"Help is on the way"
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May 22, 2009
Mayor Remedies Council Health Insurance Issue
Salisbury Mayor James Ireton, Jr., is pleased to announce that he has resolved the issue of health insurance for City Council members, which has recently been a subject of disagreement. Mayor Ireton has directed that the cost of health insurance for City Council members be added to the amended budget ordinance that is to be considered by the Council at their May 26, 2009 meeting. The Mayor stated that he has researched this issue and concluded that the exclusion of this cost from the proposed budget was an error on the part of the mayor’s office. “My research shows that there has to be a separate vote by resolution to change the health care policy and contract,” said Mayor Ireton. “The mayor’s office cannot cut this funding without that vote.”
Mayor Ireton continued, “The Council can no more refuse this correction than reject other budget corrections, such as the additional cable revenues and additional payment to PAC14, or apply $27,000 additional in Highway User Funds to something other than streets. As with these examples, there does not need to be a separate budget amendment for the health insurance. Corrections to the budget have been made before by the mayor’s office during the budget process. The mayor’s office must correct this error as well.”
“I know Council President Smith supported this funding reinstatement at Tuesday night’s budget session and would want the Council to be in compliance just as much as I want the mayor’s office to be in compliance,” said the Mayor. “If the Council wishes to change the health insurance coverage policy by a resolution to be sent to my desk, then that is within their domain.”
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I am worried that the council is not aware of the support Urban Salisbury has in the community. If the council does not have consensus on moving an $11,000 budget amendment forward, than the funding for Urban Salisbury will be done and the organization will close. The city's 2008-2009 total investment in Urban Salisbury was $55K which generated a Direct Return of close to $438,000 dollars. That is an excellent rate of return. Please, if you are inclined, contact your council members below and let them know you'd like $11,000 for Urban Salisbury funded. Thanks for your consideration and help as we move forward to to revitalize our downtown neighborhood.
Jim Ireton, Mayor
Louise Smith
Council President
229 Canal Park Drive, #102
Salisbury, MD 21804
Home: 410-860-1717
Email: Louise Smith
Gary A. Comegys
Council Vice President
310 London Ave
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 410-548-1623
Email: Gary A.Comegys
Deborah S. Campbell
Councilwoman
809 Camden Ave
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 410-860-0893
Email: Deborah S. Campbell
Terry E. Cohen
Councilwoman
536 Druid Hill Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 410-845-0296
Email: Terry E. Cohen
Eugenie (Shanie) P. Shields
Councilwoman
621 Germania Circle
Salisbury, MD 21801
Home: 443-736-3306
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Salisbury's Critical Moment
On May 29, 1909 – one hundred years ago next month, at 2:30 PM on a typical spring day “the dam at South Division Street crumpled with a loud roar” and the millions of gallons of water in the 40 acre Lake Humphreys and the 60 acres of wetlands beyond the present Snow Hill Road carried away everything in its path. Since 1741 – almost 170 years – the dam built by William Venables, with a special grant from the Colonial Assembly in Annapolis, had been an important landmark and Salisbury’s first claim to an industrial operation. The county road crossing the dam was the dividing line since 1742 between Somerset and Worcester Counties until Wicomico County was formed in 1867. Lake Humphreys was at the headwaters of the east prong of the Wicomico River, extending from the South Division Street dam by the library, eastward to the railroad bridge and continued into the present day city park and zoo and ended near the Elks Club golf course. And now it was gone.
When the Humphreys family decided to not rebuild the dam the future of Salisbury underwent momentous change. There followed the expected debate between the city and county boards over whose responsibility it was to rebuild and repair the damages. After a prolonged delay (almost 2 years) it was decided that the county commissioners would take the burden and would enter into their first incursion into public works.
That event 100 years ago changed the face of our city, eventually creating the downtown as we know it today. Increasingly I reach back into history to find clues to the current condition that we find Salisbury in today. I believe that we have reached a critical moment in our history, much like 2:30 PM on May 29, 1909. We have reached a critical moment like in Spring 1888 when the legislature created our form of government “The Mayor and Council of Salisbury.” Then on April 16, 1888, the first Mayor of Salisbury, the Hon. A.G. Toadvine was sworn into office. Historian Cooper notes that “no accounts or opposition to this change in civil life were to be found – which was rather unusual for a town that has been noted at times for its highly vocal discord on most any issue.”
