Over the years, we on the Shore have worked hard to bring this region out of its slave holding history. Yet, recently, I received a contentious e-mail that had been circulated within Talbot County promoting a Republican fundraiser and support for the re-election campaign of the Republican candidate for Easton Town Council President. While the goal of the message was to fundraise, sadly, the appeal’s undertone suggests denying minorities the opportunity to take part in the American dream of owning a home.

The messaging suggests that electing the Republican candidate would prevent increases in “section-8 housing” and “inclusive zoning,” which would cause “property values to plummet”—first in the town of Easton and then in Talbot County. 

In the past, these were the same justifications for including covenants in deeds that forbade transferring a property to a “colored person” or a Jewish person. This race-baiting and fear-mongering sentiment in the email is right out of a playbook from the Jim Crow South. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made these strategies illegal. 

Inclusive zoning aims to provide affordable housing to a variety of community members. Easton’s inclusive housing program, supported by Easton Mayor Megan Cook, is designed to provide affordable homes for our teachers, first responders, hospital workers, and others who are priced out of housing in Easton and Talbot County. I doubt having these folks as neighbors will drive down home values. 

Messaging that encourages the support of a particular candidate for Easton Town President to avoid inclusive housing divides our community along racial lines, and should not be tolerated by anyone, regardless of political affiliation. 

Richard O’Brien
Talbot County

Don Abbatiello and I have something in common: We are both teachers. Have you ever wondered what makes someone a good teacher? I have observed some qualities. An effective teacher is a good leader. They collaborate with coworkers and supervisors, plan and prepare thoroughly, listen thoughtfully to students, staff, parents, and the community, stay organized, and manage responsibilities skillfully. Don Abbatiello has consistently demonstrated all these qualities.

Now, Don Abbatiello is running for the very important office of the President of the Town Council of Easton. The President of the Council sets the agenda and runs the meetings to keep the town moving forward.  The President of the Town Council also sets the tone for how important citizen input is welcomed and addressed.  The role requires diplomacy, patience, and integrity, all qualities Don Abbatiello possesses.

Don has an impressive resume. His 27 years as an educator, 6-year history on the Easton Town Council, and 16 years of service to the Easton Volunteer Fire Company make him uniquely qualified for this position. His deep commitment to our community is evident in everything he does.

I wholeheartedly endorse Don Abbatielllo for the very important position of the President of the Town of Easton. I will vote on May 6 at the Easton Fire House as I look forward to Easton’s positive future.

Peggy Ford
Easton 

On Saturday, March 22nd, 800 people filled the Mace Lane Middle School in Cambridge to capacity for a Town Hall to discuss President Trump’s policies and District 1 Representative Andy Harris’ role in supporting them.  Harris was invited but refused to attend, leading to the placement of a large milk carton on the stage with ‘MIA” and “Missing” in large letters. Throughout the meeting Representative Harris was referred to as “AWOL Andy.”

Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, Congressman from Maryland’s District 8, replaced the absent Harris.  Raskin, a former law professor who was elected in 2017, focused his comments on the unconstitutionality of Trump’s actions attempting to dismantle federal agencies and programs.  Citing the language of the Constitution verbatim from memory, he took the audience through Articles I through III of the Constitution that specify the powers of Congress, the Executive, and the Courts.  He summarized his discussion by noting that the Congress enacts laws and funds programs, whereas it is the Executive’s responsibility to implement them.

Raskin also reiterated the recent warning from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts that, if disagreeing with a court’s decision, the proper course of action is to appeal that decision and not call for a judge’s impeachment.  While Roberts did not name the President, it was clearly in response to Trump’s earlier call for the impeachment of US District Judge James Boasberg, who had issued a temporary injunction to halt the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members.  

When citizens in the Town hall rose to ask questions, there was a considerable amount of ridiculing of Representative Harris’ claims that he did not want to attend these kinds of meetings because the Democratic Party was busing in paid, out-of-area protesters to disrupt them.  When people attending the event asked questions, most of them identified where they lived in District 1 and what their professions were.  Many of these individuals asked what ordinary people could do to halt what they characterized as the President’s unconstitutional actions.  Representative Raskin responded that it was important to attend public events such as this meeting as well as look to electing more responsive legislators in the 2026 elections.  

