my first story. My name’s Joshua. 34, married 7 years, one daughter. Professional journalist, photojournalist in detail. Been in “the business” 8 years, now working at a daily newspaper in the Baltimore/DC area. No, not that one. Not that one either. The plan was to slowly move up the ladder and land at one of the big guys, then sit back and work for thirty years. It seems, however, that when I wasn’t looking the ladder had caught fire and maybe it wasn’t going as high as we were led to believe in the first place.

     Which brings us to The Dagger. I used to work with Brian and Matt and Kristi at a newspaper, a good newspaper. I like to think we worked hard, and at the end of the day I hope at least we did no harm. One of the best parts of the day was sitting around and just talking about the news. Not what we’d write or photograph, but what we thought. What was funny about a council meeting, the way that a politician you’d spent months hammering would make a joke and suddenly become a real person in front of you. Awkward press conferences, with bold faced liars promising the moon and the stars when they knew that we knew it was all bullshit. Public meetings, where some housewife would stand up and crystallize exactly what everyone else was trying to avoid talking about. The odd connections between stories, how the players and motivations would change depending on where you were looking at it from that day. We’d talk about all of this and eventually someone would say that thats the kind of stuff we should be covering. Maybe one day, someone else would say.

     Now here we are, a little older and in way over our heads. We’re in charge, and I still haven’t written anything geopolitical, which by the way I’ve misspelled on the first try every single time I’ve typed it.

     So, the reason you’re reading a photographer attempt writing is pretty simple. From where I’m sitting, the world’s fucked up. It’s a mess. A real, rolling, smoking mess of potentials and opportunities, losses and chaos. It feels out of control, it makes me feel out of control. Somedays I look around, and I can almost see the bedrock of our world cracking, I can hear it creak. I’m talking everything, politics of course, war and business, art and media, jobs, everything is showing the strain. That’s what I’m going to be aiming for, try and pin it down a little, point out some connections that maybe aren’t being talked about. Worry the strings a little bit. It’ll be geopolitics today, just to warm up. I’m also aiming to get you into it, so comment or flame away. I’m not trying to make you angry, but I will if you’d like.

     Pakistan is as good a place to start as any, isn’t it? As of tonight General Pervez Musharraf has promised elections, why shouldn’t you believe a man who disbanded the courts and placed his chief rivals under house arrest. The joke’s always been that killing the lawyers would be a good start. Actually seeing suit and tie lawyers battling police in Islamabad last week wasn’t funny at all. That’s about the worst thing you can see. Not much further to fall after that. It could not be any worse news for the people of the Middle East, and it could almost not be any worse news for us.

     As far as I can figure, we like Musharraf because he’s not an Islamic fundamentalist. We think he thinks like we do. At least as far as holy wars and self immolation go. Musharraf is standing against a movement to revolutionize Pakistan into an Islamic fundamentalist county. All well and good, because apparently Pakistan is packed with folks who are Islamic fundamentalists. And currently, they are all about holy war and self immolation.

     And why, one asks, do we care particularly about Pakistan? Because of its proximity to Afghanistan and its aid in the war with their Islamic fundamentalists? Well, not really. That’s the story, but it’s getting old. The only aid in the war they appear to be giving us is to not be fighting against us. Yet. So, what’s my hare brained theory? I’m glad you asked.

     In this case, the I’s have it. The first I is Pakistan’s neighbor to the south, the country we call India. Not in ANY coverage of the current Pakistani crisis have I seen one mention of India, and they are the eight armed elephant in the room. India and Pakistan don’t get along, you see. First, there is a key piece of territory they both claim, Kashmir, situated right along the border. They’ve been fighting over it for a long, long time. It’s more natural for them to be fighting over it then not. Secondly, lets throw in the incredible clash of the two (at least two) religious cultures at play, Islam and Hindu. There’s a fight that’s been going on for a long, long, long time.

     We do not want a war between India and Pakistan. They both have nukes. If the holocaust of literally millions of deaths doesn’t grab you, we need India. They’re big players now, like it or not, and our economy is dependent on their economy. A crashing, warring India leaves us swaying in the wind. China doesn’t want that war either. Russia might, but that’s for another article.

