In light of the recent guilty plea to felony theft by former Chestertown council member Mabel Mumford-Pautz, Ward 4 Councilman Marty Stetson made a motion to retract the commemoration of Gateway Park in her name.
The park will revert to Chestertown Gateway Park.
Mumford-Pautz pleaded guilty to the charges on May 27 and paid total restitution of $45,000 while receiving a 5-year suspended sentence and three years probation.
The thefts occurred while Mumford-Pautz was serving as treasurer of the Eastern Shore chapter of the Maryland Municipal League.
Mayor Cerino noted that Mumford-Pautz’s 32 years of service is “pretty impressive” but felt that to move ahead the park should be known as Chestertown Gateway Park.
The motion was passed.
darcy beltman says
Councilman Stetson is correct. A felony is a heinous crime and more so when it violates the public trust. What exactly did she do for her ward during her years of service? I have been unable to find anything of note. She broke the law 84 times; each time she wrote a check to herself. If she was in such dire straits financially how was she able to immediately pay back what she had stolen. She has made a serious blemish on the town of Chestertown and age alone should not have precluded her from, at the very least, to have a supervised probation. Is the message that it is alright to steal if you are older?
Ron Jordan says
Darcy, I agree with you. She definitely picked the right attorney in former AG Gansler, as an advocate for his client he was able to get the venue changed and got her a great deal. Most common folks around here, no matter our ages, our gender or ethnicity wouldn’t have been able to pull that one off. As she said she was in dire financial need, it is a wonder she was able to pay the monies stolen back so quickly, maybe one of her relatives or friends were able to help, who knows. Bottom line, the council made a hard but good civic decision and one that is a testament to looking out for our community’s image to others outside of Chestertown and Kent County. By the way, this decision was brought to light by a concerned citizen. We all should continue to be vigilant with oversight to our elected officials.
chris willson says
If she was able to pay it back so quickly why wasn’t she able to get the money when she was in “dire straits”?? I think that the decision of the council to rescind her name on the park should not have been a hard one. Rather it should have been a sad one since Mumford has shamed Chestertown. Exactly who in the courthouse had the power to move the case the same day it was filed in Kent County? Obviously it was to avoid the citizens of Chestertown from finding out about it. Hooray to the citizen who broke the story to the news media!
Douglass Gates says
No doubt Mabel Mumford-Pautz broke the law, and I might add, in an impressive way; stupid, but impressive….40 grand, wow. For political, and many other reasons, how could the Town Council not do what they did and erase this errant blemish from Chestertown’s reputation. So, Mabel has been defrocked by her past peers.
It has been mentioned that Mabel never contributed much in all her 32 years of serving on the Chestertown Town Council. Give me a break. How could Mabel not have made a positive impact, regardless of how large or small, on the community, on the people she represented, and survived politically? Enough said.
I’ve known Mabel Mumford and her first husband Jim for sixty years. I have only good things to say about them, hard working family people, community minded, all those characteristics one looks for in a friend, a co-worker, a community leader. She blew it, of that there is no question. Along with many of her friends and family, I am so very sorry. Whatever her reasons, it matters not. It is done. The consequences have been ordered by the court, and the Council
has done its duty
Personally, had I been a Council member, I would have voted NO.
darcy beltman says
Mr.Gates I ask once again, what did she really do for her constituents? She represented a largely African American ward with many disenfranchised people who did not have the resources to oppose her. That is why she was re-elected for all those years. So what exactly was her impact on those citizens?
I have also known the family for many, many years and will not engage in any character assassination, Suffice it to say, what she has done should prove to all what was behind the public show.