Guest Commentary: Christine Dolan
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The Easton Town Council presidential election on
Tuesday, May 6 matters.
What is at stake is whether its residents want to
maintain its historical charm or flip it into an expanded
development and morph it further into a cesspool of
ignorance.
The political tactics in this local race have become
stunningly nasty, debunking the rural charm that
Easton once possessed.
Boorish political tactics over the Talbot Boy's
statue and budget for Pride flags in the past caught the
public's attention. Neither were Easton's finest hours
nor its brightest points of light.
Town Council President Frank Gunsallus, running for
re-election, is being challenged by Town Council
member Don Abbatiello.
Sheriff Joe Gamble and Maryland State Senator
Johnny Mautz and others have endorsed
Gunsallus. The Star Democrat endorsed Abbatiello.
When Abbatiello was first elected, he was a republican;
today, he is running as an independent. When
Gunsallus was elected, he was an independent; today,
he is running as a republican.
I endorsed Frank Gunsallus in the past and I endorse
him again for re-election.
This endorsement comes with criticism though of some
of the players involved in this race on the sidelines but
not too far from the track.
Easton is a small town in a rural area where the
richness of a community lays down their swords, not
raise them. This election cycle has ignited some
unfounded accusations that blow the lid off decency.
The nasty and baseless attacks against Gunsallus by
some of his own council members, the treatment he
has received from The Star Democrat's own news
editors, and whoever is behind the Nazi and Swastika
defacements and KKK hoods made from paper and
put on Gunsallus’ face on his political signs deserves
exposure and wide condemnation.
There has been far too much silence about this
situation. One of the defaced signs had the KKK
symbol on it on property owned by a Jewish family.
That is an appalling lack of sensitivity.
The Easton Police’s ongoing confirmed criminal
investigations of these hate crimes hopefully will result
in an arrest.
“We are getting closer,” said a source. We all should
stand with law enforcement on this Easton stain and
hope they succeed.
The Easton Town Council and Talbot County Council
officials overseeing budgets should be condemning
these hate crimes and explaining how they affect
budgets, resources, time, and manpower which divert
those elements from more serious criminal
investigations.
A doctor was recently extradited from Texas to
Maryland and charged for sex violations in Talbot
County. Another man from Texas applied for a job with
the Easton Police with fabricated identification. That
bloke was arrested. Another dirty little secret no one
wants to discuss – local law enforcement investigates
child porn cases - serious crimes against children.
The Star Democrat published an article about the Nazi
signs as if all the candidates' signs had been attacked
with Swastikas. That emphasis was twisted. Gunsallus
was the candidate targeted with Nazi symbols and
Swastikas.
Abbatiello said at one of the smaller low-key
neighborhood debates that he feels bad that these
tactics were happening and “I hope my supporters are
not involved.”
I bet he does.
I bet he does.
Mayor Cook, in a written message to Gunsallus stated
she was sorry he was "going through this," meaning
the Nazi attacks.
I sincerely doubt that considering the timbre of Cook’s
recent verbal attacks on Gunsallus.
A former Town County attorney has slammed
Gunsallus. He is the Founder of “Talbot Rising.”
Perhaps, more concern should be on the fact that
Easton has no town manager and some inside the
Town Hall building are going around the Town Council
president.
How does that square with serving the public?
The recent campaign financial stories drummed up by
Mayor Cook and Town Council member David
Montgomery caught my attention in the local press.
Very odd political bedfellows at best.
At an event at The Oaks, Montgomery learned that
Frank Gunsallus received a donation. Never one to
miss an opportunity albeit with little situational
awareness, Montgomery presumably made a dash to
turn his support for Abbatiello into a win, in cahoots
with Mayor Cook.
The released chatter floating in the Easton ether was
that Gunsallus was taking money from an outside
political action committee.
political action committee.
Only, it was a lie.
Their argument started off somewhat convincing for
the average joes and janes, who know little to nothing
about campaign finance, but it was specious upon
closer examination. Their political stunt had no meat on
its bones. It backfired. They struck out.
Gunsallus had filed with the Maryland state board as
required, while Montgomery and Cook did not. Neither
had Abbatiello.
And, for all the hoopla about this story, in the end - Don
Abbatiello has nearly 80 donations totaling a little over
$13,000; Frank Gunsallus has some 34 donations
totaling approximately $16,000. The Star Democrat
reported such.
Gunsallus bought billboard space. His signs are all
over Easton.
How was he able to have so many signs, the opposing
camp screamed?
Gunsallus recycles his signs.
Lesson learned?
We ought to call Gunsallus – Recycle Frank!
Over the weekend, Abbatiello posted his donors on
social media up to April 2025, but his list does not
include in-kind donations for Town Council members,
Maureen Curry, and David Montgomery, who took ads
out for Abbatiello.
Easton residents should not lose sight of the anthill that
Mayor Cook and her unlikely bedfellow, David
Montgomery, staked out. Montgomery touts his
economic background but failed to build this financial
myth into a Swiss Alps avalanche on Gunsallus, who
recycles signs.
