Monday, October 31, 2011
Mike Sarich is asking the state's Attorney General's Office to intervene after anonymous campaign literature circulates to Laurel voters.
A Laurel mayoral candidate is asking the state attorney general to investigate anonymous campaign literature that began circulating to voters in the City of Laurel late last week. The material was sent out to registered voters throughout the city and was produced by “17 City of Laurel taxpayers who never cheated on their taxes….” Titled “Smoke and Mirrors- A Novel,” the literature slams Mike Sarich’s bid for mayoral office. According to the state Board of Elections, a political group or campaign circulating ballots and material must be registered with the board, though it remains unclear if the 17 individuals can be considered a political group or campaign. Messages left for a spokesman at the state’s attorney general’s office were not …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Incumbents named on Laurel Leader endorsement list.
Incumbent candidates vying to remain in office after the Nov. 1 Laurel election won the backing of the Laurel Leader, which announced its electoral endorsements Wednesday. Mayor Craig Moe and Council President Michael Leszcz prevailed against their respective challengers--Mike Sarich, Valerie Cunningham, both fellow mayoral candidates, and Adrian Rousseau, an at-large candidate for city council. Councilwoman Valerie Nicholas, who replaced Gayle Snyder on the council during the summer, received a pass from the Leader as well as Hayes Edward Ricks. Both are running unopposed. Ward 2 council members Frederick Smalls and Donna Crary, who are also running unopposed, received backing from the Leader as well. The 2011 election cycle has been the…
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Candidates report that sign theft is a growing problem.
Laurel Police have charged a Connecticut man in the theft of a political sign--a growing problem in the city as the Nov. 1 election draws closer, police and candidates say. According to the police report, the incident occurred Oct. 6 shortly after 8:30 p.m. at the Tampico Grill along the 40 block of Washington Boulevard. A code enforcement officer for the city reported that he witnessed Orlando Abreu, 34, of New Britain, CT, remove a political sign from in front of the restaurant. The sign was in support of mayoral candidate Mike Sarich, according to the police report. Abreu told police that he was standing outside the restaurant with friends when he was approached by two females, whom the report identified as city employees. He told …
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Laurel Mayor Craig Moe outmaneuvers political foe, council president fails to rally support in endorsement showdown.
Mayor Craig Moe has captured an endorsement from the union representing Laurel Police, but the union did not endorse a candidate for the at-large council seat. Members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 11, a union representing the Laurel Police Department, voted late Monday to endorse the majority of incumbents seeking re-election for mayor and city council Nov. 1. Moe received a confidence vote from the union, besting his challengers Mike Sarich and Valerie Cunningham. While Moe and Sarich took verbal swipes at each other during a Monday candidate forum held by the union, Lodge President Jesse Conyngham said that Moe’s record with Laurel Police gave him the edge. He added that Sarich wasn’t able to convince union members that he …
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Moe spars with challengers on police pension, union issues.
Incumbent candidates clashed with their challenger rivals on funding and pension for Laurel Police during a candidate forum designed to win endorsements from the unionized police force. Seven candidates, excluding Ward 2 candidate Fred Smalls and mayoral hopeful Valerie Cunningham, turned out for the Monday night event hosted by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 11, a union for the 67 members of the Laurel Police Department. Lodge members focused their questions on pay raises for Laurel Police, collective bargaining for officers, and increases to the pension funds. Addressing a crowd of more than 20 officers, Moe defended his record of funding the police force, reminding the union that collective bargaining, which would allow officers …
Financial records indicate candidates faced thousands of dollars in tax liens and a foreclosure.
Two of the three candidates on the ballot in the race for mayor of Laurel have conceded they faced personal financial problems ranging from an income tax dispute and a property lien to a home foreclosure. Over the weekend, Patch readers took to the comments section to discuss court records indicating that mayoral candidate Mike Sarich had a more than $52,000 lien placed against his Laurel home earlier this year and fellow candidate Valerie Cunningham was facing foreclosure on her home. Sarich told Laurel Patch that the dispute was a years-long disagreement with the state over income taxes. According to court records, Sarich, who has previously owned or managed pool companies, also had a lien totaling more than $2,000 placed against him …
John S
5:31 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/howard/publications/laurel-leader/ph-ll-citybriefs-committee-20120530,0,1847097.story Linked to above is a Laurel Leader May 30, 2012 story on Laurel's "Census and Ward Boundary Review Ad Hoc Committee, which held its first meeting May 29." Most noteworthy for me is that G. Rick Wilson was named to represent Ward 1 residents of Laurel for this committee. Former… more ›