Welcome to the November 17, 2025 special session of the mayor and city council.
So in order to conduct this special session, we need a motion, and I'm going to hand it over to Lisa to make this motion.
Mr. Mayor, I move that the mayor and city council of the city of Davisburg conduct a special session on Monday, November 17, 2025.
So I'll leave to receive the certificate certification certification of election results and to swear in the newly elected mayor and to say the council member.
Okay, all those the favor please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed say nay.
Okay, that carries five zero.
Thank you very much.
Now we're going to go to the pledge of allegiance.
I'm going to invite our junior mayor, Naman.
Ketalaya to the podium to come lead us in the pledge.
Everyone could please rise.
I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you, Numb.
Next, we are going to have the Board of Supervisors of Elections present the Certified Election Results.
And I'm going to invite from the Board, Ty Hardaway, to please do the presentation.
Good
evening.
Mayor Ashman, members of the City Council and the Gators Board of Community.
I am Ty Hardaway.
I am the Chair of the Board of Supervisors of Elections.
I have the pleasure of serving as the Chief Judge for the 2025 Gators Board City
Elections.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections has held a general election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025,
for mayor and two City Council members serving four-year terms.
There were six candidates, two for mayor and four for city council.
For this election, the city employed a hybrid election process to include mail-in and in-person voting, including early in-person voting.
Paper ballots were counted using optical scanning equipment, and the board was pleased with how well everything worked.
At the closing of the polls, the scanners were locked and sealed, preventing the units from accepting any further ballots.
The election results report were automatically printed and results were saved to memory cards.
The board counted and certified the mail-in ballots as well as those cast in person.
ballots postmarked by election day and received within two business days after the election
as well as provisional ballots that were completed during in-person voting were counted.
And the official election results were different from the unofficial results announced
Tuesday, November 4th, 2025, however, all outcomes remained the same.
A grand total of 6,273 valid ballots were cast.
The Board of Supervisors of Elections has certified
Judge Ashman as mayor and Lisa Henderson and Jim McNulty
as City Council members each serving four-year terms.
On behalf of the Board of Supervisors of Elections,
we would like to thank City staff,
our election judges and our election judges for conducting a very thorough fair and efficient
election. We would also like to thank our cordial and collegial candidates, many of whom
are here today, and all of our city voters. I'm very proud of Gayther's bird. Thank you.
Thank you.
So next on the agenda is the oath of office. And first is mine and to administer is
the circuit court clerk, Karen Buschill, and then I will present the oath or I will leave the
oath for Lisa and for Jim.
And minister, that's the first one.
Yeah, that's the first one.
Hi, Joe Dashman.
Do you solve a square?
Do you solve a week's square?
that I will support the Constitution of the United States.
That I will support the Constitution of the United States.
And that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance.
That I will be faithful and bear true allegiance.
To the State of Maryland.
And support the Constitution and laws thereof.
And that I will.
To the best of my skill in judgment.
Diligently and faithfully.
Without partiality or prejudice.
Execute the office of execute the office of mayor gaiters for mayor gaiters for a
According to the Constitution and laws of the state according to the Constitution and laws of this state
Congratulations, and
I need you to sign right here. Yeah, and I need you to sign right here to
All right,
is there just one? Yeah
Okay, so next we're going to do Lisa and Lisa please feel free to invite anybody you want up here with you as well.
My family come up. I see members of them out there.
Now they're going to act shy.
We know the truth.
You stay right where you are.
You can. I want you guys in the shot so.
right here next.
Okay. Please raise your right hand. I and then
state your name. I at least a Henderson. Do a firm. Do a firm that I will
support the Constitution of the United States. That I will support the
Constitution of the United States and that I will be faithful and that I will be
faithful and very true allegiance and bear true allegiance to the State of
Maryland to the State of Maryland and support the Constitution and laws
their up in support the Constitution and laws their up and that I will and that I will to the best
of my skill in judgment to the best of my skill in judgment diligently and faithfully diligently and faithfully
without partiality or prejudice without partiality or prejudice execute the office of
execute the office of city council of the city of counsel of the city of Gators Park.
According to the Constitution according to the Constitution the laws of this state
The laws of the state and the gaitersburg city charter and code and the gaitersburg city charter and call code
I could promise you that we did not invent that
That pledge that oath that is actually state laws the clunky as though
Ever known to man,
okay
Okay.
Please raise your right hand.
I, St.
Janane.
I James Francis McNulty.
