Alderman

With Republican Alderman Michael I. Christman's formal resignation letter barely a day old, the race is already on to find his replacement on the Annapolis city council. Debbie Rosen McKerrow, a Democrat who narrowly lost to Christman two years ago, confirmed yesterday that she will seek the Ward 2 seat in a special election, the second within a year. The county's Green Party announced that Karen Jennings, a 33-year-old community activist, will join the race. A prominent city Republican, Alderman David Cordle, said his party is trying to recruit a candidate.

Century senior midfielder Ryan Pentz said there is no mystery as to why the Knights lacrosse team has had such a drastic turnaround from last season's 3-9 record to the 11-2 mark the team took into this weekend. "We all understand our roles on the team," Pentz said. "That's why we've been successful so far. It's definitely a big difference from last season. I just think we have a good core of kids. We have a variety of seniors and juniors, mixed with young sophomores. ... We work real well together."

ISSUE: An Annapolis alderman will introduce a resolution tomorrow night that would express atonement for slavery. Taking a page from similar efforts at the state level and by the Virginia legislature, Alderman Sam Shropshire said his resolution would "continue to bring about racial healing in our city and state." Shropshire's measure also calls for a week of atonement during which schools and civic organization could discuss the city's involvement in the African slave trade. YOUR VIEW: What are your thoughts on the measure?

It's a question some Annapolitans have been asking lately: Where is Alderman Michael I. Christman? He's hasn't been to the last two city council meetings. Complaints have mounted that he's not returning constituents' phone calls. And he has sent a letter to residents of Ward 2 saying he's resigning. But nearly three weeks later, he hasn't submitted a letter of resignation to the mayor, leaving residents without a representative, delaying the expected special election and forcing at least one would-be candidate to cool her heels.

Larry Griffin remembers asking an Annapolis restaurant manager in the late 1960s why most stores and eateries along Main Street didn't hire African-Americans for front-line jobs dealing with customers."

Arnold Feuerman,81, an inventor and former chairman of Arnold Automotive Group, one of the nation's largest auto dealers, died Friday in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., of liver cancer.Willi Millowitsch,90, one of Germany's best-known comic actors and a fixture at the Cologne carnival, died Monday in Cologne.Fred Roti,78, a former Chicago alderman who was convicted of political corruption, died of lung cancer Monday in Chicago.

The bill seemed like a clear solution.Annapolis public housing residents wanted suspected drug dealers off their sidewalks. But police officers had no jurisdiction over the sidewalks, which are the property of the Annapolis Housing Authority.So Alderman Herbert H. McMillan studied the loitering laws of big cities such as Chicago and Baltimore, and decided Annapolis could use an ordinance allowing police to ask suspected drug dealers on public housing sidewalks to move along.But what the first-term alderman pitched as a simple fix has plunged him deep into the quagmire of racial tensions in America.

Annapolis Alderman Herbert H. McMillan announced radical changes yesterday in his anti-loitering bill, including an amendment requiring neighborhoods to seek drug-free zone designation before police could enforce it in their communities.If the bill is approved next month, Annapolitans will have to apply at City Hall for "Drug-Loitering Free Zone" status. Only then could officers ask loiterers suspected of drug activity in the designated communities to move along or face arrest.McMillan, a Ward 5 Republican, introduced the bill in May after hearing complaints from Neighborhood Watch leaders that police could not move suspected drug dealers from public housing community sidewalks, which are the property of the Annapolis Housing Authority, a private entity.

THE MOST refreshing thing about Martin O'Malley's victory in Baltimore's Democratic mayoral primary was his multiracial support. Although he is white, he garnered a significant number of African-American votes in the majority black city.Mr. O'Malley, an attorney and city councilman, defied conventional wisdom that he could win only by grabbing almost all the white vote and watching the two leading African-American candidates split the black vote.But African Americans as well as whites put their trust in Mr. O'Malley, and because of that, Baltimore has the look of unity for the first time in years.

Protesters against an anti-loitering bill that some say unfairly targets African-Americans decided last night to seek the removal of the Annapolis alderman who crafted the proposal.The group will attempt to gather enough signatures to force a special election midway through the term of Alderman Herbert H. McMillan, a Republican.The 35 protesters -- including representatives from the Anne Arundel County chapter of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People, the Maryland Forum of African-American Leaders and the United Black Clergy -- set up a committee to circulate petitions to recall McMillan, who represents the 5th Ward.