     The second I is a name we’re hearing daily lately, Iran. Iran is an Islamic fundamentalist country,  a country that appears to have its house in order. They are Pakistan’s neighbors to the east, another fact left out of most coverage. They probably don’t need nuclear bombs going off on their border, but I would guess they would love to see another Islamic fundamentalist neighbor. They appear to feel really threatened by the west, and could tip an Islamic revolution in Pakistan similiar to the one that was their genesis. We have very real reasons for not wanting that. Now, is Iran an actual threat to us? That’s a dicey question, and deserves its own article. But they are most certainly a threat to our last I, the wild card in this deck of faith and apocalypse.

     Israel. It always comes back to Israel. Never mentioned in the stories about Pakistan, or Iran, or Iraq for that matter. We talk about the intifada and the Palistinians, sure, but what about the Israeli connection to the rest of the middle east? Now, I’m not talking the usual line about Zionist conspiracies or the Illuminati. For the record, because people love to know, I am Jewish. I’m talking about pure military strategy here.

     Israel believes that its survival depends on being able to fight and defeat the Arab world. And they might be right. Their short history is proof of that, dozens of wars and skirmishes with the entire Arab world. They must believe that an Islamic fundamentalist government in Pakistan is a direct threat to their existence, because of the nukes. They cannot let that happen, and when Israel decides to act they do. We all seem to have forgotten how in 1981 Israeli plane destroyed nuclear facilities in Iraq. The people who did that? They’re still in charge there. That’s how we know Iran doesn’t have nukes.

     Because if they did, the second they did Israeli planes would be bombing them. How might Israel react to a religious revolution in Pakistan? Not in any way we’d want to see. How would the rest of the Islamic world react to Israel taking such a step? Ditto.

     It seems, at heart, despite recently starting a small war, the goal of the west is to avoid the big war. We’re standing with our arms held out, trying to keep everybody apart and alive. And Pakistan is a nightmare.

     Do we support an oppressive dictator who jails his opponents and suspends justice, or do we try and force democracy to run its course? And likely end up, like in Palestine with Hamas, with exactly what we are most afraid of staring back at us?

Chartering The Way To New Development

By Brian

      “Life is great in Harford County.”

      Or so we’re reminded by Town Point Developer Doug Hill in his latest bid to develop a still-rural nook of the county nestled between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace.

      On Thursday, Hill, along with Patrick Crain – regional director of Imagine Schools, met with the citizen group Aberdeen Communities Together ostensibly to garner public support or head off any opposition to their proposal to bring a 700-plus student public charter school to Hill’s property on Robinhood Road.

 

      The proposed charter school would sit across from a parcel of land on Chapel Road, which is owned by Harford County and has been mentioned as a possible future location of a public school.  The Robinhood Road land was also once the site of another Hill project – the unfortunately-named ‘Greatlands’ - which consisted of a chain of properties, many of which Hill didn’t own, that would all have been annexed into Aberdeen to create a unique, rural community that, among other things, would have contained an active equestrian center as part of its open space requirement.

      The Greatlands project died a quick death for several reasons, not the least of which being that it came on the heels of the Wetlands Golf Course annexation attempt and because Doug Hill hadn’t met with many of the homeowners whose property he planned on annexing into the city as part of his project.  You may also remember Hill from the Havre de Hills townhouse community in Havre de Grace, which father and son Dave and Doug Hill developed together.

      Anyway, back to the Imagine School, being a charter school, it will be a public school and fall under the management of the Harford County Public School system and must meet all state and county standards for public schools.

      ACT member Chuck Doty, who was among the three dozen at the meeting Thursday, provided some details about the Imagine School.  Doty said the focus of the school will be not just on high academic standards, but also health and wellness, both physically and mentally.

      To that end, the charter school plans on bringing some extensive recreational opportunities to Robinhood Road, Doty said.

      “To encourage physical exercise, a large area on the corner of Chapel and Robinhood Roads is reserved for outside activities, although the decisions have not been made as to what several activities could be included there, (i.e: soccer, baseball, track type fields, etc.).  In addition, a planned ‘indoor’ recreational building of about twenty thousand plus or minus square feet (20,000± sq. ft.) is to be located adjacent to the school building,” Doty wrote in an email to interested parties.

      Hill apparently told the group the facilities would be designed with the surrounding area in mind so as to blend in with neighborhood.

      Perhaps of greatest interest to those living in the area will be the size of the charter school.  The school is planned for more than 700 students, building up to that number by starting out with grades one through four, and expanding up to grade eight over a period of about two to four years, Doty wrote.

      That’s a substantial school, especially for a charter, or magnet, facility.

