As someone who has worked hard to serve this community with honesty and transparency, I’ve always believed that facts should guide our public conversations, especially during an election. That’s why I feel compelled to address several misleading and outright false claims circulating in recent campaign materials. When falsehoods are left unchallenged, it risks becoming accepted as fact. Our community deserves better. These tactics are part of an effort not to inform or unite us but to stir fear and falsely influence voters. That’s not who we are in the Town of Easton, and it’s not how we should conduct ourselves.
One candidate, Frank Gunsallus, has claimed he is the only council member in 30 years to have gone “line by line” through the town budget. That statement isn’t just misleading, it’s false and is a disservice to the many council members, past and present, who have worked diligently every year to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Every budget season involves careful review, discussion, and difficult decisions. Suggesting otherwise dismisses the thoughtful and responsible work of others who have taken that duty seriously, including myself when I served on the Council from 2009-2023.
The Inclusionary Zoning bill is still a work in progress, and no final version has been drafted. Since 2022, there have been numerous meetings and workshops with both the Town Council and Planning Commission. A dedicated task force, made up of volunteers who spent countless hours reviewing Easton’s housing needs, was appointed to offer thoughtful recommendations. That group is still finalizing its report. To claim the bill mandates high-density housing in every neighborhood is simply false and undermines the work of dozens of people trying in good faith to address a real challenge. The goal is simple: to make it possible for teachers, nurses, police officers, and others who serve our Town to actually live here. If an officer has sworn to protect and serve our town, they ought to be able to call it home.
The same flier accuses the mayor and staff of quietly ushering in development with little or no public input. That’s not only untrue, but it’s also an insult to the hardworking staff, the Planning Commission, and community members involved in every step of our public planning process. Nothing is being “snuck in.” Transparency and community input are cornerstones of how we operate. Claims to the contrary are simply false.
It’s also been claimed that I “recruited” three pro-mayor, pro-development candidates to run for Town Council. That’s false. Two of the implied candidates are already serving on the Council. One of them is running against Mr. Gunsallus not because of ideology, but out of concern over how meetings are managed, the lack of respect shown and civility, and communication breakdowns among council members. Mischaracterizing the motives of individuals who Mr. Gunsallus opposes is unfair and misleading. Voters should look for leadership that is respectful, collaborative, and able to work with others, especially when navigating difficult issues. That’s the kind of leadership Easton deserves.
It’s also been suggested that because I wasn’t born in Easton, I somehow care less or am less committed to this community. That’s not only wrong, it’s also deeply disrespectful. My husband and I moved to Easton 22 years ago for his job as a pediatrician and to be closer to his family. My work as mayor, as a former council member, and my involvement in projects like Project Idlewild, CarePacks, coaching sports, and serving on local boards and clubs, has always been about giving back to the place my husband and I chose to raise our family. And I’m far from alone. Many of the people who make meaningful contributions to Easton each day weren’t born here. What matters is not where someone started, but the heart and effort they bring to serving this town.
Easton is a town worth fighting for, not with fear or falsehoods, but with integrity, respect, and a commitment to the truth. Elections should be about ideas, accountability, and the future we want to build together, not personal attacks or misleading claims. I will continue to stand up for the facts, for our hardworking staff and volunteers, and for a community where we listen to each other even when we disagree. I encourage every voter to look past the lies, ask thoughtful questions, and choose leaders who value collaboration, honesty, and real public service.
Bob Kopec says
Great Megan!
Thanks.
Grorge Nilson says
Good for Mayor Cook
There is no place in poloyicd for false statements
Rick Hughes says
Great letter! Thank you, I could not agree more. I live in Ward 2 and received two of the falsehood-filled mailers from candidate Gunsallus yesterday. I also received 2 very similar mailers from candidate Lynn Keefe. The mailers, from both, contained much of the same misinformation and were far from the promises that these candidates made at the Election Town Hall to serve with respect and civility. These mailers confirm, for me, that Gunsallus is living up to his reputation for politically motivated confrontation, and playing loose with the truth is a non starter for me. Having laid down such a pile, how could Gunsallus expect to return to office and be respected. I did my due diligence and I will vote for Don Abbatiello and Robert Rankin – neither of whom, by the way, share my party affiliation – I am not voting a party line in this nonpartisan election.
Judith O’Neil says
Totally concur with your response! And I too will be supporting Abbatiello for Council Prez and Rankin for Ward 2 as honest, civil, non partisan folks!
Deidra Lygard says
Good on you, Mayor. Let’s keep the standards by which we live and govern high. Thank you for these clarifications.