Representative Raskin’s presentation and responses to questions were widely applauded during the meeting.  He was awarded numerous standing ovations throughout the event, and was asked by some participants whether he would be willing to run to be the District 1 Representative or even President in the future.  Raskin jokingly responded he would do anything to further the cause of democracy in America.

The event was sponsored by Cambridge Indivisible.  At the conclusion of the meeting, they indicated a March on Washington DC was planned for April 5th on the Washington Monument grounds.  The “Hands Off” march is being orgnized by the national Indivisible organization with other organizations (such as The Women’s March) also planning to rally that day.      

Wilson Dean
Oxford

With a wealth of community service behind him, Don Abbatiello wants to continue his contribution to Easton as President of the Easton Town Council.  Serving on the council for five years as the representative of Ward 2,  he has a reputation for listening, researching, and doing what is best for all citizens of Easton.  Don is also the candidate who has neither questionable background nor a hidden agenda.

Don has been an active member of the Easton Volunteer Fire Department for 16 years, holding leadership and administrative positions. Don knows what it is to be an active contributor to the community and to put his life on the line for Easton.

The Affordable Housing Board has also benefitted by Don’s participation.  As in most communities, affordable housing is an problem, but Don does not want to have uncontrolled development. He seeks a balance in this issue, and knows it needs to be addressed.

Don is a high school history teacher in Wicomico County Public Schools where he has taught for 27 years.  Teaching history to high schoolers demands nurturing critical thinking skills and teaching students to research facts to support their ideas and opinions. Don brings these same finely honed skills to his work on the council, looking at both sides of issues that come before it.  

As President of the Easton Town Council, Don has four main areas of focus:

Fiscal Responsibility:  using funds available in the most responsible way so as not to raise property taxes unnecessarily.

Smart Development: looking at how projects are approved and getting the town council more involved in their approval.  Finishing the update of the 2010 comprehensive plan.

Safety: making sure the fire and police are fully funded to serve Easton’s citizens

Civility: continuing to stress that, “Council members can disagree without being disagreeable.”

When you vote on May 6th, cast a vote for Don Abbatiello for Easton Town Council President.
Don is an experienced, level-headed council member who will represent all residents fairly.

For more information: https://www.donforeaston.org/

Barbara Weingarden
Easton

On March 6th, we joined 300+ of our friends and neighbors in a protest outside of the Tidewater Inn in Easton, where Rep. Andy Harris was having a fundraising event. Last night, March 13th, another protest greeted Rep. Harris on Route 50 in Cambridge, at the entrance to the Hyatt. Protesters gathered to show Mr. Harris that we aren’t happy with him, to encourage a Town Hall and to shine a big, bright light on the many, many terrible things coming out of DOGE and the Trump administration.

At the Cambridge event, Mr. Harris was asked about the protests, two in a week, and he reached into the old bag of tricks and said that he didn’t believe that those gathered were constituents, that he believed many were bused in and paid $40 for participating. That’s a golden oldie! When asked for the source of that information, he simply said that he learned it “from someone in DC who knows”.

For the record, hundreds of us from Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline, Kent, and Queen Annes gathered days earlier to prepare.  I spotted no buses and no paid actors. It’s a tired old ruse to say that protesters are bused in. Also, during the Q&A, Harris said that his primary job is to further President Trump’s agenda, not to represent his constituents or to protect the Constitution, but to do the bidding of the POTUS. Funny, I thought that Harris AND the POTUS work for We The People. Another questioner asked Harris about his recent statements declaring Russia a US enemy and how that jives with mixed signals coming from the White House. Harris became a little combative and asked the questioner if she believed what she’d heard the president say when he said that Russia didn’t attack/invade Ukraine… he asked, “Do you believe everything the President says? Do you believe him just because he said it?”.