      By comparison, according to stats from the Board of Education, Meadowvale Elementary has a capacity of 568 students and an enrollment of 571; Halls Cross Roads Elementary has a capacity of 518 and an enrollment of 415 and Havre de Grace Elementary has a capacity of 576 and an enrollment of 368.  On the middle school level, Havre de Grace Middle has a capacity of 785 and an enrollment of 599 and Aberdeen Middle has a capacity of 1,656 and an enrollment of 1,207.

      Of course, there is already the Restoration Alternative Academy Charter School which is housed within the old Aberdeen High School, but I think that school has fewer than 50 students currently enrolled.

      Doty said questions regarding water/sewer sources, natural drainage from the property, zoning, traffic and transportation to the school, road improvements, forest conservation and “annexation desires” were satisfactorily answered by Hill.

      My question would be what is in this for Hill?  Is there enough funding, public and private, for this non-profit Imagine School that the organization is able to purchase large tracts of highly desirable land and get Hill the profit margin he’s looking for?  Or is there another ‘residential component’ attached to this charter school plan – much like the famous residential components tied to Hill’s previous Greatlands horse community and the would-be Wetlands golf town?  A school of this size will almost surely need public utilities and we all know what happens when public utilities are extended to previously untouched rural land.

What a Difference a Day Makes

By Brian

Some final thoughts and field notes on the 2007 Aberdeen Election:

-  I began the day throwing up in my car on the way to work (how’s that for full disclosure).  I’d have taken the bout of sickness as an ill omen if I hadn’t made the same ineffective claim during the last Aberdeen election.  In 2005 while campaigning for re-election in Festival Park, Councilman Ron Kupferman was stung at least once by an infuriated yellow jacket.  As he swatted at the fleeing insect, I mentioned it probably was something of an ill omen to be stung on Election Day.  He agreed and promptly went on to be re-elected in two subsequent elections.

-  Did anyone else find a certain lack of drama in the final moments of the election Tuesday?  By posting the machine-by-machine results on the wall, it only took a few glances to see who the winners were.  Meanwhile, outside in the lobby, folks waiting for the much anticipated pronouncement had the results trickled to them as people left the voting area.  I miss the good old days when everyone, friend and enemy alike, packed in shoulder-to-shoulder to listen with hushed breath as the results were read.  There was a certain magic in those few seconds of pure joy and utter defeat, as candidates, family, friends and supporters screamed in joy or crumpled in defeat.

-  Why is it that whenever there is a huge voter turnout everyone automatically assumes they are going to be the beneficiary?  At one point in the evening Tuesday, I had members of both the Fred Simmons Team and the Mike Bennett Camp proclaim things were looking good.  While Bennett proved victorious in the end, I firmly believe no one knew what the hell was going on until the results were read.

A final act of Simmons vigilantism?

       After Simmons disappeared from the scene of his Election Day defeat Tuesday, I was wondering where he would go or what he would do.  He seems like neither the type of guy to go home and mourn nor the sort to go out for some heavy partying.  Come first thing Wednesday morning I thought I had my answer – back to a last night of crime fighting.

      The talk early Wednesday was that there had been a late night police chase through the city and that Simmons had somehow maneuvered his vehicle to hit the fleeing car as it tried to elude pursuing police.

      As it turns out, that is not far from the truth.

      Sarah Simmons, Fred’s youngest daughter, was turning into the driveway of their West Bel Air Avenue home when, unbeknownst to her, a car chase that began in Havre de Grace came roaring up the road behind her.

      The car behind hers, that of the fleeing suspect, went into the left lane to try to pass her, but Sarah was turning left into her driveway at the moment so the suspect’s vehicle hit the front end of her car.  The suspect kept driving and was tailed closely by four police cars.  Thankfully neither Sarah nor her young daughter was injured.

      Havre de Grace Police confirmed there was a car chase overnight Tuesday.  The car was reported stolen through the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and while in pursuit at least two cars were rammed and damaged on Route 40.

      Havre de Grace Police broke off the chase in Stepney, but Aberdeen, HCSO and Maryland State Police kept the chase going until they neared the Riverside I-95 exit.  A deputy later found the car unoccupied in Havre de Grace off of Route 155, but no suspects were found and the investigation continues.

Bennett Begins

      With his swearing-in ceremony set for Monday night, Bennett began familiarizing himself with his new position the morning after his resounding mayoral victory.  The word from the Bennett Camp Wednesday is that a transition team to assist the new mayor will be named shortly.  I am also told city residents should expect Bennett to hold true to his promise for a new vision and master plan and movement in a different direction with the goal of a more user-friendly attitude toward citizen service.