Five Annapolis wards have contested races for alderman this year. (Wards 1, 2 and 4 are uncontested.) We asked the candidates to tell us in their own words why they thought they were the best person for the job: WARD 3 Classie Gillis Hoyle (D) I am the best person to represent Ward 3 on the City Council because I am accessible and responsive to constituents. I will bring experience and continuity to the next administration on issues such as financial management, city growth, economic stability, intergovernmental relations and transportation/traffic improvement.

Anne Arundel County Councilman Joshua J. Cohen was chosen Friday night as the Democratic nominee for Annapolis mayor, two days after Zina C. Pierre left the race because of personal financial problems. The Annapolis Democratic Central Committee selected Cohen, 36, who finished second behind Pierre in the Sept. 15 primary, with five "yes" votes and one abstention. Pierre, a political consultant, formally withdrew from the race Friday morning, after a news conference Wednesday in which she apologized to supporters for her financial problems and vowed to stay engaged.

Zina C. Pierre, a third-generation Annapolitan and political consultant appears to have won Tuesday's Democratic primary in the race for Annapolis mayor. With all the precincts reporting, Pierre held a 115-vote lead over the nearest challenger, Anne Arundel County Councilman Joshua J. Cohen, in the six-person race. Though city officials say there are about 200 absentee ballots to count, Cohen all but conceded the election Tuesday night. "I suspect that when all the votes are counted, it will still show Zina as being successful," Cohen said.

Next round in the Annapolis "bar wars": Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and members of the City Council are assembling legislation that would repeal the long-standing moratorium against new 2 a.m. liquor licenses in the city's Historic District, once again inflaming area residents who have cited rowdy behavior and public drunkenness as reasons to continue the current policy. Supporters of the bill say it will bring equity to a policy that has given an unfair advantage to older businesses, while inadvertently punishing newcomers by forcing them to stop serving liquor two hours before their competitors.

On August 21, 2009 MR. ALDERMAN. Visitation Thursday 3:30 to 8 P.M. 2140 North Fulton Avenue. Services on Friday 11 A.M. wake, 11:30 funeral at Pennsylvania Avenue A.M.E. Zion, 1128 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The filing deadline has passed for Annapolis' fall elections and nine candidates are vying for mayor, with five competitive races for the city council. Candidates had until 9 p.m. Monday to file their candidacies with the city clerk's office. Seven Democrats are battling it out in the primary for mayor - Joshua Cohen, a county councilman; Laurie Sears Deppa, a small-business owner; Trudy McFall, former chairwoman of the public housing commissioners; Zina Pierre, a political consultant; Gilbert Renaut, a mediator; Samuel E. Shropshire, an alderman; and Wayne Taylor, a former alderman.

An Annapolis alderman and mayoral candidate charged with sexually assaulting a male midshipman was the subject of a 1986 restraining order after his wife accused him of beating her, court documents show. Alderman Samuel E. Shropshire, 61, denied the claims in an interview Tuesday. Jana Shropshire made the accusations in a Montgomery County divorce filing that also contained allegations that the alderman "has a problem with homosexuality" but had been "cured" before they were married. The divorce was never finalized.

Annapolis' Democratic mayoral candidates discussed the city's key issues at a heavily attended forum held by the District 30 Democratic Club on Wednesday night. The six candidates took turns answering questions on the economy, business development, the city manager proposal and the city council's comprehensive plan. They also stressed other concerns, such as public housing and the environment. "It's important to bring them all together so you can compare and contrast," said club president Sarah Flynn, who moderated the event.

A Montgomery County assistant state's attorney will take over the prosecution of Annapolis mayoral candidate Samuel E. Shropshire, the city alderman accused of groping a Naval Academy midshipman, as Anne Arundel County prosecutors seek to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. "We have two people in our office who work with him on the city council, and one of them is an opponent in the mayor's race," said Kristin Fleckenstein, spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office. David Cordle, a Republican mayoral candidate and alderman, is the chief investigator for the Anne Arundel County state's attorney's office.

The head of an Anne Arundel County Republican women's group has apologized for a Web posting comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler, after the posting received national attention on blogs and cable television news. Joyce E. Thomann, president of the Republican Women of Anne Arundel County, wrote in a letter on the group's Web site that "Obama and Hitler have a great deal in common in my view. Obama and Hitler use the 'blitzkrieg' method to overwhelm their enemies. FAST, CARPET BOMBING intent on destruction.