MENU

Sections

More

October 17, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News Maryland News

Cambridge City Manager Will Not Seek Contract Renewal

by

City Manager Patrick Comiskey has declined to seek renewal of his employment contract following the current contract’s expiration on July 31.

Comiskey, who was hired following a search in 2018, is Cambridge’s second city manager, having served in that role for
three years. Comiskey’s time as city manager has seen many transitions for Cambridge, with development and growth occurring across the city, according to a press release from the city.

“I wish Patrick, his wife Jane, and their beautiful dog Weaver all the best in the next phase of Patrick’s career,” Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw said in the statement. “The care they all have shown for the City of Cambridge, and their work to make this city a better place to call home cannot be overstated. Patrick’s good-heartedness and genuine love for others makes him the kind of public servant that is an asset anywhere he goes.”

According to the press release, city commissioners issued the following statements about Comiskey’s decision:

Ward 1 Commissioner Brian Roche — “I’ve appreciated Mr. Comiskey’s service and assistance while Cambridge continues to go through inevitable growing pains of the early stages of our professionally managed form of government.”

Commission President Lajan Cephas (Ward 2) — “We must remember that at the completion of each lap, the city commission did not run the race alone. Mr. Comiskey, thank you for the contributions you and your wife Jane has provided to the city of Cambridge.”

Ward 3 Commissioner Jameson Harrington — “It was always a pleasure to see Mr. Comiskey out at the many local events and businesses in Cambridge. It was nice to have a city manager involved with the local community.”

Ward 4 Commissioner Sputty Cephas — “Mr. Comiskey, thank you for time and commitment to the City of Cambridge. Best wishes on your future endeavors. Continue to share your knowledge and skillsets.”

Ward 5 Commissioner Chad Malkus — “I want to wish Patrick all the best in his future endeavors and to thank him for the great work he did over the past few years. I look forward to the hiring process for a new city manager, and my hope is that we can hire someone with equally extensive municipal experience and knowledge of strong fiscal governance.”

The Mayor and Commissioners of Cambridge will discuss the city manager vacancy at an upcoming meeting in July.

A review of requirements will occur with regard to naming an interim city manager, as well as requirements for search committee members for the hiring of a permanent city manager.

Easton Council OKs Mail-in Ballots for Town Elections

by

The town council voted unanimously Monday night to allow mail-in ballots for town elections.

Ordinance 758 amends the town’s code to allow any qualified town voter to vote by absentee ballot rather than in person. The current code limits absentee ballots to those who may be absent for any reason from the town on any election day, or who may be unable to vote due to illness, disability, or emergency reason.

All five members of the Easton town council voted in favor of the ordinance after a March 15 public hearing. Easton Mayor Robert Willey signed the ordinance that night and it becomes effective April 4, in time for the town’s regular May election.

The new law requires an application for an absentee ballot to be submitted to the town clerk no later than the Tuesday preceding a town election.

Completed absentee ballots must be received by the town by mail or in person by 8 p.m. on election day in order to be counted.

Regular town elections are held every two years on the first Monday in May. This year’s election will be for council president and for council members for the second and fourth wards.

Easton Ordinance 758 Absentee Ballots

Bradshaw Earns Decisive Victory in Cambridge Mayoral Runoff as City Votes for Change

by

The City of Cambridge likely will have an entirely new elected government as voters chose a new mayor and the challenger leads the remaining incumbent in Ward 2.

Andrew Bradshaw handily defeated longtime Cambridge Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Bradshaw won by nearly 15 percentage points, earning 1,643 votes (57.41%) to 1,219 (42.59%) for Jackson-Stanley.

The two were the top vote-getters in the city’s Oct. 17 mayoral election, but neither topped the required 50%+1 and so faced each other in the Dec. 1 runoff.

Jackson-Stanley’s support in the runoff was largely unchanged from the initial round of voting six weeks ago, while Bradshaw appears to have picked up most of the votes of the other two mayoral challengers.

On Oct. 17, the incumbent mayor got 40.62% of the vote (1,197 votes), Bradshaw had 27.79%, La-Shon Banks Foster had 19.27%, and Robert S. Larimer had 12.32%.

Only a handful of votes separate the candidates in the two city commissioner races that also required runoff elections.

It was unclear at presstime Wednesday whether there were any provisional ballots remaining to be counted. During the Oct. 17 election, there were only four provisional ballots counted in Ward 2 and three in Ward 3.

Incumbent Ward 2 Commissioner Donald Sydnor is down by five votes to challenger Lajan Natasha Cephas.

Cephas has 223 votes (50.57%) to 218 (49.43%) for Sydnor.

Lajan Cephas, in an interview before the election, said Cambridge has “can do better” and she wanted to be part of the solution to do so.

The Oct. 17 results had Sydnor with 38.84% to 30.28% for Lajan Cephas (30.28%). Paul F. Baiers Jr. had 16.93% of the vote and Tyzann Meekins had 13.94%.

In Ward 3, Jameson Harrington is leading Gary T. Gordy by six votes.

Harrington had 216 votes (50.7%) to 210 (49.3%) for Gordy.

Harrington, in an interview before the election, said he wanted to help the city grow “and take advantage of all the great potential we have here in Cambridge.”

Gordy had 39.24% of the vote on Oct. 17 to 30.59% for Harrington, who barely edged out Duane Farrow (30.17%) by two votes to go on to the runoff election.

Lajan Cephas and Harrington will join Brian Roche (Ward 1), Sputty Cephas (Ward 4), and Chad Malkus (Ward 5) on the city commission.

During the Oct. 17 election, Roche garnered 61.59% of the vote in Ward 1, defeating two other candidates; Sputty Cephas defeated Ward 4 incumbent Dave Cannon by 13 votes (51.14% to 48.86%); and Malkus was unopposed in Ward 5.

