Politics & Government

City Council Sworn In For 4 More Years

Mayor Michael Bennett and the incumbent council members will continue to govern Aberdeen for four more years.

It's official.

Mayor Michael Bennett and the four incumbent City Council members took the oath of office on Monday night and will continue to set the political agenda for Aberdeen for four more years.

Before the swearing in ceremony, Aberdeen City Clerk Monica Correll read Bennett beat Republican challenger Patrick McGrady by 25 votes. There were 1,507 total voters, generating a turnout rate of 19 percent, 3 percent less than the 2009 Aberdeen municipal election.

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"I can't thank you enough for the shoe leather you used and the time and energy you put out," Bennett said after taking the oath.

With the election behind him, Bennett said that he is considering advice from attorneys on whether to take legal action against McGrady for defamation. McGrady filed a successful ethics complaint against Bennett for going on a Ripken Baseball-paid trip to Augusta, GA, to speak to that city's rotary club about Aberdeen's relationship with the Ripken Baseball group. for failing to give him a hearing about McGrady's complaint.

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"Thanks to voters who came out. I know at times this was not particulary a nice time for a lot of us to deal with, but we got through and we'll move forward and continue to do things that make this what I believe is one of the greatest municipalities in the state," Bennett said

James J. Reilly, clerk of the Harford County Circuit Court, administered the oath for council members Ruth Elliott, Sandra Landbeck, Ruth Ann Young and Bruce Garner. Bennett took the oath separately.

Each council member talked about being reelected before the ceremony ended.

"I've never been a rubber stamp, and I won't stop now," Elliott, who received the most votes of all the candidates, said during her statement. She also thanked her husband for his support for the last 18 years she has served as a politician.

Stating her excitement for the years ahead, Landbeck talked about the new branding on the DPW trucks, a sun sitting on the horizon.

"I want you to know it's a rising sun and not a setting sun," said Landbeck, whose husband and family were in attendance.

Young asked for more engagement from the community.

"I view it as a shared responsibility because not everything is done on our part. We want you to join in on that responsibility of staying informed," Young said.

After thanking his wife for her support, Garner had a similar message for the community, but also said it was the council's job to get information to the community.

"We need as a council to get out more news to the public," Garner said. "There is total transparency as far as I've seen the last two years. It's your city. It's your community. Help us run it."

The next City Council meeting will be Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.


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