Brotherutesetoafard.
Do you affirm that I will support the Constitution of United States that I will support
the Constitution of the United States and that will be faithful?
And that it will be faithful in their true allegiance and their true allegiance to the
State of Maryland to the State of Maryland.
And support the Constitution and laws there of?
And support the Constitution and laws there of.
And that I will and that I will and that I will to the best of my skill and judgment
the best of my skill in judgment, diligently and faithfully, diligently and faithfully, without
partiality or prejudice, without partiality or prejudice, execute the office of, execute the
office of City Council of the City Council of the City of Gathensburg, according to the
Constitution, according to the Constitution, the laws of this state, the laws of the state,
and the Gathensburg city, charter and code. And the Gathensburg city, charter and code.
Congratulations.
Sidney always used to joke that we haven't signed immediately before they
Okay,
so I am going to give everyone here a chance to say a few words and we're going to start with newly
real echo council member Lisa Henderson.
Thank you Mr. Mayor.
Good evening everyone.
Tonight I stand before you, or sit before you actually, filled with gratitude, humility and renewed sense of purpose.
I'm honored to have once again earn your trust and to continue serving you as your Gatorsburg City Council Member.
First, I want to thank my family.
Your love, patience, and constant encouragement cared me through every long night, every form, every door knocked, and every challenge along the way.
I cannot do this without your unwavering support.
Tonight I also am thinking about my father.
He used to tell us all.
Go out and learn something today.
Those words shaped who I am as a daughter, as a public servant,
and as someone who believes deeply in listening, growing,
and learning from people I serve.
His spirit and that lesson stay with me every single day.
I want to recognize my mother, Reverend Theresa Henderson. She prayed for us throughout this entire
campaign and continues to pray for this mayor and council daily. Her faith, her strength,
and her guidance have been a blessing to me and to this community. To my friends and volunteers,
thank you. You showed up in the heat, in the rain, after work, on weekends, and whenever
our community needed to hear your message. You share your time, your energy, and your hearts.
This victory belongs to you as much as it belongs to me. And to the elected officials,
your support has meant the world, whether you offered your guidance, attended events,
shared encouragement, or simply checked in. You reminded me that public service is built on relationships
and community. I also want to congratulate the Mayor, Judd Ashman, and Council Member
Jim McNulty. We were friends long before we started this campaign together. But by
knocking on doors together, meeting neighbors, listening on front porches, sharing
our stories, brought us even closer. I am grateful for those partnerships, their
partnership, their leadership, and the teamwork that made this campaign so meaningful.
I look forward to continuing and to collaborate with you as we serve Gatorsburg side by side.
I also want to acknowledge everyone who stepped forward to participate in this election.
Offer in your time, ideas, and perspective takes commitment, and our community grows stronger when people engage in the democratic process.
And I also want to recognize my fellow council members, Nill Harris, Rob Wu, and Jamil Hernandez.
With all of us returning, the band is back together.
And I'm excited to continue the great work we have been.
Doing as one team for Gavispart. Enter the residents of Gavispart, thank you for believing in the vision of an inclusive forward-thinking city.
A city where every neighborhood matters, every voice is heard, every generation is valued. Your support is not just a vote, it is a commitment to continuing the progress we have made together.
This campaign was rooted in one simple idea, encouraged by community.
And tonight you prove once again how powerful that idea truly is.
As we head into this next term, I remain focused on the issues that matter, housing
affordability, smart development, support for seniors and families, economic growth, public
safety, and ensuring Gatorsburg remains a welcoming place to live.
We have important work ahead of us, but we will do it together, listening, learning and
lifting one another up.
Thank you for your trust, thank you for your partnership, and thank you for the privilege
of serving this incredible city.
I am honored, I am inspired, and I am ready for what comes next.
Thank you, and let's keep moving forward, Gators, where let's do it together.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lisa.
We'll go to Jim.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I want to give my congratulations to you.
to you and to our good friend, Councilmember Lisa Henderson as well.
I want to start by thanking both of you for your friendship and your support these last
four years and these last four months.
It was an honor to run with you and I'm so glad that we actually got our moment this time.
You know, four years ago, it was the middle of the night when we found out that we had one,
so we didn't get to celebrate.
So being able to celebrate with the two of you was really special and I'm grateful for
the opportunity to run it back with the two of you.
I also want to thank my council colleagues who could have simply watched from the sidelines,
but were active in helping get us reelected, so to council members, Neil Harris, and Rob
Wu, and our vice president, Jimmy Hernandez.
