State's Attorney, Joel Todd, Bids Farewell

SNOW HILL – Departing Worcester County State’s Attorney Joel Todd paid a surprise visit to the Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday.

Todd, who recently lost his bid for re-election to Beau Ogelsby by a slim margin, took the opportunity to say his farewells to the commissioners he has worked with during his multiple terms as the county’s top prosecutor. He also thanked them for the level of effort they had put into running the county.

“I know I’ve said it before but it bears repeating,” stated Todd. “I’ve always been impressed with the quality of government in this county.”

Todd then commented on the growth of the commission over the last decade or so. Todd mentioned that when he took office the commission was not diverse ethnically or in terms of gender, but things were different now.

“The makeup (of the commission) has changed and I think it’s for the better,” Todd said. “I hope one day Washington looks at Worcester County…that they take a page out of your book.”

Todd said he believes the commissioners were “always interested in the greater good” for the county.

Todd also passed along a few departing requests. He asked the commissioners to consider granting county employees a raise as soon as they could in such a weak economy.

Beyond that, Todd encouraged the commissioners to supply as much funding as possible to Diakonia.

“It’s more than just a homeless shelter,” said Todd.

Each commissioner took a moment to thank Todd for his service. Many had known Todd for years and reminisced about the past.

“I’ve known him a long time…good people, good family,” said Commissioner Madison Bunting.

“I guess I remember Joel more for the bagpipe thing,” admitted Commissioner Virgil Shockley, referring to the first time he’d met Todd, playing bagpipes at a funeral.

Shockley joked, “I always thought it took a real man to wear a quilt.”

County Attorney and former commissioner Sonny Bloxom was one of the last to speak. He cited his unique experience with Todd, both as a member of the bar and as a commissioner.

“Joel raised professionalism and expertise to an all-time high [in his office],” Bloxom said.
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Oglesby and Mathias Both Claim Victories

SNOW HILL -- Beau Oglesby is the unofficial state's attorney-elect for Worcester County and Jim Mathias is the unofficial state senator-elect for District 38 after the third canvass of absentee votes was held Friday.

In the race for state Senate, Michael James called Mathias to concede and congratulate him on his victory after learning Mathias holds 23,527 votes to Michael James' 22,896 -- a margin of 631.

In a statement to The Daily Times, James said it had been "an honor and a privilege" to participate in the election.

"Though I wish the outcome was different, I truly believe we influenced and helped shape the agenda for the Eastern Shore with our ideas, our positions and with the honest and assertive nature of our campaign," James said.

Jim Mathias was unable to be reached for comment.

With 10,465 votes, Joel Todd will not be able to overcome the 90-vote lead Oglesby holds at the final canvass. Even if Todd receives all possible 85 votes in the final canvass, he would still be 5 votes shy of a tie.

"We are thrilled by the outcome and with the way the campaign was run," Oglesby said. "I am thrilled to be looking down the road and looking forward to being a productive state's attorney."

Oglesby was able to speak to Todd after the votes were totaled and said the two have already been working together and plan to continue working together to bring Oglesby up to speed on pending cases.

In a statement provided to The Daily Times, Todd said he will work to make the transition as smooth as possible.

"It has been my honor and my pleasure to serve the citizens and visitors of Worcester County as a prosecutor since July 1, 1985," Todd said. "The role of state's attorney is at times difficult and demanding with a need, sometimes, to balance what is popular against what is ethical and what is just. During my time in office I have learned that what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular."

In total, Oglesby holds 10,555 votes.

The next canvass is scheduled to be held Nov. 22 when 35 absentee ballots will be counted, in addition to 14 overseas ballots, which have already been received by the Worcester County Board of Elections. However, that number is subject to change.

The board mailed out 50 ballots to overseas citizens and soldiers. If they were returned to the board by Nov. 22, they will be counted in the final canvass.

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BREAKING NEWS From WBOC TV

Incumbant Worcester County State's Attorney, Joel Todd, conceded the race to challenger Beau Oglesby on Friday afternoon.

