Five candidates are running for two seats on the Aberdeen City Council in the municipal election to be held Nov. 4.
Voting will take place at the Aberdeen Activity Center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The 2023 election cycle began the city’s staggered terms for council members. The top two candidates in that year’s election, Adam Hiob and Tandra Ridgley, earned four-year terms, while the third and fourth candidates, Bill Montgomery and Tim Lindecamp, received two-year terms.
Incumbents Tim Lindecamp and Bill Montgomerywill both be running for reelection. Erick Stone, Darin Wassum and Lenora Robinsonhave also filed to run. The two candidates who are elected this year will both get four-year terms.
Here are the five candidates running for City Council:
Darin Wassum
Darin Wassum, 53, ran for City Council two years ago and lost by roughly 32 votes. This year, he decided to run again because he wants to continue giving back to his community.
He’d like to keep up with revitalizing the downtown area, while preserving its historic roots and improving the Route 40 corridor.
“I think there’s a lot of potential and I’d like to work with not only our city leaders, but county leaders to see what we could do to help bring businesses in that downtown Route 40 corridor,” he said.
One thing he’d like to propose is a system in which council members review ordinances on an annual basis.
“Situations change,” he said. “Maybe that decision at that time was right, but maybe it’s not a good fit now.”
He works full-time as an inside sales manager for a pest control company. In his free time, he likes to play bluegrass music.
“I want to leave Aberdeen in a better place than what I found it,” he said.
Lenora Robinson
A newcomer to the campaign trail, Lenora Robinson, 77, says she wants to address the flooding and speeding on Edmond Street, as she sees it impacting the livelihood of residents.
“When you pass a certain age, you don’t want to be bailing out water every time you come back from vacation,” she said. “They may seem minor, but they mean a lot to people that have resided there for over 25 to 30 years.”
Robinson, a recent retiree from Harford County government, where she served as a community resource liaison, said, if elected, she’d be able to connect residents with the proper county-level resources, as needed.
Erick Stone
A lifelong resident of Aberdeen, Erick Stone, 62, decided to run for City Council because of his love for the town. Previously, he served on the Board of Appeals for the city for three years.
“I want to see the direction of our city keep the momentum and have a part in the growth,” he said.
Stone, a volunteer for the Aberdeen Fire Department, states his main focus is prioritizing public safety officials, ensuring they have adequate support, and helping to enhance the relationship between officials and the community.
As Aberdeen grows, Stone said, officials must ensure they have enough resources and adequate infrastructure that can withstand the growth.
“What we don’t want to do is fail to plan,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re on top of that.”
Tim Lindecamp
Tim Lindecamp has served on the City Council for 10 years. Helping people is the driving force behind his service, he said.
His top priorities are policing and annexation. He wants to make sure the city has enough manpower to address growth and said he thinks differently about annexation.
“If you’re going to do annexation, it’s got to be smart annexation,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve done that in the past.”
He values the historic elements of the city and would like to see them preserved through redistricting efforts.
Lindecamp, the athletic director at Aberdeen High School, adds he won’t be taking donations from anyone. He urges residents to use their vote and make their government the way they want it.
Bill Montgomery
Bill Montgomery, 63, an adjunct professor at Harford Community College and strategic adviser at Aberdeen Proving Ground, began his first term on City Council two years ago and said he would like to continue serving his community.
He said that the goal of his campaign is to encourage residents to get excited about the municipal election process.
“It’s really a healthy kind of concept that I really want to continue to transport as I continue to serve the citizens of Aberdeen,” he said.
If elected to office again, he wants to strengthen the city’s resources and public safety, economic development and enhance community engagement.
“If we’re not connecting or communicating effectively with all our citizens, we’re not reaching them and they’re not able to give us feedback,” he said. “I really want to build stronger connections between the city government and our people that we serve.”
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