Michael Pullen says
Maryland Judicial Case Search https://casesearch.mdcourts.gov/casesearch/ shows that on Dec. 2, 2014, Frank Lewis Gunsallus, IV (DOB 07/27/1988) was charged with Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute and other offenses, (Case No. 5I00097200) and the District Court Judge set his bail at $500,000. This is an extraordinary amount of bail and reflects the Court’s view of the seriousness of the charges, flight risk, danger to the community and other factors. Generally, bail is set at the least onerous amount to secure the defendants’ appearance in Court and protect the public safety.
Mr. Gunsallus’s case was transferred to the Circuit Court (Case No. 23-K-15-000026) because he was charged with a felony, where he pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute and was given a sentence of 5 years, 3 of which were suspended with 2 years to serve.
One may say a marijuana charge, particularly now that recreational use of marijuana is legal in Maryland, doesn’t reflect on a person’s character and that may well be true in many cases. But a $500,000 bail is serious, and reflects a serious charge, as does a 5-year sentence with 2 years to serve.
But what does reflect on a person’s character is a deliberate choice to make money by breaking the law, to believe the money is worth it, apparently a lot of money judging by the Court’s setting bail at $500,000.
Values are learned early. Money is not more valuable than integrity, or honesty, or respect. Grasping for what you want, whether it is money or power, and being willing to do whatever it takes to get it, including breaking the law, or lying, or treating others with disrespect is more than just a poor personal choice or a mistake. Easton deserves better leaders than that.
Pamela Mccloud says
Thank you for sharing this information. I note it was a 3rd degree felony committed when he was 26 and he served only 170 days. Perhaps those willing to write this off as youthful indiscretion, regardless of the seriousness of the charges, should rethink their position in light only brings into question his character and fitness for office.
Don’t believe surrogates who promote him as the embodiment of eastern shore and family values and his election as a bulwark against creeping alien values. Their ability to demonize a sizable portion of our population who contribute much to this community only alienates these voters and demeans these contributions. The use of falsehoods to discredit his opponent and other town officials only brings his character and fitness for office into qu
Don’t believe surrogates who promote him as the embodiment of easton shore and family values and his election as a bulwark against creeping alien values. Their demonizing a sizable portion of our population who contribute much to this community only alienates voters. I hope they take that into consideration when they cast their ballot. We do not need this behavior in our elections if on our elected officials.
Jim Carr says
What a great letter of response
Thx for writing about the snake within !
People like that we surely don’t want within our town government.
Michael Davis says
Thank you Ms. Cook! The lies being told by Mr. Gansallus and the people who support his election have to be called out. In 1710, Jonathan Swift wrote, “…that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work.” Speaking the truth is essential and it must be done quickly.
Clara Kelly says
If anyone doubts anything Mayor Cook has said regarding the above falsehoods, all one need do is go online to the Agendas & Meetings section of the Town of Easton’s official government website, eastonmd.gov, and peruse the minutes and/or listen to the recordings of Town Council, Commission and Board meetings dating back to 2022, when efforts regarding inclusionary zoning legislation began. In addition, because the Planning Commission thought the public’s participation is essential to the decision-making process, an unattaintable, attainable, affordable, missing middle, inclusionary (too many synonyms) task force was formed in 2024 consisting of “18 diverse members [of the Easton community]…[which] aims to craft a comprehensive housing strategy. This includes exploring land use policies, regulatory changes, and potential funding sources to boost affordable housing production.” https://talbotspy.org/eastons-housing-task-force-a-chat-with-eedcs-holly-dekarske-and-toes-miguel-salinas/
It’s all there online. All any voter needs do is take the time to compare what is on the Town’s official website to what appears on candidate flyers, mailers, posters and billboards. I did. It’s the least we can do considering whoever is elected President of the Town Council and Council persons for Wards 2 and 4 will be expected to work for and represent the interests of all of our community for the next 4 years.
Heather Grant says
Thank you for your leadership and honesty, Megan. We are lucky to have you as our Mayor.
Darrell Parsons says
I don’t live in Easton proper but spend most of my time in the city limits. I won’t be voting in the election because I’m outside the city limits. But what Ms Cook writes is important for all of us in “greater” Easton. Lies and misrepresentations don’t pay attention to city borders. One supporter of Mr. Gunsallus recently wrote that we who have come here lately have come to “escape the violence and taxes” of the city, and that we are somehow not in accordance with the small town atmosphere and the family values of Easton. The kind of rhetoric Gunsallus’s supporters are using is simply an attempt to stoke anger among those who are willing to believe his campaign’s half-truths, untruths and misrepresentations. I’m grateful to the mayor for speaking up.
