Jared Littmann, a hardware store owner and former alderman, has won the Democratic primary for Annapolis mayor with 67% of the vote over Ward 3 Alderman Rhonda Pindell Charles.
Littmann received 2,594 votes while Pindell Charles had 1,271 votes.
Littmann will now advance to the November general election against Republican candidate Robert O’Shea, a business consultant.
The primary winner is a co-owner of K&B Ace Hardware in Annapolis and a former board chair of the True Value Co. Littmann represented Ward 5 from 2013 to 2017.
Following his significant lead in election-night in-person vote totals, Littmann told the Capital Gazette that Pindell Charles “ran a very spirited, respectful campaign,” and that he appreciated that they both ran on their merits, not to tear their opponent apart.
Pindell Charles served on the council starting in 2013 and will end her term this year as the new council enters office shortly after the November election. She previously served as the Ward 3 representative on the city’s Democratic Central Committee starting in 2009.
“The voters have spoken. I respect the process, and I thank everyone for all their support of our city,” Pindell Charles told the Capital.
The next mayor of Annapolis is set to take over city leadership at the end of this year, as two-term mayor Gavin Buckley concludes his time in city government. At least half the current City Council will be replaced, as four of the eight current aldermen have decided not to run for reelection.
Candidates have until the end of the day Thursday to request a recount.
Ward 1
Current Ward 1 Alderman Harry Huntley, who was appointed to the position last year, won the most competitive Democratic primary election in the city with 51% of the votes. Four Democrats ran against Huntley in the primary, including two who applied for the appointed position.
Huntley received 481 total votes, followed by Kathleen McDermott with 293, Ron Gunzburger with 137, Genevieve Torri with 19, and Ben Bramsen with 12 votes.
“Our campaign was unapologetically focused on moving the city forward; voters enthusiastically embraced that,” Huntley told the Capital Gazette. “The other candidates all worked really hard and ran really good races. They gave voice to people who don’t always feel like city government’s working for them, and that’s everything from taxes, to transparency, to tenants’ rights. I want to sit down with everybody. I want to sit down with their voters. I want to be an alderman and a Democratic nominee for everybody in the ward.”
Huntley will be up against unaffiliated candidate Tom Krieck, a business executive, in the November election.
Ward 3
Keanuú Smith-Brown, a seventh-grade teacher, won the Ward 3 alderman primary with more than 81.5% of the vote. Smith-Brown received 340 votes, while his primary competitor, Debbie Odum, had 77 votes.
“I am so honored to have this opportunity to be the Democratic nominee, to go forth in the November 4th general election,” Smith-Brown said. “To serve, represent our Ward 3 residents, my neighbors, I look forward to doing that. I will do my absolute best to do my part to make sure that we all have opportunity, that we are united together for the better.”
Unaffiliated candidate Mike Dye, an engineer, will face Smith-Brown in the general election.
Ward 4
Janice Elaine Allsup-Johnson, a former Anne Arundel County government employee, won the Ward 4 primary by four votes. She defeated Coren Eve Makell, a former Annapolis community engagement manager, who had garnered 140 votes.
“I’m going to be there for my constituents at any time,” Allsup-Johnson told the Capital. “I’m going to help Annapolis grow.”
There is no declared Republican or unaffiliated candidate in Ward 4.
Ward 6
Diesha Contee, a community navigator for Charting Career and the Eastport United Methodist Church, won the Ward 6 primary with 59.8% of the votes against Craig Cussimanio, a stay-at-home dad.
Contee won 185 votes, and Cussimanio won 124 votes.
“It lets me know that not only [I] am paying attention, the people know that I’m representing them,” Contee said. “A lot of people don’t know how to properly advocate for themselves, but it just shows that they have enough trust in me that I’ll be able to get it done for them.”
The Ward 6 in-person vote count was presented incorrectly in the unofficial in-person vote tallies released on election night. The totals of the two candidates were switched in the report.
Contee will face Republican George Michael Gallagher in November.
Wards 2, 5, 7 and 8
Four wards — 2, 5, 7 and 8 — did not have competitive primary elections, with the candidates advancing directly to the November election.
Current Democratic Ward 7 Alderman Robert Savidge has no candidate running against him in the November election.
Incumbent Democrats Karma O’Neill in Ward 2 and Brooks Schandelmeier in Ward 5 both have Republicans running against them in the general election. The Republican alderman candidates, Kenneth Vincent, is running in Ward 2, and Kyriacos Papaleonti is running in Ward 5.
Democrat Frank Thorp had no primary competitors in Ward 8, where current alderman Ross Arnett is stepping down. Unaffiliated candidate Will Cunha is running against Thorp in the November election.
Have a news tip? Contact Katharine Wilson at kwilson@baltsun.com.