Oglesby Nears Victory In Tight State’s Attorney Race

Shawn J. Soper
News Editor
BERLIN – While incumbent Worcester County State’s Attorney Joel Todd closed the gap somewhat this week after more absentee ballots were counted on Wednesday, Republican challenger Beau Oglesby appears to have moved closer to his “magic number”.

When the polls closed last Tuesday, it was Oglesby leading Todd by a mere 145 votes and a sense of déjà vu spread across the county electorate closely watching the highly contested campaign. In 2006, in perhaps the closest election in Worcester County history, it was Todd who led Oglesby by a single vote when the polls closed on Election Night. Todd eventually prevailed when all of the absentee, provisional and overseas ballots were counted, but a similar scenario is playing out this week with the candidates switching roles.

On Wednesday, 180 absentee ballots were counted and Todd managed to close the gap, collecting 86 new votes while Oglesby added 75 to his tally. County elections officials were supposed to count 197 absentee ballots, but 17 were rejected for various reasons. For example, 12 were not registered in the county and a handful more were not filed in the appropriate district.

After the batch of absentee ballots were counted on Wednesday, Todd had reduced Oglesby’s lead to just 96, but time, and more importantly, outstanding ballots, appear to be running out on the incumbent.

According to Worcester County Elections Board Supervisor Patti Jackson, roughly 171 ballots remain to be counted, of which 122 are expected to be counted today.

The other 49 outstanding ballots – 14 military ballots and 35 more absentee ballots held back – are expected to be counted on Nov. 22. It’s important to note, the 171 figure is a bit of a moving target because some will likely be rejected and more that were postmarked before the Nov. 2 deadline might trickle in still.

Nonetheless, with an estimated 171 still to count, it appears Oglesby needs just 38 more votes, or about 22 percent more, to win the county state’s attorney race. More simply put, if Todd received 134 of the remaining 171 votes and Oglesby scored 37, the incumbent would win by a single vote.

While the numbers appear to be in Oglesby’s favor, certainly anything can happen and if history teaches one anything about this rivalry, the race is far from over. Oglesby said yesterday he was quietly optimistic with scores of votes still to be counted.

“Compared to four years ago, this is a much better place to be,” he said. “Things look good, but there’s a long way to go and we certainly can’t start celebrating yet.”
Oglesby said the closeness of the race is remarkable, but not surprising given the history between the candidates.

“We’re proud of our campaign and we appreciate the trust at least 50-point-something percent of the county placed in us, and we look forward to proving and demonstrating it was well placed,” he said. “If the counts hold, we’ll look forward to earning the trust of the other 49-point-something percent.”

Todd declined to comment, citing personal reasons.

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Oglesby, Mathias Hold Lead In Worcester County

SNOW HILL — Republican candidate for State’s Attorney, Beau Oglesby still holds the lead over democratic incumbent Joel Todd, after provisional ballot were counted in Worcester County today.

Although, Oglesby received 75 votes to Todd’s 86, he still maintains the lead with 10,505 votes, while Todd holds 10,409; a margin of 96.

In the State Senate race, Jim Mathias gained 97 votes and Michael James gained 67; leaving Mathias in the lead by a margin of 494 votes.

Two additional absentee counts have yet to take place to count an additional 171 ballots. The first will be held on Friday, followed by the final count on Nov. 22.

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Oglesby Holds Narrow Lead In Race With Todd

SNOW HILL — The Worcester state’s attorney race narrowed when absentee ballots were counted, but candidate Beau Oglesby retained a 107-vote lead over incumbent Joel Todd.

When election officials finished counting about 1,500 absentee ballots Thursday, Todd, a Democrat, had received 739 additional votes. Oglesby, a Republican, added 701 absentee votes.

That cut down the vote lead Oglesby earned on Election Day, but did not reverse it.

“This time four years ago, I was up by two [votes], and now I’m up by 107,” Oglesby said, referring to a razor-thin 2006 contest in which Todd prevailed by 14 votes. “It’s a much better place to be.”

Several hundred absentee ballots Worcester officials mailed out to voters who asked for them haven’t yet been cataloged or counted. Ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 and received by the time officals count absentees again on Nov. 12 could still be counted as valid votes.