Margot Weiss McClellan says
Thank you, Mayor Cook, for having the courage to speak the truth. You are right, the people of our town deserve better than a person who would lie, deceive, and use fear in order to win an election. .
Lance Simon says
It takes strength and courage to write a letter such as this, Mayor. You are not speaking as a partisan, but as a citizen and patriot.
I believe it’s critical that we do everything possible to keep partisanship out of our Town’s government. I realize some people say that’s impossible, but I think it’s worth the effort.
Brave letters such as this give me hope that we can together focus on the civic values that make the Town of Easton such a great place to live.
Jon Powers says
Mayor Cook: Well put letter. While I am a citizen of Saint Michaels I follow Easton politics from afar.Looks a little messy lately. Hope the trend does not continue.
Jon Powers
Saint Michaels
.
Vickie Wilson says
Thanks, Mayor Cook, for speaking boldly on this. Easton does not need divisiveness . Civility is on the line.
Chad Hill says
I agree with Vickie Wilson.
Civility is on the line — it’s the central theme of this election. We need decency over division. Easton citizens are tired of the rancor, acrimony, and misinformation. I count myself among them.
I was particularly struck by Gunsallus calling Mayor Cook an “out-of-town mayor.” This attack not only ignores her decades of service and her deep contributions to our community — it insults the intelligence of voters who know better. It’s a last-minute appeal that feels primitive and tribalistic. It’s jarringly superficial, even childish — and not befitting of a leader.
Ironically, I believe the objective of the mailers being sent across Easton will backfire — and instead energize support for candidates who stand for something better. Momentum behind Abbatiello, Davis, and Rankin is unmistakable — and now at its peak.
Let’s turn away from smear campaigns and toward leadership that listens and unites. Easton deserves nothing less.
Chad Hill
Easton
Samantha Bobbick says
Thank you, Mayor for this important information and your transparency.
Anna Maria Mallin says
Thank you Megan Cook for your service to our wonderful town, I have known you to be a committed, caring and honest person in all aspects of your life professionally and personally. I did see Mr. Gunsallus ads- very happy that you took the time to address each false statement. It has just solidifies my choice for the next town council president,Don
Abbatiello.
Larry Pifer says
As Easton voters we all need to listen to what the mayor says. She is right! We have only one choice to vote for Don Abbatiello.
Abby Lewis says
Thank you, Mayor Cook for taking the time to dispute the content in those garbage mailings. They’re reminiscent of mailings sent during our last election to try to discredit and abase former Mayor Willey.
To hide behind those lies and false innuendos is indicative of the man Frank Gunsallus is and the person(s) hiding behind funding them.
Steve Cades says
Ms Lewis’s last line is interesting. Mr. Gunsallus has said that his campaign funds come from himself and a few good friends, and that he has posted his funding on the state’s election website. I have been unable to find the latter, and I do wonder: are those funds from family and friends sufficient to pay for the numerous very large campaign signs which are displayed surprisingly far beyond the town’s borders. Bluntly, who is funding Mr. Gunsallus’s campaign. Folks from outside our town? Why? What’s in it for them?
Dick Deerin says
Great letter. Thank you.
Jamie Garner says
Madam Mayor, In the current federal political arena, where lies, if repeated often are accepted as truth, we at the lower levels of power, often feel helpless. We can fight at these “lower levels” with pushback like yours. I sat through the Spy/Avalon panel discussion. Wondering what all of the discussion was about civility – now I understand.
Thank you for standing firm!
Jamie Garner
Jay Corvan says
Terrific letter. Mayor cook is a terrific leader and an example for all to appreciate her ability to look
Beyond the day to day workings of city administration to build toward a community consensus mayor cook operates from a belief that good city government continually finds ways to improve itself. These are not her own ideas , but she clears a way for the community and its many volunteers to
Build upon itself.
Stoking infighting and deliberate sidemanship is the enemy of community building. The “come here’s “ and the “ been here’s “ cannot afford for this small Minded controversy to continue. It fully risks our community being compromised by profiteers and hostile city administrators. We are better than this even though we have to remind ourselves all the time. Great things are coming for Easton because of its community spirit.
Bob Greenlee says
I take seriously, and absolutely rely on, the words of Megan Cook and Maureen Curry. There is also something to be said about a man who likely drives a high-profile sports car because his capabilities are just not up to snuff. As a community, we should not give this man as much credibility as these letters suggest.
Grace Soltis says
Thank you mayor Cook for this thoughtful and thorough clarification. Malicious misinformation should never be allowed to go unexposed. Shining light on the facts is always helpful, both before and after elections take place.