Letter To The Editor from Mary Lehman and Tom Dernoga

No, we have not endorsed Martin Mitchell for County Council! But Martin Mitchell wants you to think so. He also wants you to think that he has been endorsed by a host of other officials but he has not been.

We did say something positive about him when he ran for Laurel City Council in 2021. However, he lost a lot of support running for Mayor in 2023, when the Laurel Independent (September 2023) reported about his past sexual assault charges (to which he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge) and his 2013 guilty plea for driving under the influence.

He believes he can use those five-year-old statements in this election to bolster his campaign by association. Last April, we became aware that he placed our old statements on campaign handouts and on his website strongly implying our endorsement. We immediately wrote to him and requested that he cease using these statements to suggest that we were endorsing him.

Mr. Mitchell refused, stating “There is a clear distinction between a previously approved quote and an official endorsement.  On the website, there is a section of endorsements and a section from things said about me over the years.” Councilman Dernoga let him know that using these quotes out of context is intentionally misleading and that the voters deserve elected officials with integrity. Mr. Mitchell has had over a year to remove our names, but he has ignored our requests.

At the recent Laurel Independent forum, Mr. Mitchell spoke about learning in a political science course that we need good honest actors in politics. Misusing our statements without context or permission is not a good example of integrity.

Not everyone cares what we think about candidates; however, as the two most recent County Council members, a lot of voters trust our opinion and ask us about candidates. Obviously, Mr. Mitchell knows this which is why he wants to associate himself with us while standing behind a flimsy distinction.

So, to be clear, we have endorsed Michelle Garcia, longstanding Chief of Staff to Tom Dernoga and to Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk, for County Council and not Mr. Mitchell.

Mary Lehman, Delegate (former District 1 Council member)

Tom Dernoga, District 1 Council member