“We’re quietly optimistic,” Oglesby said. “There’s still enough votes out there to make a difference, so we’ll stand by and see what happens.”

Todd did not return a call for comment late Thursday.

In another close Worcester county race, for District 4 commissioner, incumbent Democrat Virgil Shockley slightly widened his lead over Republican Ted Elder.

Shockley earned 93 absentee votes, for a total of 1,257; Elder garnered 79, for a total of 1,172. Shockley now leads by 85 votes.

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State's Attorney Race- Absentee Ballots To Be Counted

SNOW HILL -- In a tight race and before absentee ballots were counted, challenger Beau Oglesby had an edge over veteran prosecutor Joel Todd in the race for Worcester County State's Attorney.

Oglesby, who led Todd by 169 votes late Tuesday night, knows what a tight race feels like; he was narrowly defeated by Todd in 2006.

"Four years ago, we were down by one vote on election night and ended up losing by 14," said Oglesby, a Republican. "We're in a much better position now. We're quietly optimistic this will hold but we're unsure how many absentee ballots are outstanding."

According to election officials, 1,500 absentee ballots have been collected and will begin being counted Thursday, although the final results of that count will not be known until Nov. 22. In addition, late Tuesday night ballots from three voting machines -- one each from Districts 1, 2 and 6 -- were being counted manually because of machine errors.

Although Oglesby led in the polls for much of the night, with 14 of 18 precincts reporting, Todd took the lead with 6,669 votes. Just after 11 p.m., however, when all 18 precincts' votes were tallied, Oglesby had regained a slight advantage.

Todd said early in the evening that if he did lose, it would not be because of political mailers from his campaign that the Worcester Republicans called unethical last week. On the mailers, Todd was pictured with several prominent people under a headline that read "Community Leaders Support Joel Todd," although some of them had not endorsed him. Todd's wife and campaign manager, Anita Todd, took the blame for sending the literature.

"If I lose the election, I don't think it has anything to do with that," Todd said as ballots were being counted.

Todd was joined at the polls Tuesday by Lynn Dodenhoff, the mother of Pocomoke City woman Christine Sheddy, whose body was found in Snow Hill earlier this year after she had gone missing. Dodenhoff said Todd was the only man she trusted to prosecute Justin M. Hadel, the man charged in Sheddy's death.

"I believe this is the only man who could prosecute my daughter's murderers," she said. "He's the only man that listened to me and stepped in, got the right people involved in her case."

Other races
In the sheriff's race, current chief deputy for the office Reggie Mason came out significantly ahead of Democratic challenger Bobby Brittingham. Mason received 12,083 votes, while Brittingham took 6,709.

In the Worcester County Commissioners races, incumbents came out ahead, with Commissioner Judy Boggs besting challenger John Bodnar in District 5 with 2,212 votes to his 1,301.

"It was a particularly satisfying win," Boggs said. "The people of Ocean Pines, by an overwhelming vote, demonstrated their confidence in me. I'm delighted by that and I'm looking forward to another four years."

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States Attorney Rematch Heats Up

BERLIN – Three local fraternal law enforcement organizations have announced their support for the challenger in this year’s rematch for the top prosecutor job in Worcester, touching off a war of words this week between the candidates.

Last Sunday, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 50 (Worcester) announced it will be officially backing State’s Attorney challenger Beau Oglesby, a Republican who is currently a prosecutor in Caroline County. Additionally, the lodge endorsed Republican Sheriff candidate Reggie Mason, current deputy sheriff in Worcester County, and Republican Delegate candidate Mike McDermott, a member of the Worcester County’s Sheriff’s Office.

In a press release this week, the lodge explained why Oglesby was the pick over incumbent State’s Attorney Joel Todd.

“Beau Oglesby is a proven prosecutor. He has worked with State’s Attorney’s offices in Wicomico and Caroline counties. He has been endorsed by Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis and Worcester County Chief Deputy Sheriff, Reggie Mason, and Caroline County States Attorney Jonathan Newell,” the lodge wrote in a statement.

