The departure of a Harford County Council member for military duty in Iraq has left his seat up for grabs in the upcoming election.
District C Council Member Robert Cassilly said he had intended to run for re-election. However, he didn?t file before being called up for active duty, and U.S. Army regulations prohibited him from filing after that.
No candidates for District C had officially filed with the Board of Elections as of Thursday, but at least two members of the Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners ? where Cassilly served for six years ? are considering running.
Current Bel Air Mayor Terence Hanley speculated that most potential candidates had beenwaiting to see if Cassilly would resign. “A lot of people didn?t want to go jumping [at the seat] out of respect for Mr. Cassilly,” Hanley said. Cassilly has not resigned, but his current term ends in November with the next council election. Hanley, a Republican, said he was contemplating his own candidacy. Before Cassilly announced that he would retain his seat, Hanley said he had been approached by the county?s Republican Central Committee about interviewing for the position.
If Cassilly resigned, the committee would have submitted candidates to the council, which would have then appointed a replacement. James “Captain Jim” McMahan ? another Republican ? also said he was “seriously considering” a run for District C. McMahan echoed the concern of other town and county representatives that Bel Air would go without a voice until the next election, but also expressed his respect for Cassilly?s service. No Democrats have openly expressed interest in the seat, but the Harford County Democratic Central Committee has been courting potential candidates, said committee chair Michael Comeau. County Democrats were talking to a Bel Air lawyer about running for the seat even when Cassilly?s status was uncertain, Comeau said. The lawyer ? whom Comeau wouldn?t name because negotiations were still ongoing ? had reservations about running against Cassilly when it looked like he would be the incumbent, but will be contacted again now that Cassilly is out, Comeau said.
