九色视频 鈥 Two political mailers from Town Council President Frank Gunsallus and the local Republican committee are stirring discourse, including from Mayor Megan Cook, who said claims made on the flyers are 鈥渇lat-out false鈥 and insulting.
The mailers, which many residents received Thursday, list the Talbot County Republican Central Committee on the authority line. The committee has endorsed Gunsallus in his race against Don Abbatiello for president, as well as candidates Lynn and Cameron Keefe in the Ward 2 and Ward 4 races, respectively.
Both Gunsallus flyers call out the mayor, one stating, 鈥淒on鈥檛 let our out-of-town Mayor and her supporters change the character of Easton.鈥 They home in on draft inclusionary zoning legislation 鈥 which Cook and town planners have advocated for and Gunsallus opposes 鈥 that has not yet been introduced as an ordinance.
Cook told 九色视频 Friday that multiple statements made by the Gunsallus campaign are false, including the claim Cook recruited three candidates to run in Tuesday鈥檚 election. Cook said she did not recruit anyone.
鈥淚 just think all the claims are ridiculous,鈥 Cook said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all misleading or flat-out false.鈥
One sentence states that Cook 鈥渁nd her staff quietly usher in new developments鈥攚ith little to no public input.鈥 The mayor disputed that assertion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an insult to our staff, who are excellent, and the many volunteers that we have serving on boards and commissions,鈥 she said.
Neither Gunsallus nor the Republican Central Committee responded to 九色视频鈥檚 requests for interviews.
This year鈥檚 council president race is the second in a row during which mailers were sent to residents. In 2023, during a four-person race for the seat, mailers targeted former mayor and then-candidate Bob Willey.
Flyers during that campaign were paid for by Scott R. Wagner, a former Pennsylvania state senator and Talbot County business owner. One featured an image of a diaper and said both politicians and diapers need to be changed.
In an interview Thursday, Abbatiello said this year鈥檚 flyers are 鈥渇ull of misstatements.鈥
鈥淭hey are meant to instill fear in residents,鈥 Abbatiello said. 鈥淭hey are meant to divide the community. All so that they can win an election.鈥
INCLUSIONARY ZONING
In Thursday鈥檚 flyers 鈥 as well as flyers sent to Ward 4 mail boxes this week by Cameron Keefe and the Republican committee 鈥 inclusionary zoning is prominent.
Presented to the Town Council at a February workshop, draft legislation would require residential developers to allocate 15% of their units as affordable. For ownership developments, the legislation would require inclusionary units meet an affordable price for households making up to 100% of area median income.
The legislation would grant developers that provide inclusionary units on the same site as market-rate units with a 20% density bonus. But the ordinance hasn鈥檛 been formally introduced. Its next step is a potential recommendation to the council from the town鈥檚 housing task force.
In an interview earlier this week before the flyers were received, Republican Central Committee Vice Chair Shari Wilcoxon said inclusionary zoning is the 鈥渘umber one thing in this whole race.鈥 She said if passed, it could hurt property values.
鈥淚n my opinion, every single person who owns property in this town, Republican or Democrat, ought to be concerned,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 am of the full belief that the mayor, it鈥檚 her bill,鈥 Wilcoxon said. 鈥淪he tried to get it through before, but didn鈥檛 have the votes, so it somehow got tabled until after the election.鈥
Gunsallus has made clear his opposition to inclusionary zoning. In an interview with 九色视频鈥檚 editorial board last week, he said defeating inclusionary zoning is one of his top three priorities.
Regarding the legislation, a Gunsallus mailer reads: 鈥淚 am the only Councilmember who has vocally opposed the current Inclusionary Zoning bill, which will allow (and effectively require) high-density housing in each and every neighborhood.鈥
In a on the town鈥檚 website Friday afternoon, the town clarified the bill would only affect new developments or redeveloped properties with seven or more residential units. It also addressed other claims made by candidates during this election cycle.
Councilmember David Montgomery has also expressed his opposition publicly. Montgomery has endorsed Abbatiello and cited Abbatiello鈥檚 concerns over the legislation as a reason for supporting him.
鈥淚 think neither of us sees the inclusive zoning ordinance as the best way of going out and providing affordable housing,鈥 Montgomery said last month.
Abbatiello, who was questioned at a candidate town hall Tuesday about his unclear stance on inclusionary zoning, said Thursday he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 the answer.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 other things that we can do, and I鈥檝e said that repeatedly,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut again, I wasn鈥檛 going to make a decision without hearing all the information.鈥
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