ELECTION DECEPTION

CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE AMY LORENZINI, IN A SHOCKING BETRAYAL OF TRUST, ISSUED A DELIBERATELY DECEPTIVE CAMPAIGN ELECTRONIC TEXT MESSAGE AND TV AD. THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO DISTORT A NEWS ARTICLE THAT HAD ALERTED VOTERS TO ELABORATE FUNDRAISING IN THE 2024 ELECTION.

BY KEN ROSSIGNOL
THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY

UPDATE: Sue Ann Armitage comments, “I think your description of the ad is accurate. I cannot explain my opponent’s statements.”

In November, THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY published a news article about the 2024 election for Circuit Court Judge in St. Mary’s County, in which two candidates had filed to fill the seat that is open. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in the last year of his term and ineligible to run again, selected Amy Lorenzini to fill the circuit court vacancy that arose due to the retirement of Judge David Densford.

Sue Ann Armitage filed for election to be considered by the voters for the open judgeship. Candidates must file and run in both the Democratic and Republican Party Primary Elections, and those who are not registered with these two parties, are unaffiliated or registered with other parties such as Green or Libertarian or unaffiliated have no vote in this election, which will be held on May 14, 2024.  If one candidate wins both party primaries, the election is over; if each candidate wins one party primary, the race will be decided in the November General Election.  

Former Senator Roy Dyson (D. St. Mary’s, Calvert) proposed changing the law to allow independents to vote. However, this effort was unsuccessful due to the Democrats’ overwhelming dominance of the Maryland legislature, who wished to keep the law just the way it was and still is today.

A mass text message from Circuit Court Judge Amy Lorenzini was distributed by cell phone in St. Mary’s County on April 22, 2024.

The following was the message:

“Hi, This is St. Mary’s County Circuit Court Judge Amy Lorenzini. I wanted to send you a preview of our first campaign TV ad as they begin airing this week. Just a reminder, early voting begins next Thursday, May 2nd, and Primary election day is on Monday, May 14th. I hope that I can earn your vote and your trust to continue serving St. Mary’s County as a Circuit Court Judge. BY AUTHORITY OF KEEP JUDGE AMY LLORENZINI, ALESHA BOYD, TREASURER www.keepjudgeamy.com”

CLICK BELOW TO SEE THE DECEPTIVE AD FOR JUDGE AMY

CLICK BELOW TO SEE THE NEWS STORY THAT JUDGE AMY DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE

As the reader can see, the TV ad includes a graphic that ran with THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY news story in November about a fundraiser being scheduled to raise funds for Lorenzini’s campaign. In the ad, which used the graphic without either permission or attribution, text in the ad that truthfully related who was conducting the fundraiser and its purpose and characterized the donors as being from out of town and lobbyists was removed.  The ad centered only on the words THE HAMMER, and the actors spun a deceptive story that harmed the reputation and accuracy of THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY story and publication. 

Ironically, the introduction to the TV ad, as shown in the message above, asks the recipient to earn the recipient’s trust and vote for Lorenzini.

Lorenzini may have violated the Maryland Judiciary Ethics rules by issuing deceptive campaigning ads and creating a lack of respect and trust for the Judiciary.

EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 24, 2024, Judge Amy Lorenzini sent out another mass text message to registered voters in St. Mary’s County, noting a typo in her first message with the deceptive TV ad that the date of the Primary Election was stated as being on Monday, May 14, 2024, and that the correct date is TUESDAY, May 14, 2024.