I look forward to continuing to share the day us with you and to doing the good work together
for our residents.
I want to congratulate the Board of Supervisors of Elections, our city staff, especially our city manager,
to Nisha Briley and our city clerk Leah Jones and all of the staff who worked on the
election on managing such a robust turnout. It's still not where we'd like it to be, but we are
trending in the right direction and this gives us momentum to build on in the next two years.
Before I get into thanking my team, I want to acknowledge Tiffany Kelly and Chris Tom's
and homo Williams for putting themselves out there
and wanting to make a difference for our community.
And Chris and Tiffany are here tonight.
And I have sat in that seat and watched someone else
get sworn in and it is not easy.
We are a character count city and being here tonight
and supporting us shows that you truly embodied.
That's so thank you for being here tonight.
There are so many people that I need to thank,
starting with my family.
This has been a really challenging year
many, many levels. And I could not have survived it without them. My wife Amy, my children,
CJ and Sean. CJ just got home from college today. So four hours home and she gets to come to
that's getting sworn in. Both of my children got to vote in the selection and my son got to cast
his first ever vote for him.
That's really cool. I'm just so blessed. I love you guys so much. My
Parents, Kathy, Frank, Bonnie, we're all here on election day.
Along with my brother, Chris, actually this weekend,
we just celebrated my dad's 75th birthday up in Philly.
So I know they're watching, so happy birthday again, dad.
It was a really special moment on election day.
We got to get a great picture with my parents and Lisa's mom,
having all the parents there together.
It was a really great moment.
My in-laws, Sharon and Kathy, as well as Uncle Tommy,
who was incredibly generous.
And then, of course, my team.
Eight years ago, I learned that it's not enough that you want to run for office.
You have to have a village that wants you in that office, too.
And along the way, I have been blessed to meet so many kind and generous people who have given
their time, their talent, and their treasure to help get me elected.
In particular, I want to thank Andy, and Isaac, and Matt, and Jason, and Oscar, and Ari
and Demetria, and Pete, and Lee, and George, and that, and David, and June, and Ken and
Rebecca, and Rich, and Sean, and Tony, and too many people to name everybody, but we
had over 90 different donations from people, and I'm humbled by your generosity.
to the dozens of my colleagues at various levels of government who gave their endorsements
from my friends in Rockville to our state delegations from D17 and 39 to our county council
colleagues in elsewhere. I appreciate each and every one of you. I appreciate our partnership
and I look forward to working together towards our common goals. And of course, I must thank
the voters of KTHersburg. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much for sending back to work
with these excellent public servants. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have so many
of you come up on Election Day and whisper in my ear, I just voted for you. Where to be told when I was
door knocking, I already sent my ballot in for you. This is one of the best things about municipal
government, these one-on-one interactions that happen with the community throughout the
year.
And that's a benefit of being the level of government that's closest to the people.
Throughout our campaign, I would hear over and over all the great things that the city
is doing with very specific praise for members of the city staff that they've connected with
in their daily lives.
I can't tell you how often I heard the city is great, everyone else is a mess.
But that is a testament to our incredible city staff who make us look good on the daily
And while we're not immune to the mess that is happening all around us, it really is refreshing to receive that kind of feedback.
You know, we all are in this to try to make our little corner of the world better place.
But of course there is much work that still needs to be done.
We heard loud and clear that affordability and pedestrian safety and growth are top of mind in our community as they should be.
And that work begins straight away.
And while we may not always agree on the how, I'm confident that by working together, leveraging
our talents and our passions, and by truly listening to the needs of our community,
K-thersburg will continue to be the best city in the world, and I, for one, are ready
to get back to work.
So thank you, God bless you, and to steal the mayor's line, let's do great things,
K-thersburg.
You're going to hear that line more than or less than I am just a spoiler.
Jamil?
Not much to be added there.
I was reflecting on something Council Member McNulty said during the campaign in
election night about the Gatorsburg way.
And the Gatorsburg way is something very special to me and it's you know how we treat each other
with civility and collegiality and we try to give voters reasons to vote for us, not against
our opponents.
And you saw that happen in this election.
I'm really proud of that.
And I look forward to continuing to work with everybody.
I'm getting this pump.
And wishing you great things and also do great things
would give this work together.
Right.
Let's go to Neil.
OK, so I'm just very proud, not only of my colleagues
for running great campaigns, but for the entire election process,
where it was very civil, it wasn't personal,
it was focused on the issues and the needs.
