Four of the five incumbent town council members have won reelection in Chesapeake Beach’s Nov. 6 General Election. Town Council Vice Chair Patrick J. “Irish” Mahoney won a fifth consecutive term, while Stewart Cumbo was victorious for a fourth time, Dr. Valerie Beaudin notched a third straight victory and Robert Carpenter was reelected to a second consecutive four-year term. Two newcomers—Jeff Krahling and Eric Reinhardt—join the holdovers. Carpenter finished sixth in the race, just 22 votes ahead of incumbent Julie Spano. There are 25 provisional ballots still to be counted so Carpenter has not officially clinched the last seat on the panel. Krahling was the top voter-getter in the town council race, tallying 1,101 votes.
Incumbent Mayor Bruce Wahl ran unopposed and received 1,387 votes. After the votes were counted Wahl admitted he was disappointed that four other candidates he backed in the town council race were not victorious. They were Wes Donovan, Jeffrey Lebar, Frank Purdy and David Hendry.
Victories by Krahling, Mahoney, Beaudin and Reinhardt likely means the issue of annexation is dead for another four years. Unresolved issues regarding the municipality’s revised zoning ordinance and water and sewer rate structure could spark some controversy in the months to come.
“The people of Chesapeake Beach came out and made a statement,” said Mahoney. “They supported the small town slate.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
Chesapeake Beach Town Council Race – top six vote-getters elected
*Patrick Mahoney – 985
Julie Spano – 828
*Robert Carpenter – 850
*Valerie Beaudin – 890