“Beau Oglesby was the chief prosecutor in many of Sheriff Lewis’ drug cases when Sheriff Lewis was a Maryland State Trooper. [He] was recognized by the Wicomico County Drug Task force for his outstanding efforts in prosecuting drug dealers and asset forfeiture. Beau Oglesby has the drive to keep Worcester County safe by prosecuting criminals.”

The lodge did not make an endorsement in the State’s Attorney race in 2006 when Oglesby lost to Todd in one of the closest and spirited elections in Worcester County political history.

That fact is noteworthy, according to Oglesby, who added he has also received the official support of Ocean City, Berlin and the state lodges of the FOP. Oglesby also expects the FOP lodges in Wicomico and Caroline counties to give him their support in the coming weeks.

“This is an endorsement that means something. To dismiss it otherwise would be disrespectful to law enforcement,” Oglesby said. “Four years ago, the Worcester lodge went middle of the road. They sat it out as far as endorsing. Here we are four years later, I get their endorsement. What does that tell you?”

Todd said he was not only disappointed that partisan politics seemed to play a role in the FOP’s endorsement but also that the process that was presented to him did not play out as originally proposed.

“I have learned from a member of the lodge there were a grand total of 11 members of the lodge present and voting the night the endorsement was handed down. I don’t think 11 members is very representative of the law enforcement community in general,” Todd said. “Additionally, I think it’s an example of putting partisan politics over public safety. They have endorsed two other Republicans, both of whom they answer to on a daily basis. I don’t really think it means anything, and I’m sorry to see them put partisan politics ahead of public safety.”

According to Todd, he was still expecting a questionnaire from the lodge as another part of the endorsement process when he read that Oglesby had garnered the lodge’s support online.

“I read it on their Facebook page that they met in September and made an endorsement, and I have yet to receive the questionnaire that the president of the organization assured me I would be receiving,” Todd said. “All I can tell you is, in my opinion, 11 people hardly represents the bulk of county law enforcement.”

Oglesby flatly dismissed Todd’s claims that the endorsement is not representative of the law enforcement community.

“This is a not a few rogue police officers or malcontents who are voicing their displeasure. This is the unanimous support of my candidacy by all of the county FOPs. These are the men and women in law enforcement who are in court day in and day out. Who better to know what’s going on in the court system and how the incumbent and his office is handling criminal cases? Their support is the primary reason why I am running again,” Oglesby said. “If they told me, ‘Beau everything is okay,’ I suspect I would not have run. They reached out to me continually and told me we need a change and that I’m the guy to do it. That’s the primary reason why I continue to come back and run these campaigns.”

Todd stands by his office’s prosecution rate and believes his crackdown on crime is on display every day. Furthermore, Todd said he was not surprised to hear Oglesby’s claims that it’s a signal for change.

“I’m sure he would say that. What I can tell you is I’m not running to be attorney for the FOP or attorney for any police agency. I’m running for re-election as the people’s attorney,” Todd said. “My client is justice, not the police. Unfortunately, from time to time, more often than people realize, I’m called to write letters to police chiefs letting them know when something has gone wrong in the courtroom or during the investigation of the case. On a less frequent basis, we are actually called to do criminal investigations into police officers. If by doing justice, it means I lose support of the police unions than so be it. I sleep well at night knowing I have done what’s in the best interest of justice, and I will continue to do that.”

Oglesby said the officers he speaks with routinely want to see crimes prosecuted fully and for the plea bargains and frequent deals Todd signs off on to come to a halt.

“I think it’s certainly a recognition that they are dissatisfied with the incumbent and the way his office is being run,” Oglesby said. “You have to remember here’s a guy who has been at the State’s Attorney’s office for 25 years now, 16 years a State’s Attorney, and not one FOP or any organized unit of law enforcement supports him.”

Todd said a simple Maryland Judiciary Case Search online confirms Oglesby also agrees to plea bargains in similar cases away from Worcester County.

“It’s not practical to prosecute every case, and he knows it, and it’s proven by what he does in Caroline County,” Todd said.

Todd added there are four current murder prosecutions underway in Worcester County, and voters need to realize these cases will likely go to trial after the election.

