A law passed by the Chestertown Council in 2014 requires candidates for office to file campaign finance reports, listing the names of donors and expenditures.
Candidates for municipal office in Maryland are not required to disclose campaign donations — unless the municipality has enacted its own campaign finance law. Once enacted, candidates must submit a report no more than 10 days after the deadline to file for office. Office seekers must also submit their reports to the State Board of Elections, according to a law passed by the state legislature that same year.
In 2014 roughly a dozen localities had passed their own election finance disclosure laws when Ward 4 Councilman Marty Stetson proposed one for Chestertown. He complained after the 2013 election about anonymous donations that went to candidates for mayor and Wards 1 and 3.
Since then the number of towns requiring campaign finance disclosure has climbed to 22, said Jim Peck, a researcher with the Maryland Municipal League.
Ward 4 Candidate Meghan Efland is running unopposed and has raised $100 — with no reported expenditures as of Oct. 18. Efland’s single donation came from Ashley Herr of Chestertown. Efland’s campaign treasurer is Anna Morgan Ellis.
Ward 2 incumbent Linda Kuiper self-financed her campaign with $500. Expenditures total $477.62 for mailings and printing. The total cash on hand is $22.38 as of Oct. 21. Kuiper’s campaign treasurer is Joyce Luff.
Ward 2 challenger Tom Herz is leading Kuiper in fundraising by a 6 to 1 margin. Herz and his wife have self-financed $900 of the $3,050 raised. Included in the total raised was a $500 in-kind donation from Occasions Catering, which hosted a campaign event. Total cash on hand as of Oct. 20 is $1,765. There was $1,285 in cash expenditures, which paid for printing and logo design.
Ward 2 Candidate Tom Herz
Treasurer: Elizabeth Gross
Raised: $3,050
Spent $1,765
Donors to Tom Herz:
Occasions Catering – $500 (in-kind)
Elizabeth Gross – $500
Nina Houghton – $500
Tom and Mary Herz – $400
Muriel Cole – $250
Tom Herz – $500
Rainbow Team Gardening – $150
Anthony D’Elia – $200
Margo Bailey – $100
Laura Wade – $100
P. Trams Hollingsworth – $100
Hoon & Associates – $100
Carla Massoni – $100
Carol Niemand – $50
Credit FLICKR USER 401(K) 2012 / https://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.