La Plata, MD – The non-incumbent candidates for mayor and town council promised “A New Day for La Plata” and Tuesday, May 2, they delivered on that promise across the board, as citizens elected new leaders for the municipality in a sweeping upset.
“We had no idea what to expect,” admitted new Mayor Jeanine James. “Toward the end of the day we were getting a pretty good hint, but really, we had no idea.”
James said that extending the voting hours to 8 p.m. may have made a difference.
“We had somewhere around 325 to 350 people who had voted before noon and there were only 412 people who voted in the last election, so that was very telling,” she said.
James beat rival Lynn Gilroy 563 votes to 440. More than 1,000 residents turned out to vote this year.
The new town council will be made up of Matt Simpson, who bested Ward I incumbent Wayne Winkler 621-369; Brent Finagin, who ousted Keith Back 567-415 in Ward II; and Emily Mudd Hendricks who won the only non-incumbent seat on the council over Timothy Giles 622-353.
The biggest surprise probably came in the Ward IV race, where longtime councilmember and former mayor Joseph Norris lost his seat to Paddy Mudd by a 548-448 tally.
The new officials will be sworn in to office Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m. and then will begin the process of learning to govern. Few if any of the new councilmembers or mayor have previous governing experience. La Plata Town Manager Daniel Mears said the new councilmembers and mayor will attend municipal training to help guide them toward their new roles.
“We have a program to provide orientation for new officials,” Mears said. “The Maryland Municipal League has a variety of educational programs for new officials in June, which in our case is conveniently timed.
“This happens every primary election,” he admitted. “Once you’re sworn in, you’re governing.”
He added that after the swearing in ceremony scheduled for May 8, the mayor and council will begin the process of determining which board and commission appointments they will become involved in from design review plans, parks and other segments of town government.
James said a “face-to-face” approach is what she credits with the stunning election result.
“Going out, knocking on doors, people responded to face-to-face,” James said. “Yes, we went to HOA meetings and held two forums, but going out knocking on doors, we just asked questions. We honestly wanted to know what’s going on, what do you see that’s wrong? People can sense face-to-face, they can tell whether you’re a politician trying to get you to vote for them or if you’re sincere. If someone asked me something and I didn’t know, I told them, ‘I don’t know the answer, but I will find out.’ I think they appreciated that.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com