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The mailers, which many residents received Thursday, list the Talbot County Republican Central Committee on the authority line. The committee has endorsed Gunsallus in his race against Don Abbatiello for president, as well as candidates Lynn and Cameron Keefe in the Ward 2 and Ward 4 races, respectively.

Both Gunsallus flyers call out the mayor, one stating, “Don’t let our out-of-town Mayor and her supporters change the character of Easton.� They home in on draft inclusionary zoning legislation — which Cook and town planners have advocated for and Gunsallus opposes — that has not yet been introduced as an ordinance.

Cook told Â鶹´«Ã½ Friday that multiple statements made by the Gunsallus campaign are false, including the claim Cook recruited three candidates to run in Tuesday’s election. Cook said she did not recruit anyone.

“I just think all the claims are ridiculous,� Cook said. “They’re all misleading or flat-out false.�

One sentence states that Cook “and her staff quietly usher in new developments—with little to no public input.� The mayor disputed that assertion.

“It’s an insult to our staff, who are excellent, and the many volunteers that we have serving on boards and commissions,� she said.

Neither Gunsallus nor the Republican Central Committee responded to Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s requests for interviews.

This year’s council president race is the second in a row during which mailers were sent to residents. In 2023, during a four-person race for the seat, mailers targeted former mayor and then-candidate Bob Willey.

Flyers during that campaign were paid for by Scott R. Wagner, a former Pennsylvania state senator and Talbot County business owner. One featured an image of a diaper and said both politicians and diapers need to be changed.

In an interview Thursday, Abbatiello said this year’s flyers are “full of misstatements.�

“They are meant to instill fear in residents,� Abbatiello said. “They are meant to divide the community. All so that they can win an election.�

INCLUSIONARY ZONING

In Thursday’s flyers — as well as flyers sent to Ward 4 mail boxes this week by Cameron Keefe and the Republican committee — inclusionary zoning is prominent.

Presented to the Town Council at a February workshop, draft legislation would require residential developers to allocate 15% of their units as affordable. For ownership developments, the legislation would require inclusionary units meet an affordable price for households making up to 100% of area median income.

The legislation would grant developers that provide inclusionary units on the same site as market-rate units with a 20% density bonus. But the ordinance hasn’t been formally introduced. Its next step is a potential recommendation to the council from the town’s housing task force.

In an interview earlier this week before the flyers were received, Republican Central Committee Vice Chair Shari Wilcoxon said inclusionary zoning is the “number one thing in this whole race.� She said if passed, it could hurt property values.

“In my opinion, every single person who owns property in this town, Republican or Democrat, ought to be concerned,� she said.

“I am of the full belief that the mayor, it’s her bill,� Wilcoxon said. “She tried to get it through before, but didn’t have the votes, so it somehow got tabled until after the election.�

Gunsallus has made clear his opposition to inclusionary zoning. In an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s editorial board last week, he said defeating inclusionary zoning is one of his top three priorities.

Regarding the legislation, a Gunsallus mailer reads: “I am the only Councilmember who has vocally opposed the current Inclusionary Zoning bill, which will allow (and effectively require) high-density housing in each and every neighborhood.�

In a on the town’s website Friday afternoon, the town clarified the bill would only affect new developments or redeveloped properties with seven or more residential units. It also addressed other claims made by candidates during this election cycle.

Councilmember David Montgomery has also expressed his opposition publicly. Montgomery has endorsed Abbatiello and cited Abbatiello’s concerns over the legislation as a reason for supporting him.

“I think neither of us sees the inclusive zoning ordinance as the best way of going out and providing affordable housing,� Montgomery said last month.

Abbatiello, who was questioned at a candidate town hall Tuesday about his unclear stance on inclusionary zoning, said Thursday he doesn’t think it’s the answer.

“I think there’s other things that we can do, and I’ve said that repeatedly,� he said. “But again, I wasn’t going to make a decision without hearing all the information.