      Although changes within City Hall are expected and have been whispered about prior to the results of Tuesday’s election, the Bennett Camp said there will be no direct attempt to shake things up.  The desire is peace within City Hall.

      To that end, what are we to make of this snapshot provided by a Dagger faithful, which shows Aberdeen police chief Randy Rudy, a Simmons friend and supporter, chatting it up with Bennett outside the Senior Center Tuesday?

  Was Rudy gesturing for Bennett to get out of Fred’s town or was he perhaps trying to make 11^th hour amends as the high voter turnout foretold a change in City Hall?

  More than likely it was just one guy exchanging pleasantries with another guy – neither Bennett nor Rudy got involved personally in the mudslinging of the election season.

Simmons/Yensan Out, Bennett/Young In (Unofficial Aberdeen Election Results)

By Brian

     More than 2,500 Aberdeen voters cast a ballot Tuesday, a greater number than participated in the record-setting pace of the December 2006 special election, flushing Mayor S. Fred Simmons and his right-hand man Councilman Dave Yensan out of office and ushering in a new era for the city with Mike Bennett as mayor and first-time candidate Ruth Ann Young joining incumbents Ruth Elliott, Ron Kupferman and Mike Hiob on the council.

     With just 68 absentee ballots left to count Tuesday night and an undisclosed number of provisional votes to be tallied Thursday morning, the results of the 2007 Aberdeen municipal election are unlikely to change.

     Elliott, who considered running for mayor herself about a year ago, garnered 150 more votes than Bennett, even though she ran in a field of 10 from which voters could select 4 candidates.  Bennett collected about 400 more votes than Simmons and 19-year-old challenger Nicole Burlew didn’t have the impact many hoped she might - bringing in fewer than 200 votes.

     Council candidate Bernard DeWitt finished 63 votes behind Hiob, who took the fourth spot on the council.  It is unlikely DeWitt will be able to make up the difference with the absentee and provisional ballots.  Hiob had been the leading vote-getter in each of his two prior elections, but this go-round was just barely able to survive being taken down with the anti-Simmons/Yensan ticket with which he was linked.  Council candidate Rick Denu finished in sixth place and 34 votes behind DeWitt.  Yensan finished in a disappointing 8th place out of the 10 council candidates and 21 votes behind first-time candidate Bruce Garner.

     Election Day began with rain, was punctuated by a boy playing violin on a street corner and the traffic-weaving antics of a loose dog and ended with tears in the eyes of both the victorious and defeated.

     The announcement of the vote totals was much less dramatic than previous years as the numbers were taped up on a wall of the Senior Center as they came out of the voting machines.  As such, the writing was literally on the wall after the first few machines tallies had been posted.

      Speaking with the soon-to-be-former mayor as he was told he had lost by a sizable margin in each of the first seven or so voting machines, Simmons told me there is greater poetry in his losing the race.  It brought to mind a frequent saying of his, “The people get the government they deserve.”

     Simmons said he has no plans to remain involved in city politics, will not accept a local or state government appointment and is content at having done the best job he could do for Aberdeen.

     It remains to be seen whether the Bennett administration, with Elliott almost certainly serving as council president, will maintain some of Simmons’ most productive and questionable initiatives.

     Will Aberdeen continue to pursue the sale of Ripken Stadium?  Will the city continue to look to the bay for the future source of its drinking water?  What will become of the $100,000 surveillance camera wall and program in Aberdeen?  How about the long-ballyhooed Matrix - an end-all-be-all to solving annexation problems, which never materialized?  Will the city continue with its Unity in the Community events?  Will the police department’s Rapid Response Team continue to have the funding and carte blanche support to clean up Aberdeen?  Will the ‘War Room’ stay as Fred set it up?  Will the giant bell Fred hung up in City Hall remain?  What city department heads and officials will be next to go?

    MAYOR

Mike Bennett - 1,323

Nicole Burlew - 181

S. Fred Simmons - 908  

COUNCIL 

Alfred Bell - 333

Rick Denu - 829

Bernard DeWitt - 863

Ruth Elliott - 1,484

Bruce Garner -  698

Janice Grant - 428

Mike Hiob - 926

Ron Kupferman - 1,113

Dave Yensan - 677

Ruth Ann Young - 970  

VOTE TOTAL

2,435