As I embark on this journey, one that started for me on February 14, 1970 here in Salisbury I will take what I have learned from history, what I have learned from you, the citizens, and what I know to be true and right into work every day here at City Hall. Looking back on the campaign of 2008/2009, I set a remarkably high bar for myself and for those who volunteered for me. Pledging to take on the special interests and make our neighborhoods pristine again, admitting we have a crime problem and pledging to begin to make Salisbury the Safest City in Maryland, and pledging to clean up our Wicomico River and make it swimmable and fishable in 10 years did not appear in some play book that we adopted. These plans and promises were engineered on the back porches and living rooms of homes right here in Salisbury, written and rewritten by neighbors and friends with expert science and statistics. These solutions came from us, for us and by us. I didn’t just prevail on April 7th, Salisbury did.
I sit here tonight with the 5 member city council, the council I pledged during the campaign, and I pledge to tonight – to run our city with…equally. Our municipal revitalization depends on our ability to govern together. I say that again…Our municipal revitalization depends on our ability to govern together.
So thank you Salisbury for this opportunity, for this chance to see a vision through that you have been building in me since that 1970 birth at the corner of Hazel and Camden Avenues.
I will take these words from Lincoln’s second inaugural address as I become the 26th Mayor of Salisbury as I move from this place this evening… “With malice toward none, with charity for all, ...let us strive on to finish the work we are in, ...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves.” Thank you
http://www.wicomicocounty.org/Election/results-1.htm
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For Immediate Release
Jim Ireton for Mayor
April 9, 2009
jimiretonformayor@gmail.com
Mayor-Elect to Participate in Easter Egg Hunt and Celebration
--Salisbury--Mayor-Elect Jim Ireton will participate in the Johnson's Lake Neighborhood Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 11, 2009. The Easter Egg hunt will begin at 11:30 AM and is being held on Philadelphia Avenue in Salisbury. Dying of Easter Eggs, relay races, and refreshments are planned.
"It is with great pride that my first engagement, as Mayor-Elect, happens in my neighborhood. The annual Easter celebration is great fun for our residents. Susan Carey, our neighborhood association president, always makes these celebrations such fun for kids and adults alike. I went to kindergarten, in the 1970's, across the street from where we have this celebration, and am always humbled and inspired by the memories I have of this neighborhood. I'd like to wish the City Council, our university students, our seniors, and all our residents a peaceful and restful holiday." Ireton said.
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Thank you for reading my email this afternoon. I am writing today to offer the details and clarity that I can to the reports that have emerged concerning the investigation into election fraud in the Salisbury mayoral race.
On Saturday, I was walking the neighborhoods of North Camden with city council candidate Cynthia Polk and former councilwoman Von Siggers, talking with voters and listening to their concerns. Don Rush, a radio journalist from WSCL, the Salisbury University public radio station, was with us, carrying his tape recorder and displaying his press pass as he collected sound and quotes for a story on the election. Mr. Rush of WSCL is not a part of our campaign, he is a professional journalist who was there working on a story about the election.
At one North Camden rental property, I was given information by three residents living in a rental property that deeply disturbed me. The other members of my group heard the conversation, and we decided this information must be taken to law enforcement. After meeting with the campaign’s attorney, we sent an e-mail on Saturday afternoon to Davis Ruark, Wicomico County State’s Attorney. We did not release this information to anyone else – not the media, not supporters, no one. Our first priority was to inform law enforcement what we had heard and let the appropriate law enforcement officials decide what to do with that information.
This campaign is the source of the initial details that led to this investigation. Let me be clear – we made the first call to law enforcement. Rumors of vote buying and voter intimidation have been rampant for weeks. But only when I heard from citizens myself, and had concrete details, did we approach law enforcement. The integrity and privacy of people’s right to vote their conscience is the basis of electoral democracy. It is 2009, not 1909 with ward bosses delivering votes for chosen candidates. I will not let any special interest group in this city silence or coerce this city’s voters.
My opponent is attempting to muddy the waters of this investigation with baseless and ridiculous charges of wire-tapping, due to the presence of Mr. Rush accompanying our group. Mr. Rush is an independent radio journalist, employed by Salisbury University, who was wearing press credentials and carrying a tape recorder with a plainly visible microphone on a public side walk. If you have questions about whether that’s wiretapping, I’d suggest you contact WSCL at Salisbury University and ask them.
Let me be clear – the sanctity and privacy of the voting process is the heart of our democracy. And when we found possible evidence that election fraud may be occurring in this election, we informed the State’s Attorney. We will cooperate with the investigation in any way we can.
