Candidacy debate could delay Aberdeen elections by 60 days

Harford County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Waldron ordered the city to decide by today if pharmacy owner Steven Johnson is a voting resident and thus eligible to vote.

Barring a decision, an injunction could force the delay of the scheduled Nov. 6 election.

Johnson, who owns properties inside and outside the Aberdeen city limits, is challenging a Board of Elections ruling that he does not live primarily in the city and is thus ineligible to run for City Council.

He argued the board only received information presented by the city, and he didn’t get to present his side.

Though the city charter says he can appeal the board's decision to the City Council, the mayor and all four council members are running for re-election and have a vested interest in preventing his candidacy, Johnson said.

“What this is about is due process, and how we're not getting it from the current administration,” Johnson said.

The City Council scheduled a meeting Thursday afternoon to outline why its members believed Johnson was not qualified.

The city clerk read out a list of evidence putting Johnson at the address outside the city, including rent checks paid to him at that address, property tax credits claimed there, state property records calling it his primary residence and a driver's license that had been changed to the city address only days before his filing.

“There's no real, good solution here,” said Council President Mike Hiob. “Keeping him off the ballot is the right thing to do, because he doesn't live in Aberdeen. But if we have to delay the election for a matter of months, that's not a good solution either.”

Council members Ruth Eliott and Ron Kupferman expressed shock that the city could be faced with the possibility of delaying the election two months, and Kupferman asked why they could not plead with Johnson to drop the suit for the greater good.

Hiob and Councilman Dave Yensan blamed the suit on the influence of outside political forces, alluding to Darlington-based developer Art Helton, who owns property in Aberdeen and uses those addresses to vote in city elections.

The council later adjourned to a closed-door meeting with Annapolis-based attorney Frederick C. Sussman, who has been contracted by the city for his expertise in election law, said Mayor S. Fred Simmons.

Judge Waldron will meet again with representatives of Johnson's campaign and the city at 3 p.m. today to decide if the city's election will be delayed.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com