Oh boy, I wish Andy had asked me that question! TOWN HALL NOW!

Rick Hughes
Easton

It’s hard to believe five years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic and the loss of John Ford, my husband and then President of the Easton Town Council in 2020—and how much has changed since then.

This past February, on the anniversary of his death, I found myself smiling as I remembered watching “John Ford TV,” as our family jokingly called the Easton Town Council meeting nights, broadcast on the local cable channel. I recalled, with fondness, his kindness and attentiveness as he actively listened to the voices of our citizens.

 Looking back at the February 2020 articles in the Star Democrat and the Talbot Spy about John gave me hope. Pete Lesher worked with John at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and later served alongside him on the Easton Town Council; he said, “He coached me and provided a compassionate model of supervising people.” Lesher shared that Ford’s leadership was rooted in three principles: “He thought everyone deserved respect, deserved to be heard, and deserved to be given straight answers.”

Rich Scofield, who also worked with John at the museum, said, “He was extremely important to the Town of Easton. His integrity, his honesty, his ability to listen and to make a measured decision—those are rare qualities.”

Ron Engle, who served with John on the Town Council, said Ford had a unique ability to foster cooperation and compromise. As the Talbot Spy wrote, Ford inspired friendship and respect. He was a thoughtful listener. His decisions were deliberative and sensible. As a public official navigating diverse opinions and complex issues, he had a rare talent for building consensus. In his quiet, reserved way, he was remarkably effective.

In these tumultuous times, when everything seems to be shifting, these are qualities we can hold onto and practice every day: show respect, listen well, pause, and respond rather than react.

I have hope that soon we will see more of this spirit in our Town and in our nation.

Peggy Ford
Easton 

Recently, as I was sorting through papers I have kept over the years, I came across a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer that I had written on March 30, 1982; of course, I was much younger then. I had attended a peaceful protest march to Stop the Nuclear Arms Race.  There were two images I particularly carried with me from that experience.  I still do.

(Quoting from that letter) “The first is the image of the middle of the road.  With police and courteous drivers granting us the right of way, we walked literally down the middle of the roads leading from our meeting places to Independence Hall, over 15,000 people joined in a cause neither radical nor reactionary, but reasonable, logical, right and absolutely necessary.”

“The second is the image of the lighted candle.  In the cold night with a chill wind blowing, one has to be alert and active to keep one’s candle burning.  Mine went out several times, but when mine went out the candle of the person next to me seemed to stay lit.  Someone’s candle always re-lit mine, and I had chances to re-light others’ too.”  

 We are all older now, and the issues are surely different, however some seem equally dangerous.  The United States of America must not desert Ukraine and our allies in the free world.  In my opinion, that would be unprincipled, even immoral and extremely ill-advised for the sake of our own nation.  Again, quoting from the letter, “I hope and pray our political, intellectual, scientific, social and religious leaders will put their enormous energies into finding a way that will not embrace the extreme . . . but will find a way for peace with justice.”  I believe that is what the great majority of citizens in our country want, and it is our duty to say so.  

As someone who sometimes finds it hard to keep one candle lit, I think I must try harder.  If this letter has re-lit anyone else’s candle, I am glad.  

Patricia Bradley
Easton

David Reel’s recent articles about President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) miss some important constitutional problems. None of us know exactly how the Supreme Court will rule on DOGE, but it clearly undermines the balance of power between the branches of government. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to create and fund government agencies — not the president. Letting the president restructure or close agencies without Congress’s approval takes away power from Congress and weakens the system of checks and balances that protects our democracy.

What makes this even more troubling is that Trump doesn’t need to bypass Congress. He has a majority in both the House and the Senate. If Trump wants to restructure the government, he could go through Congress and follow the constitutional process. But instead, DOGE allows him to act unilaterally, cutting Congress out of decisions that should involve all three branches of government. That’s a dangerous step toward giving too much power to the executive branch.

Making the government more efficient is important — but it must be done in a way that respects the Constitution and preserves the balance of power.

Sarah Gavian
Cambridge