Ertel is Democratic nominee in BaltCo District 5
Mike Ertel will be the Democratic nominee for Baltimore County Council in District 5, as his closest opponent Bill Paulshock has conceded the primary race after reviewing provisional ballot totals.
“The numbers said we ran a close race, but we ended up a little short,” said Paulshock, who was trailing by about 320 votes when absentee ballots were counted last week. “The numbers are what they are. This race is over.”
Ertel won the race 4,903 votes to Paulshock’s 4,570.
Paulshock said he will “sit back and take a breather” before making a decision about a future career in politics or whether he will endorse Ertel, who will face Republican David Marks in the November general election.
The district includes Towson and Perry Hall. During the campaign, Paulshock fought off residency challenges from Ertel and others who argued his rightful address is outside the district in Kingsville, not Perry Hall. He has owned Bill's Seafood on Belair Road for more than 30 years. He lists the house — which he considers to be his “family home” —that sits on the same site as his business as his official residence.
“There were very negative things that were put out, things that weren’t true. Whenever that happens, the only thing that cures that is time,” Paulshock said. Ertel posted a video on YouTube challenging Paulshock's residency.
Meanwhile in the 4th District, Julian Jones hasn’t conceded defeat to two-term Councilman Kenneth Oliver just yet. He’s planning to do a test recount at the Baltimore County Board of Elections on Friday. Oliver is ahead in the race by 98 votes. Jones has until Sept. 30 to file a recount request. There is no Republican opponent in the general election for the seat, which covers Woodlawn, Randallstown, Owings Mills and Reisterstown.
“We have not given up,” Jones said.
Comments
Mr. Paulshock said untrue things were "put out" there.
What, exactly, was untrue? Everything I saw and read was based in FACT -- on legal documents that showed his principal residence to be outside of the district.
Shouldn't the Sun challenge statements like this? Or at least ask Mr. Paulshock to specify what, exactly, wasn't true?
Posted by: David R | September 23, 2010 1:54 PM
It is reassuring to note that losing the primary has not caused Mr. Paulshock's arrogance to diminish.
Posted by: Towson Citizen | September 23, 2010 2:50 PM
Yes, it would be nice if people in articles couldn't just spout their own untruths without being challenged. This might be "just a blog post" but it is part of The Baltimore Sun and the same reporting standards should apply.
I'm not aware of untruths hurled at Paulshock. I think he is just upset that the *fact* that he doesn't live in the Fifth District (as required by law if he wanted to run here) was brought up by the Ertel campaign. That's not an untruth; it's just something he didn't want you to know.
Posted by: Kris | September 23, 2010 3:00 PM
Mr. Paulshock followed the laws of Maryland. Legally, the only place that Mr. Paulshock could run was from 9016 Belair Road. I believe the 1/2 truths that Mr. Paulshock speaks about would be Ertel showing the Seafood Shop at 9016 Belair Road on his Youtube video but conveniently not the house attached to it.
Mr. Paulshock received a letter from the Board of Elections with a judgement from the State's Attorney's Office not challenging his residency. Ertel had the opportunity to do so in court. He chose not to because he knew he could NOT win!
It was funny to me that Ertel was the only one to made an issue out of this... Mr. Harding and Mr. Marks had the class and decency to respect the Board of Elections and the State Attorney's opinion.
I think the real question here should be if Ertel is proud of the campaign he ran? I would hope not. He took campaigning to an all time low. Mr. Paulshock chose not to get into the gutter with Ertel. Better to lose with dignity then to win with disgrace!
Posted by: Mark G. | September 23, 2010 5:45 PM
Mark- I think the 1/2 truths are coming from you. Legally speaking, Mr. Paulshock should have changed his voter registration to his Kingsville residence when he claimed that as his personal residence with the Department of Assessments and Taxation. Most of us live with our spouses and children, unless separated or divorced. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Paulshock is neither. It speaks to the extreme level of his arrogance that he decided that he didn't have to play by the rules.
Oh and by the way, the fact that the State Board of Elections decided to punt does not mean that Mr. Paulshock's conduct was legal, just as a finding of not guilty in a criminal case does not equate to innocence. On a related note, when did this become a criminal matter? The State's Attorney is the chief criminal prosecutor for the County. I don't recall reading that Mr. Ertel made a criminal complaint.
Posted by: Towson Citizen | September 23, 2010 6:34 PM
Paulshock tried to cheat and got caught! Kudos to Ertel for bringing this to our attention. I was going to vote for Bill but his attempted deception rubbed me the wrong way. I'm voting for David Marks!
Posted by: Captain Harry | September 23, 2010 7:50 PM
Paulshock was a carpetbagger. He used his business address as his home address, which violates Maryland law. And the Hearing Board agreed to a hearing, then mysteriously canceled it, without exonerating Paulshock. And that "house" on his business is nothing more than an extension- to his business. Not a residence. Thankfully county voters recognized this "old boy network" candidate for what he was. Question is- how many votes did Bartendfelder lose by supporting Paulshock? Coworkers of mine didn't vote for him because of it. It's an integrity issue- which Paulshock lacks.
Posted by: Dave H. | September 23, 2010 9:14 PM
Congratulations to Mike Ertel. Move on.
Posted by: Churchillgroup | September 26, 2010 10:55 PM