Incumbent Ward 3 Commissioner La-Shon Foster ran for mayor rather than seeking re-election. Ward 1 Commissioner Stephen Rideout and Ward 5 Commssioner Robert Hanson did not seek re-election.

Mayor, Ward 2, and Ward 3 Races in Cambridge Head to Dec. 1 Run-Off Elections

by

Roche earns Ward 1 seat, Cephas wins in Ward 4, Malkus unopposed in Ward 5

Cambridge Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley will face Andrew Bradshaw in a Dec. 1 run-off election.

The incumbent mayor got 40.62% of the vote on Oct. 17, Bradshaw had 27.79%, La-Shon Banks Foster had 19.27%, and Robert S. Larimer had 12.32%.

Since no mayoral candidate won 50%+1 of the vote in the first round, the two candidates with the highest vote counts move on to the run-off election. The same process occurred in Wards 2 and 3.

In Ward 2, incumbent Commissioner Donald Sydnor (38.84%) will face Lajan Natasha Cephas (30.28%) in the run-off election. Paul F. Baiers Jr. had 16.93% of the vote and Tyzann Meekins had 13.94%.

In Ward 3, Gary T. Gordy (39.24%) and Jameson Harrington (30.59%) move on to the run-off election. Harrington barely edged out Duane Farrow, who had 30.17% of the vote. Harrington had 144 votes to 142 for Farrow.

Brian Roche, with 61.59% of the vote, was elected commissioner in Ward 1. Sharon B. Smith had 26.81% and Tom Bradley had 11.59%.

With only two candidates in Ward 4, Sputty Cephas (51.14%) narrowly defeated incumbent Dave Cannon (48.86%).

Chad Malkus was unopposed in Ward 5.

Election officials verified the results of the Saturday election on Monday, beginning the process at 10 a.m.

The Dec. 1 run-off election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chesapeake College center in downtown Cambridge. It will be a mail-in election, with all previously registered voters being mailed a ballot during the first week of November. Voted ballots may be returned by mail or dropped off on Dec. 1 at Chesapeake College.

City Manager Patrick Comiskey will discuss the election at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21. View the program here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTChlDYAnxg

Half of Cambridge Races Headed to Dec. 1 Run-off Elections

by

Mayor, Ward 2, Ward 3 choices will be narrowed to two

Preliminary results released Saturday night in the Cambridge city election show two clear winners in the six races. Three races will be decided in Dec. 1 run-off elections.

In the mayoral race, incumbent Victoria Jackson-Stanley leads with 40.59% of the vote.

With more than two candidates in the race, a candidate needed to have more than 50 percent of the vote to win during the Oct. 17 election. Otherwise, the top two candidates will face voters again on Dec. 1.

Preliminary results in the Oct. 17 Cambridge municipal election are seen in this printout. City of Cambridge Facebook post

Jackson-Stanley will face Andrew Bradshaw on Dec. 1. Bradshaw had 27.83% of the vote in the mayoral race, followed by 19.22% for La-Shon Banks-Foster, and 12.35% for Robert S. Larimer.

In Ward 1, Brian Roche had 61.55% of the vote and has won the seat in the first round of voting. Sharon B. Smith had 26.84% and Tom Bradley had 11.61%.

Incumbent Ward 2 Commissioner Donald Sydnor (39.16%) will face challenger Lajan Natasha Cepas (29.92%) on Dec. 1. They were trailed by Paul F. Baiers Jr. (16.87%) and Tyzann Meekins (14.06%).

In the Ward 3 race, Gary T. Gordy (39.28%) will move on to the Dec. 1 election, but his likely opponent is too close to call. Jameson Harrington had 30.57% of the vote in the preliminary Oct. 17 count, while Duane Farrow had 30.15%.

The Ward 4 race also is too close to call. Sputty Cephas is leading with 51.14% of the vote to 48.86% for incumbent Dave Cannon.

An earlier count, posted to Facebook by mayoral candidate Robert S. Larimer, had Cannon at 50.10% and Cephas at 49.90%. The timestamp on the preliminary results from the voting machine posted by Larimer was 11:11 p.m.; the timestamp on the results posted by the city was 11:33 p.m.

Chad Malkus ran unopposed in Ward 5 and was elected commissioner for that ward.

Cambridge officials, in a Saturday night Facebook post, said the results will be certified at 10 a.m. Monday.

The city also noted that 2,939 people voted in the mayoral race and 2,787 in the five commissioner races, more than tripling the turnout from the 2016 city election.

Cambridge Voters Go to Polls Saturday to Elect Mayor, Commissioners

by

Cambridge voters will cast ballots Saturday for the mayor and all five council members.

The election is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Chesapeake College Cambridge Center, 416 Race St.; parking is available in the back.

All but one seat is contested in Saturday’s election, with several races having multiple candidates.

Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley is seeking re-election to her post and is being challenged by Third Ward Commissioner La-Shon Banks-Foster, Andrew Bradshaw, and Robert S. Larimer.

Three people are vying for the Ward 1 seat currently held by Stephen Rideout. The candidates are Tom Bradley, Brian Roche, and Sharon B. Smith.

In Ward 2, Commissioner Donald Sydnor is seeking re-election to a third full term. His challengers are Paul F. Baiers Jr., Lajan Natasha Cephas, and Tyzann Meekins.

With Banks-Foster running for mayor, three candidates are trying to fill her Ward 3 seat: Duane Farrow, Gary T. Gordy, and Jameson Harrington.

Ward 4 Commissioner Dave Cannon is being challenged by Sputty Cephas.

Chad Malkus is unopposed for the Ward 5 seat.