Matthew Santoni, The Examiner
2008-03-21 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Havre de Grace, Md. -

Eight candidates have filed for three open seats in Havre de Grace’s May municipal elections, including a few familiar names.

As the deadline for registration arrived Tuesday, a slew of last-minute applications arrived at City Hall for the May 6 election. The vote will determine who fills three of the six seats on the Havre de Grace City Council. The candidates came in a last-minute rush, with only two having filed their applications and $50 filing fee earlier, City Manager Jim Newby said.

“They all came in either Monday or Tuesday,” Newby said.

Councilman James P. Miller is the only incumbent running for re-election after Councilmen Garrett Lyttle and Stephen Gamatoria declared that they would not run for re-election due to personal reasons, but several others on the ballot have served on the council at one time or another:

Former Mayor John Correri and former council President Fred Cullum are seeking to return to the council after both ran for mayor last year and lost to Councilman Wayne Dougherty. Kalman Riegelhaupt had served on the City Council from 1978 to 1980.

“I really enjoyed doing it while I was there, and I served 12 years — six consecutive terms,” Cullum said.

Correri had more than 20 years in total service on the council before being appointed as mayor when David Craig became county executive.

The rest are relative newcomers: Joseph G. Gamatoria, nephew to Stephen Gamatoria, is running for a seat as the elder steps down. He has some precedent: Randolph Craig, son of the former mayor and current county executive, won a council seat last year.

Other residents running for council are: James W. Walker, who is running for the second time; William Thomas Napier Martin the 10th; and former Housing and Urban Development employee Barry C. Anderson.

The deadline to register to vote in the municipal election is April 15, Newby said.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com