If we cannot guarantee a freely-cast secret ballot, we no longer have the democracy described in our Constitution. We will have returned to the days of ward bosses and political machines. The subsequent allegation by my opponent of equating a radio reporter with wiretapping were made only after the investigation had already started. This campaign has never, and will never, engage in any practice to mislead or coerce voters in this city. One election is not worth selling the soul of this city’s integrity.
Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, I cannot answer specific questions concerning individuals who may yet be questioned by law enforcement. The integrity of this investigation must be maintained, as these charges are serious. I sincerely hope this situation is investigated thoroughly, and if any individual is found to have violated election law, that they are prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.
So one week from an election, Salisbury voters are not talking about crime, neighborhoods and the health of our river. Everything is being done to divert attention from the issues that residents worry about. I will continue to walk to your door and discuss these things with you – it is my promise, it is what Salisbury deserves.
Jim
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I want to thank all of our volunteers for coming out and helping over the last five months. It's been great to meet so many of you, and I couldn't have gotten this far without you. We only have one more weekend to go before election day on Tuesday, April 7th, and I want to get out on the streets to talk to as many voters as I can.
1.) Please come and help us this weekend! On Saturday, April 4th, we're meeting at Karen Silverstim's law office at 110 W. Church St (on the downtown plaza) at 11:30am. If you can make it, we would love to have your help.
2.) We need volunteers for phone banking on Election Day (you'll need to bring your cell phone). There's no better way to turn out voters than to call and remind them to vote.
3.) We're going to have an Election Results Watch Party at Flavors Italian Grille on Election Night, starting at 7pm. Everyone is welcome! Please come out and join us to watch the results on April 7th.
Thank you, again, for everything you've done to help my campaign,
Jim
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WHAT:
Major policy announcement concerning improving neighborhoods in Salisbury
WHO:
Jim Ireton, Candidate, Mayor of Salisbury
WHEN:
Tuesday, 3/31, 4:15 p.m. – 4:35 p.m.
WHERE:
Woodcock Park, Riverside Road and Penn Avenue
THEME: “Neighborhoods First” Plan of Action Unveiled.
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WBOC Story on Jim
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For Immediate Release
March 27, 2008
JimIretonforMayor@gmail.com
--Salisbury-- Candidate for Mayor, Jim Ireton, issues the following statement this afternoon.
"Even though the election is being held on April 7th, the final filing deadline for campaign contributions is on March 31st. That leaves an eight day window where funds can be raised, but do not have to be disclosed. I believe that's a disservice to Salisbury voters who need to know how campaigns are funded all the way up until election day. It is because of this gap, that I am formally pledging to not accept any donations after the March 31st filing deadline. My commitment to transparency in government doesn't start when I am elected as Mayor. It starts with this campaign."
To show how serious he is about transparency in government, Jim has committed to take no donations after the 31st
Will you donate between now and the 31st to help us reach our goal of $10,000? We're at $9,700 right now! With only 4 days left to go until the filing deadline, Jim needs your help!
http://jimireton.com/donate.html
Thank you, again, for all you have done over the past 5 months. If you have $5, $10, $25, etc, that you'd be willing to donate, it would help greatly!
In accordance with Title 1.12.030 A. No candidate for mayor or for member of the city council shall receive campaign contributions in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per individual or entity per campaign in cash and/or in-kind services of a commercial nature. Authority: Michael W. Elliott, Treasurer
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For Immediate Release
March 26, 2008
JimIretonforMayor@gmail.com
--Salisbury--The Jim Ireton for Mayor of Salisbury "Help Is On The Way!" campaign issues this statement this morning.
"Many thanks to the Salisbury University community for hosting their mayoral forum on Wednesday evening. While discussing the issue of crime with the audience, I referred to the Students for a Safer Community group as the Student Safety Committee. I appreciate Dr. Ellen Nuefeldt, Vice President of Student Affairs, who heads the safety committee, pointing out the error to me. I look forward to working with university and its students to help improve their safety as they move throughout the city. Again, I appreciate the opportunity to share my vision, last evening, with the university community." Ireton said.
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"Help us start to make Salisbury the Safest City in Maryland"
-Jim's March 24th speech______________________________________
Help make Salisbury the safest city in Maryland!
We encourage you to forward these video links to all your friends and family. Let them know "Help is on the way!"
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Help Jim Reach $10,000!
Jim has passed the $9,000 mark in donations, and we have YOU to graciously thank for it! From the beginning of this campaign, Jim has actively sought out supporters and friends to help fund his run for Mayor, and you have stepped up to the plate, time and time again. To all of you, Jim says THANK YOU!