And there was a debate, there was disagreement,
but it was all handled in the Gaythusburg way
where we had civil discussions and let the voters decide.
I'm very proud of the fact that we had the biggest turnout
we've ever had in election, as it was said,
we would like it to be even higher,
but we beat the previous total by more than 1,000 votes
until I think probably 1,500, which is good,
and hopefully we'll do even better next time,
but very happy to be serving with these fine people once again.
And we're going to do great things for you
and let us know what you need and we'll keep trying to help.
Thank you.
I would just say, did I, but I guess I have a little bit more
to say, because of the momentous night.
So Mayor Judd, Jim Lisa, congratulations.
It's as it should be, and I look forward to working with you
for at least a little time more.
I will acknowledge the record turnout and the fact
that up until this certification, I was the most popular
in council, but now both Lisa and Jim have surpassed me
and so congratulations on that.
Of course, to the Board of Supervisors elections and staff, it was flawless this time, which is, it's very good every other time, but this time it just, it just seemed flawless and it's just a testament to the amount of hard work that bows and staff put into this.
And I understand we have a new person at the helm of the ship as far as this election is concerned and so congratulations to Leah on running this.
Of course, it goes without saying, we want to have a robust election and we've been thinking
of ways every year, and we're going to call upon Bose again, to think about how we can
make our democracy more perfect, but I think that it starts with great candidates, so I do
want to acknowledge and congratulate Tiffany Omo and Chris for just making it so energetic and
making our democracy work and we hope it works in the future.
So just congratulations.
I did want to note that when I, in 2023,
when I was sworn in, my wife and kids did not attend.
They were on vacation somewhere.
But this time they're actually here to congratulate the three of you.
So yes.
Thank you, Rob.
Let's give Rob a round of applause.
So I do want to, before I launch into some remarks,
I do want to acknowledge some people in the audience.
Tiffany Kelly, let's give Tiffany a round of applause.
Chris Tom's, let's give Chris a round of applause.
And almost not here, but I think he deserves a round of applause.
I also want to acknowledge some elected officials in the audience tonight.
I'm going to start with our former mayor,
and current county council member Sydney A. Katz.
We had Senator Nancy King, but she had to run,
because they're doing a joint priority here.
I don't know how Ryan's still here, but we'll get to Ryan a second.
But we also have our delegate from District 17, former City Council member Ryan Spiegel,
and we have two former City Council members in the room, Mike Sessma,
way in the back of Ed Monroe.
So, people often ask me, what's it like being mayor, do you enjoy it?
And right now, the refrain that keeps popping into my head is that famous line from
Elizabeth there at Browning Palm. How do I love the? Let me count the ways. I'm not gonna try to count
all the ways that I love being mayor because it would take hours, but I want to share just one
example. A few weeks ago, Jessa, one of our nonprofit partners invited me to the parent resource center
over at Gathersburg Elementary School. And I walked into classroom where there were a couple
doesn't people. All Hispanic, they were learning English as their kids went to school at the school,
at the school of Gator's Brigham entry. They seemed friendly, but you could feel a little bit
of wearing this, a little guardedness. So I introduced myself. I said, I am Judge Ashman,
Mayor of Gator'sburg, and before I tell you about how the city works as I was prompted to do.
I want to say on behalf of our City Council and our staff that we welcome you and we're glad
that you're here and we're proud of this program and we're proud of you and we want
you to be part of our community and as the staff translated my words, I watched their faces
and you could actually see the tension ease, the shoulders dropped the eyes soften because
frankly, this isn't the message that many immigrants have been hearing from people in government,
from people who look like me in recent months and what they heard in that moment was the opposite.
And from there it turned into a very delightful conversation. We ended up taking pictures
and sharing stories and a young man there actually asked me for several autographs, which is completely
but very flattering and I left feeling like we'd made a real connection and as I was
leaving it struck me how lucky that I am at such a fraught time in our national
politics that this community would give me the opportunity to extend a hand and
offer a warm embrace on its behalf. After all these years you still get a
of imposter syndrome, that I feel like that's how you know you're still in it for the right reasons. What a blessing.
And as a post script, so I had invited all of these people to come.
For you, if you want, and they had actually on Friday, I got a request for an interpreter for this meeting.
Now, so we have, we're ready in the back room to interpret. However, I think when they found out that it was just to swear us in, and we weren't actually conducting real visits there like I don't want to see.
