Jared Littmann, a hardware store owner and former alderman, has won the Democratic primary for Annapolis mayor over Ward 3 Alderman Rhonda Pindell Charles.
Littmann received 2,594 votes, 67% of voters in the mayoral primary, 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. He 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 of the current City Council will turnover, as four of the eight current aldermen decided not to run for re-election.
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.
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.
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 election with more than 81.5% of the vote. Smith-Brown recieved 340 votes, while his primary competitor Debbie Odum had 77 votes.
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 election by four votes. She won against Coren Eve Makell, a former Annapolis community engagement manager, who had 140 votes.
There is no declared Republican or unaffiliated candidate in Ward 4.
Ward 6
Diesha Contee, a community navigator, won the Ward 6 election with 59.8% of the votes against Craig Cussimanio, a stay-at-home dad.
The Ward 6 in-person vote count was presented incorrectly in the unofficial in-person vote tallies released on election night. The two candidate’s totals were switched on the report.
Diesha Contee will be up against 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 November.
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