We have less than one thousand dollars to go in reaching our goal of $10,000 before the election, and we still have literature, postage, mailers, advertisements, etc. to purchase, in order to get Jim's message out to ALL of the voters of Salisbury.
Will do donate to help us reach, and possibly exceed, this goal? With 2 weeks to go, THIS is 'crunch time'.
Please go to the website and donate directly:
http://jimireton.com/donate.html
Or you can make a check payable to "Jim Ireton For Mayor" and mail it to:
Jim Ireton For Mayor
c/o Michael Elliott, Treasurer
1111 Fairview Ln
Salisbury, MD 21801
Thank you for your continued support. Jim could not have done any of this without you! LET'S HIT THAT $10,000 GOAL!
Thanks,
Campaign Committee for Jim Ireton
In accordance with Title 1.12.030 A. No candidate for mayor or for member of the city council shall receive campaign contributions in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per individual or entity per campaign in cash and/or in-kind services of a commercial nature. Authority: Michael W. Elliott, Treasurer
Useful links on crime in our city:
Real time updated websites on crime in Salisbury:
http://www.spotcrime.com/md/salisbury
Most recent FBI stats on crime in Salisbury:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_08_md.html
http://crimereports.com/map/index/?search=+Salisbury+MD
This level of crime is unacceptable. We need new leadership. It's high time we made Salisbury the safest city in Maryland.
Jim Ireton '09 T-Shirts are now available!
But there's only one way to get them: VOLUNTEER Why pay out your hard earned money when you can give a little time, help Jim's campaign, and get a t-shirt?
We meet this Saturday to send out mailers and walk neighborhoods. Only 2 and 1/2 weeks left to go! We need to reach every voter possible!
Please come out this Saturday morning, at 11:30 am, to Karen Silverstrim's office at 110 W Church St (on the downtown plaza).
We need your help now more than ever.... and you'll get a nice new blue T-Shirt to take home afterward!
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March 15th Update:
Since Primary Day we have picked up 107 votes in absentee ballots. Our lead was 240 on Primary Day, it is now 305! We now have 941 votes!
Election Summary Report
(results courtesy of wicomicocounty.org)
City of Salisbury
2009 Primary
Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races
Unofficial Results
03/03/09
20:48:18
Registered Voters 12557 - Cards Cast 1582 12.60% Num. Report Precinct 20 - Num. Reporting 20 100.00%
Mayor
Number of Precincts 20
Precincts Reporting 20 100.0 %
Robert Caldwell 614
Gary A. Comegys 636
Michael Della Penna 153
Jim Ireton 941
City Council - District 1
Number of Precincts 4
Precincts Reporting 4 100.0 %
John Timothy Chaney 65
Ralph B. McIntyre, 29
Cynthia May Polk 81
Eugenie P. Shields 86
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A new press release is available in the press release/issues section
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A Safer Salisbury!
A 4% drop in crime is not enough! Salisbury�s homeowners, senior citizens, university students and renters must believe that city government will take on the crime issue�I WILL. Help Is On The Way!
* More police on the street with a new vision for community policing
* A Community Law Center to serve and protect the rights of our citizens and neighborhoods
* Discussion of a Metropolitan Community Police Force
Clean Up the Wicomico!
My plan, The Wicomico River Project, will unite our community behind this common goal. Reducing nitrogen and phosphorous levels, identifying every outfall pipe and its origin, stopping unfiltered runoff, engaging citizens and the school system in the effort, and producing a River Code of Ethics is my way of starting the fight to restore the Wicomico. Help Is On The Way!
* The Wicomico River Project
Fiscal Responsibility!
There is $2,888 in debt in Salisbury�s budget for every man, woman, and child in our city. Fiscal responsibility and the philosophy that city hall should spend your money with the understanding that you worked hard before giving it will guide me everyday. Help Is On The Way!
* Audit done on time under general accounting standards because the trust the public gives Salisbury with tax dollars is sacred
Neighborhoods First!
I was born in the neighborhood, went to elementary school in the neighborhood, went to college in the neighborhood, and now live in the Johnson�s Lake Neighborhood. I take very seriously the threat to our quality of life. Help Is On The Way!
* Fair and equitable enforcement of our housing codes* City boards and commissions that reflect the needs of neighborhoods not special interests
* Tenant/Landlord Protection Board
* Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance � to protect our police officers, fire and EMS personnel, and our school age children from the effects of growth for which Salisbury�s infrastructure is not prepared
* Review of ALL our housing codes to ensure they work for us � not against us!
