POLITICS AND POLICE: John Kendall Edison Jr. walks the wild side once again, dances with deputy during drug arrest but could he wind up in politics?

POLITICS AND POLICE: John Kendall Edison Jr. walks the wild side once again, dances with deputy during drug arrest but could he wind up in politics?

Edison claims interest in running for Delegate from St. Mary’s County; could be first black to ever represent St. Mary’s in Maryland General Assembly

News and Commentary

By Ken Rossignol

THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY

LEXINGTON PARK, MD. – A bad boy who got really lucky when he hired a good lawyer more a dozen years ago who kept him from going to prison for twenty years when charged with the rape of a young teenager, might want to find the phone number for that barrister once more.

St. Mary’s Sheriff Tim Cameron reports that on February 28, 2021, St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Department Deputy Travis Wimberly conducted a traffic stop in the 21100 block of Lexwood Court in Lexington Park. 

The deputy identified the driver as John Kendall Edison Jr., 29, (DOB 2/25/1992) of 21015 Great Mills Road, Lexington Park, Md. The odor of marijuana was detected by the keen nose of the officer and a vehicle search was conducted which located an alleged 33 grams of pot.

Cameron reports that Edison refused to comply with any orders given on scene and resisted arrest by refusing to place his hands behind his back for which he was rewarded with another slew of charges appropriate for such alleged bozo antics.

Edison was charged with CDS: Possession-Marijuana plus 10 grams, Obstructing and Hindering, Fail to Obey Reasonable/Lawful Order, and Resist/Interfere with Arrest.         

Edison also was cited for failing to make a complete stop at a red light before making a turn, which shows he stands a good chance of causing embarrassment for his driver education teacher.  Edison was operating a 2021 KIA with New York tags when he was stopped by Deputy Wimberly.  Court records show that Edison is deemed eligible for a public defender – and he has to ask himself – does he feel lucky, or will he call the Gunslinger Lawyer Kevin McDevitt once again?

Edison must be a training aide for Southern Maryland Sheriff deputies and Maryland State Troopers as he typically gains a dozen or more traffic citations each time he is stopped, generally once or twice each month for the past several years. 

The most commonplace error that Edison makes is forgetting that he does not have a drivers’ license, but still operates a motor vehicle.  He has yet to pay pertinent traffic fines and likely would rather spend his money on whacky tobaccy which helps him breeze down the highway of life with a big smile, as evidenced by his booking photo.  

Edison may also be in a good mood as he attends numerous motivational meetings which clearly enhance his entrepreneurial goals in real estate, logistics and cleaning businesses.  

On his Facebook page where he has over 5,000 friends, Edison claimed that he was a 2018 candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 29B. State election records do not reveal that he remembered to file as a candidate and wasn’t on the ballot, but given the way elections are run these days, it shouldn’t matter a lot, as tons of mail-in ballots are likely ready with his name on them just waiting for the next election to roll around.

…become the first black to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from St. Mary’s County

Edison could easily swamp the wanna-be liberal activist current delegate, Brian Crosby, in the Democratic Primary in 2022 and become the first black to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from St. Mary’s County.  Edison could explore his family history and discover that he is a descendent of slaves.

St. Mary’s County has a long history of slave owners and descendants of slave owners holding elective office. As recent as the 1962 election a descendent of a slave-owning Democrat politician, the late John Hanson Briscoe, was elected to the House of Delegates and became Speaker of the House before retiring from the post. Briscoe was appointed to the Circuit Court by Governor Harry Hughes and won a full fifteen-year term, serving from January 17, 1986, to July 31, 2002.  

Briscoe’s family had owned the Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood and with the assistance of former St. Mary’s Commissioner Barbara Thompson, in 1996 convinced the St. Mary’s Board of Commissioners to fund $50,000 in public money to rebuild the slave quarters at Sotterley – taking tax money from the descendants of slaves in St. Mary’s County to glorify the old plantation life at Sotterley.

Edison has a lot of experience in cultivating others to join him in various endeavors and could easily transition his background into politics – a job that only has one requirement – obtaining one more vote in an election than one’s opponent.

Delegate Crosby has been attempting to change the way elections are held in St. Mary’s County for County Commissioner, from at large to individual districts.  The late Judge Briscoe was one of three at large delegates for Charles and St. Mary’s until districts were designated.  

The current District 29-B was redrawn by the Maryland General Assembly to protect former Delegate John Bohanan and looped around his home in Wildewood and redrawn once again after he moved to St. Mary’s City.  In 2014, the voters of St. Mary’s County dumped Bohanan and Senator Roy Dyson and installed Republicans Deb Rey and Steve Waugh in their places.  In 2018, Rey, who spent most of her time on whacky issues instead of relevant problems to the district, lost to Crosby who was fronting for Bohanan in a revenge match.  

Waugh lost the GOP primary to Senator Jack Bailey as he believed a pompous role of Senator for Life had been bestowed upon him and began to challenge Gov. Larry Hogan. Hogan endorsed Bailey and Waugh, who claimed he didn’t need a district office to serve constituents, was booted out by the voters in the 2018 Primary Election.

While Edison may have failed to follow through in 2018 with his interest in being a Delegate, his social media skills just might be the trick in empowering blacks to have one of their own representing them as a lawmaker instead of yet another in a long line of white guys who pander in the election year and spend four years in Annapolis sucking up to lobbyists and power brokers.  

From his own experience when charged with rape as a 16-year-old and found not guilty by a jury, and in suffering from lies, distortions, and misdeeds on the part of prosecutors, cops, and judges in St. Mary’s County, this entrepreneurial roustabout just might find politics to be his forte. Many other blacks around Maryland now hold public office, which was once the protected stomping grounds for the wealthy and influential.

 After all, John Edison gets to meet a lot of law officers when he takes to the highway, he just needs to bother to take the time to obtain a driver’s permit and he can campaign for their votes as well when he is stopped.