“To my knowledge, my opponent still has not tried one murder case,” Todd said. “I’m experienced and knowledgeable on how these cases need to be prosecuted and that’s important to realize.”
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Worcester District 2: Absentee Envelopes Collected

SNOW HILL -- Detectives confiscated dozens of envelopes that had contained District 2 absentee ballots, launching what officials described in vague terms as a voting integrity probe.

The Worcester Bureau of Investigation officers placed empty ballot envelopes into evidence bags and sealed them with red tape, after county election officials tallied the votes on the ballots they had contained.

Members of the Board of Elections wore surgical gloves while counting all of the absentee ballots and separately counted ballots from District 2, which stretches from the outskirts of Berlin to Pocomoke City, covering mostly unincorporated areas of Worcester County.

Worcester County State's Attorney Joel Todd said he was "made aware" Sept. 10 of a "potential issue" with absentee ballots cast by voters in District 2. He requested the election board have staffers handle absentee ballots with surgical gloves so as not to affect their evidentiary value.

Todd said the investigation is isolated to District 2 absentee ballots, and he has "no reason to believe the Board of Elections has done anything wrong."

The Office of the State Prosecutor, not the Worcester State's Attorney's Office, is leading the investigation, Todd said. The chief investigator with the state prosecutor's office, Jim Cabezas, declined to comment.

Jeffrey Cropper, an attorney for the county Board of Elections, said he could not comment on the substance of the complaint or who made it.

Two candidates' names appeared only on District 2 ballots, and not in other districts: County Commissioner incumbent James Purnell and challenger Edward S. Lee, both Democrats. The race between them turned out to be the only one in Worcester in which one candidate led among ballots cast in person, but another candidate leads among absentee votes counted so far.

After early voting and Election Day ballots were cast, Purnell held a comfortable lead, with 525 votes to Lee's 250 votes. Lee, the former head of the Worcester County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, had won just 32 percent of votes cast as of Tuesday night.

But absentee voters gave much more support to Lee, giving him 76 percent of their votes. Still, the additional 87 absentee votes for Lee and 27 absentee votes for Purnell didn't knock Purnell off the top spot; Purnell still leads 552-337. No Republican ran for commissioner in the district.

Only 184 absentee ballots sent out to Worcester voters in all seven election districts remain unreturned. Any more absentee ballots received in the mail by 10 a.m. Sept. 22 will be counted that day, along with provisional ballots used for in-person voting. Election officials must certify the results no later than Sept. 24.

Lee, asked to comment, said: "I have no comment at this time. You're telling me something I don't know about and have to look into."

Purnell, in a brief interview, said: "I hope it's not true. It looks bad on the district."

For statewide Maryland elections, people voting absentee can have someone pick up a blank ballot on their behalf, help them fill it out and also turn it in, as long as a "designation of agent" form is filled out. The voter's assistant can't be a candidate on the ballot, the voter's employer or an officer of the voter's union.

In two recent Worcester County municipal elections, candidates won seats when their support among absentee voters skyrocketed compared to the ratio of votes cast in person. In April 2009, Pocomoke City Council candidate Tracey Cottman split the in-person vote with candidate Stephanie Burke at 58 votes apiece, but won the seat on the strength of her 178 absentee votes to Burke's 4 votes. A special investigation of the vote by Todd's office found no wrongdoing by any candidate but urged the town to stop the practice of individually numbering absentee ballots and their envelopes, making it possible to name who cast which ballot. The investigation also found the town's own Election Board didn't keep an accurate list of voters.

Todd's report specifically cleared Lee, who supported Cottman's candidacy, of any wrongdoing in the 2009 Pocomoke election, saying Lee "was not and is not the 'subject' of this investigation." A blog post published by Burke claimed Lee was a subject of it.

In May 2009, resident David Suznavick said the two Snow Hill candidates, Rebecca Bowman and Gerald Shockley, handed in dozens of voters' sealed absentee ballot envelopes for them, prompting Suznavick to ask the Circuit Court to invalidate the election. A judge declined to do so, saying Snow Hill's election laws didn't prohibit what the candidates did.

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