Municipal elections will be held in May in each of Carroll County’s eight incorporated cities and towns. Elections for two or three council seats will take place in each location and four mayoral races will be contested, according to a March 2 article in the Carroll County Times.
“On May 3, Mount Airy will elect a mayor and two councilmembers and Taneytown will elect three councilmembers.
“On May 4, Sykesville will elect a mayor and three councilmembers.
“On May 11, Hampstead and Union Bridge will elect three councilmembers while New Windsor and Westminster will elect a mayor and two councilmembers,” according to an April 18 commentary by the Carroll County Times Editorial Board.
The election in Manchester will take place on May 18. Three town council seats are up for election.
The upcoming Westminster city elections on May 11 will mark 202 years of elections for Westminster city government. The first election in Westminster took place on the first Monday in April 1819.
According to The Westminster Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser “Westminster, Frederick County, (MD.) Friday, March 26, 1819, A communication, signed [by] many voters, gave notice that on the 1st Monday of April the following gentlemen would be voted for: For Burgess, John Fisher; for Commissioners, Ludwig Wampler, Jacob Sherman, Jacob Frenger, Isaac Shriver, John C. Cockey and Jacob Yingling.”
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This year, on May 11, the candidates for office are Dr. Mona Becker and Dennis Dillon for mayor. Morgan Barkley-Mathers, Tony Chiavacci, and Dan Hoff are candidates for the two open seats on the Common Council. The Times reports, “The office of mayor is at stake. Mayor Joe Dominick told the Times he will not seek reelection. Two seats on the city’s Common Council are at stake. They are currently held by Tony Chiavacci and Benjamin Yingling.” Yingling has decided not to run again. More information on the elections in Westminster may be found here: https://www.westminstermd.gov/elections
In Hampstead the election will take place on May 11. “Three Town Council seats are at stake. They are currently held by Marlene Duff, Joseph Renehan, and Wayne Thomas,” reports the Times. According to the Hampstead website, “Hampstead closed its Election Nomination process after the Monday, April 12th 4:30 p.m. deadline. The Town Election will be held at Town Hall on Tuesday, May 11th from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Three (3) Town Council seats are open. Incumbent Council Member Wayne Thomas is running to retain his seat against new candidates Diane Barrett, Zach Tomlin, and Benjamin Zolman for Town Council.”
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In Manchester the election will take place on May 18. “Three Town Council seats are at stake. They are currently held by Melinda Smith, Debbie Howe, and Dale Wilder. According to the April 18 Times commentary, “Three seats on the Manchester Town Council will be up for grabs when the eighth and final municipal election in the county takes place on May 18. Only problem is, when the town residents who registered to be candidates were announced, the list included only two names. More information is available on the Manchester website, manchestermd.gov/town-elections-5-18/.
“Incumbent Debra L. Howe and David G. Richardson … registered as candidates and one has to like their chances. Because the other two incumbents opted not to run, and because no one else registered to run…
Carroll County Daily Headlines
“According to Kelly Baldwin, Manchester’s finance director, by charter, three blank lines will appear on the ballot for write-in votes. Whoever receives the most write-in votes will win the seat, assuming they meet the criteria and accept the position, Baldwin said.”
In Mount Airy the office of mayor and two town council seats are at stake. Incumbent Mayor Patrick T. Rockinberg will face challenger Larry Hushour. The current council seats are currently held by Hushour and Patricia Washabaugh. Three candidates are running for the two open seats on the town council: Stephen Domotor, Lynne Galletti, and Heather A. Hobbs. Carroll Media Center’s Mount Airy 2021 Voters Guide is available at www.carrollmediacenter.org/mt-airy-2021-voters-guide. View the Times article on the mayor candidates at https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/news/cc-mount-airy-elections-20210317-cfo3dcqdfffcnhz7osjkzui7dy-story.html. More information is available on the Mount Airy website here: https://www.mountairymd.org/453/Town-of-Mount-Airy-2021-Elections-Inform
In New Windsor the election will take place on May 11. According to the Times, New Windsor residents will elect a mayor and two council members. Incumbent Neal C. Roop, mayor of the town since 2009, is running against Andrew Ryan Green. Neither incumbent on the council is running again. The race will be contested by Kevin Ronald Cornick, Austin T. Fogarty and William Rudolph Holl.
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In Sykesville the election will take place on May 4. The Sykesville election information page on its website reports that Stacy Carole Link is running against Ian Shaw for mayor. And Alan Grasley, Elizabeth Guroff, Leo J. Keena III, William Keith Mathis and Frank Robert are all running for the three available council seats.
In Taneytown the election will take place on May 3. Three city council seats are up for election. They are currently held by Diane Foster, Judith Fuller and Joe Vigliotti, all of whom are running against, as is Barbara Cook.
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In Union Bridge the election will take place on May 11. The three council seats up for election are currently held by Laura Conaway, Lou Ellen Cutsail and Amy Kalin, who are all running for reelection with opposition from Charlene Johns and Cheri Thompson.
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.