Annapolis Election Investigation

On Monday, the Capital reported that the City Election Board is calling two prominent Democratic activists and a Democratic Alderman-elect to appear before it on Wednesday.

Steve Carr and Chuck Weikel, both campaign staffers for Mayor Moyer, and Sam Shropshire, the candidate elected to fill Mike Fox's seat in Ward 7 have been asked to appear before the Board to get their side in election-related complaints that were filed against them.

Debbie McKerrow (D), the losing candidate in Ward 2, complained that Carr had taken part in an absentee ballot drive that overwhelmed city elections officials before the election [UPDATE: According to an e-mail from Ms. McKerrow to the author of the Capital article, she was not the individual who filed the complaint against Mr. Carr]. Laura Townsend (R), the losing candidate in Ward 7, accused Weikel of allegedly leaving a threatening message on her answering machine regarding the placement of a campaign sign. The Board apparently also has questions about Wiekel's involvement in a flier criticizing Gil Renaut's (I) positions on parking during the campaign.

The complaint against Shropshire was filed by a resident who said campaign workers placed yard signs on his property without his permission. Carr has said he won't attend the hearing, Weikel is consulting a lawyer, and Shropshire has declared his intention to attend.

Certainly, it will be interesting to hear what transpires on Wednesday, but incidents like Shropshire's are fairly common occurrences in the waning days of campaigns. Often, overzealous campaign workers will stick signs wherever they think they will be seen, sometimes failing to ask permission. My advice in that situation: Take down the sign and put it in your trash. If it happens again, call the campaign and complain.

The Weikel and Carr complaints are more involved, and I look forward to hearing more about each, particularly the absentee ballot accusation. I'll keep you posted.