We'll come to the next meeting. I don't know. But hopefully we'll get a chance to all say hello to them and give them the warm welcome.
This was my seventh city election campaign and to put that in perspective and sound really old.
The first year I want to see it on the council, Apple had just launched the first iPhone.
George W. Bush was the president.
My hair had color in it.
And since then, I've been through the great recession here.
A multiple government shutdowns and the pandemic.
But through it all, Gator's bird has been constant.
The greatest of places to be.
What makes it so great?
Well, Shakespeare said it best.
What is the city, but the people?
From the first day here to this day,
I have found the people of Gator's bird to be absolutely wonderful.
That's not to say that we live in some sort of impenetrable bubble.
Campaigns give you a view of a city that's both telescopic and microscopic. People are generally good and often awesome
I have made some terrific new friends this year
But I think
Lisa and Jim would agree that the courseness and toxicity of national politics has unfortunately
Seat into our city in some ways and I would just remind everyone. It's never healthy when we talk past each other
make assumptions based on labels or appearances or forget to actually listen because every time
I knock on doors, I'm reminded. The world is more nuanced than that. People are more nuanced than
that. The stories that have brought our neighbors to this place together with us are incredible.
They're worth hearing and we need to put down our phones sometimes and get out of our silos and
space to hear them. How do I love our staff? Let me count the ways. I'm the trail this year.
A lot of folks told me, you're doing a great job. Gator's burgers so well run. And that's
very gratifying to hear, but I know it's not what they really mean, because it's not like most
people are watching our meetings and astonished by how well I run them. It's really not. I can
acknowledge that, or that they're fully aware of the decisions that the council and I are making all the
time, maybe a few of them. But what they're really talking about is this. When they call for a new
recycle bin, our public work staff get it to the next day. Maybe even that day, when they take a cooking
class at KC, they walk away with techniques that they'll use for life. When they submit a permit for a new
deck, our planning and coaching helps them get through it quickly and respectfully. What they're
feeling is the excellence of our staff.
If I can take credit for anything, it's this.
Over the 18 years I've been in office here, I've learned,
and it times I have preached that the well-being and morale
of our staff is something we must always protect.
Because when our staff feel supported,
they serve with professionalism and a smile,
and that's what makes this community shine.
This was a hard-fought election.
Everyone got out there to meet the voters
and make their cases.
And I salute all of the candidates, Tiffany Kelly,
Oma Demola, Williams, and Chris Tombs.
They put themselves out there, worked hard
and gave the voters a real choice.
They made us all better candidates, and that was good
for Gator's Bird and for Democracy.
I'm thrilled for both Lisa and Jim,
both very good friends, terrific public servants,
huge congratulations to both of them.
their teams and their families. And how do I love our team? Let me count the ways.
I've argued through this campaign. We'll continue to that we have the most
efficient responses local government in Maryland. The people at this
dies offer a diversity of professional skills, life experience and leadership
approaches, but one thing that all of us have in common is that we're all
invested in a proud culture of civility, working to do good by Gator's
to the voters, supporters, volunteers, friends, and anyone who offered encouragement along the way I thank you
profoundly. And my final thank you is to my family, including my wife Lee, my kids, Jeff, Brittany, and Jenna, our grandchildren,
Willow and Wesley, and all of the relevant dogs and cats in our lives. The only job I have that's better than being
judge as being Papa Judd. And the fact that you all let me do both is something I'll always be grateful for.
Also for the day-to-day support and the wise advice in for helping this color challenge the guy matches outfits.
But now, as my colleagues have said, it's time to move forward. The people have spoken,
they've passed us the baton once again and asked us to lead this city towards its potential.
I believe, as strong as ever, that Gatarsburg can be the very best of America, and as we pursue
that vision, may we remember that our greatest successes are collective, not individual.
May we protect the traditions of civility and good governance that have defined us, may
we treasure them around well-being of our staff, and may we always keep in mind who we serve,
and why we serve for that's our reason for being, let's do great things Gatarsburg.
And with that, I will invite every we're going to join this meeting in a second, but I will invite everybody we have some food set up in the community room next door and we hope you all join us and enjoy that.
We have a work session next Monday night November 24th to discuss the status report for the safe streets and roads for all safety action plan.
We hope you'll join us then, and then the next regular meeting of the Marin Council will
be on Monday, December 1st, until next time again.
Let's be great.
Thanks, Gatorsburg.
We are adjourned.