Montgomery and Cook almost got that scale built
though on government taxpayer's dollars. A bill was
introduced on the Town Council agenda without telling
its president – Gunsallus - ahead of time. Gunsallus
got wind of it and reached out to the Attorney General
office for advice. WHY? Because the town attorney
had not informed him as Town Council President in the
middle of an election.
Sound fishy? Buckle up! There is more to this.
The Star Democrat published a story on the Town
Council meeting when the bill was discussed.
The Star Democrat then decided to do a second story
on campaign finances on Gunsallus and Abbatiello.
The Star Democrat 's reporter sent an email to Frank
Gunsallus to give him an opportunity to supply election
financial information by 5:30pm on the same day
Gunsallus was scheduled to meet with The Star-
Gunsallus was scheduled to meet with The Star-
Democrat's editor and publisher for a "candidate
interview" at 4:30pm.
But The Star Democrat printed their second story at
2:30pm before their own 5:30pm deadline for
Gunsallus to respond.
Violating their own paper’s deadline, the reporter wrote
that Gunsallus had not responded, inferring to their
readers that Gunsallus was studiously ignoring their
request. One could easily surmise that it may have
been intentional since the readers had not known the
behind-the-scenes facts.
There was no follow up call to Gunsallus in case he did
not see the first email for whatever reason – internet
down or traveling. Seasoned reporters follow up with a
call for a crucial deadline. It is a Corky-No-No not to
because the credibility of the news organization is on
the block when journalists violate these deadlines. That
is why there are editors. They set the pace.
How do I know all this inside information?
I read The Star Democrat reporter's email to Frank
Gunsallus and his reply email to the reporter copied to
the editors and publisher. Gunsallus’ email was sent
after the paper ran their second story before the
paper’s 5:30pm deadline, and before Gunsallus'
"candidate interview" with The Star Democrat’s editors
and publisher at 4:30pm.
Gunsallus arrived for the 4:30pm meeting at the
paper’s headquarters. The paper's publisher came out
to the parking lot and apologized to Gunsallus.
The Star Democrat updated their financial story but
never came clean with the public about the fact it
breached its own deadline, and the story was initially
misleading.
What the paper leadership did next was even more
telling though.
The Star Democrat endorsed Don Abbatiello for
Easton Town Council President, but with no
transparency to the public about their screwup. No
public apology to Gunsallus.
At best, the paper should not have endorsed anyone
considering how they overstepped the line here by
abdicating their responsibility to the public by these
omissions of fact.
Even the reporter apologized to Gunsallus in recent
days.
When I called Jim Johnson at The Star Democrat
today, he believes that the paper did not do anything
wrong. He deflected the need to explain to the public
by saying, “We took the article down by 3:05pm,” and
that he called his analytic tech to see how many
people read that article. “Only 29,” said Johnson.
As if the number of eyes on an article should decide
whether to be transparent with the public.
What Johnson was not told is that there are others
inside their organization who disagree with him. He
inside their organization who disagree with him. He
knew the publisher apologized to Frank. He did not
know the reporter apologized and had no idea who
else in his organization was upset about what they did
to Gunsallus.
Sound all too dumb to be believed.
There is some history here on a lack of enlightenment
swirling the community.
In 2024, Easton Mayor Megan Cook wanted to nuke
the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast in Easton – in name only
- which had been around for decades. I called her.
I asked her if she knew of the National Prayer
Breakfast history in America, Talbot County's historical
ties to it, and there were mayors’ prayer breakfasts all
over country. She said she did not know that.
I asked Mayor Cook the only sane question I could
think of why she would want to gaslight a Mayor's
Prayer Breakfast in Easton as the Easton Mayor.
"Megan, are you an atheist?”
“I am not going to answer that,” said Mayor Cook.
That was her right although other sources claim to
know the answer to that question but refused to go on
the record out of fear of retribution.
In the end, the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Easton was
In the end, the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Easton was
changed to the Easton Prayer Breakfast.
After my call to Mayor Cook, I reached out to Easton
Town Council President Frank Gunsallus and
introduced him to two men connected to the National
Prayer Breakfast. As a result, a former U.S.
Congressman connected to the National Prayer
Breakfast for decades addressed the Easton audience
about this history last year at the prayer breakfast.
We need more adults in the room instead of this
boorish behavior by people who - for whatever reasons
- are taking the Easton community down a slippery
cesspool slope.
The residents of Easton, Maryland and Talbot County
deserve better than Easton Mayor Megan Cook,
Easton Town Council member David Montgomery,
and The Star Democrat’s shenanigans.
Even in its late hour before Tuesday’s election,
Montgomery was sending out emails to his Ward
constituency as if this were his “Last Stand” in a Battle
for himself because he staked so much on swinging
the bat against Gunsallus. This time, with even more
dyscognitive dribble as he rips his own credibility.
This country needs facts, truth, transparency, an
upgrade of moral courage and serious ethical fine
tuning in public service, and better mentoring in
newsrooms.
And that is why I am endorsing Frank Gunsallus for re-
election.
Christine Dolan is a seasoned print and broadcast
political journalist and author, who serves on the Free
Press Foundation Advisory Board, which is deeply
concerned about journalistic ethics. She co-founded
Easton Gazette but is no longer associated with it.
