Monday, December 3, 2012
Former Anne Arundel County Councilman Daryl Jones is asking the state’s highest court to return him to office.
Ousted Anne Arundel County Councilman Daryl Jones petitioned Maryland's Court of Appeals to give him back his District 1 seat on Monday. "I am pleased the court has taken the matter up," Jones said. "I am sure they will render a decision that is devoid of politics." Jones pleaded guilty in August 2011 to one misdemeanor count of failure to file a tax return. The plea was part of a deal with Maryland's U.S. attorney's office, which discovered that Jones owed more than $100,000 in back taxes from 2002 to 2006. In January, the County Council removed Jones from office a few days before he started serving a five-month sentence in a federal prison in South Carolina, saying his incarceration violated the county charter's residency requirement. …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Some charter amendments sailed through the polls with a 90 percent approval vote, with the lowest being 61 percent.
Anne Arundel County voters are set to ratify 15 county charter amendments by a landslide, according to early results. All of the county's charter amendments were set to pass as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night—some with as much as 91 percent approval, and as low as 61 percent approval. But the results so far have left no room for middle ground on the issues. Among the charter changes are removing authority from the county executive's veto rights, giving the council the authority to remove a councilman or executive convicted of a felony, and setting the month of August as a legislative recess for the seven-member council. A few of the tighter races are yet to be determined, but Anne Arundel County residents can rest tonight on pretty solid ground …
Friday, November 2, 2012
Some of these items resolve long-standing disputes on the County Council, while others fix newer problems.
When Anne Arundel County voters arrive at the polls, they'll not only be voting on the DREAM Act and same-sex marriage, but also deciding the fate of 15 Anne Arundel County charter amendments—ranging from how convicted county councilmen should be treated to enacting an August recess for the Council. In an attempt to make these 15 items more digestible once you arrive at the polls, I will disassemble the legalese into a more understandable language, and explain context when necessary. Some of these items resolve long-standing disputes on the County Council, while others fix newer problems. Question A—Gives county departments more time to file their budgets. It also moves the start of the 60-day window for budget deliberation by the County …
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Charter amendments introduced Monday could boot convicted felons.
A councilman convicted of a felony, or found to be unable to perform the duties of office, could be voted out of their County Council seat under a change to the county code introduced Monday. The Council has started adopting changes recommended by the Charter Revision Commission, a group created each decade to identify concerns with rules on how the county government operates. Nine changes to the charter were introduced to the Council Monday, including two that dealt with removing Council members from office. Until now, there has been no official way to deal with that issue. Under the proposed charter revision, the office of a member of the County Council, or the county executive, may be declared vacant with a vote of five members of the …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A retired Prince George's County judge said the Anne Arundel County Council acted within its authority to try and replace Jones when he went to prison.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Severn resident will replace the imprisoned Daryl Jones.
UPDATE (2:36 p.m. Tuesday)—A 32-day stalemate on the Anne Arundel County Council was broken Monday night when Councilman Dick Ladd (R-5th District) changed his vote to support Severn resident Peter Smith as the new councilman for District 1. Ladd's was the decisive vote after more than 100 deadlocked rounds of voting across four different council sessions ended in a tie between Smith and Mike Wagner of Glen Burnie. The first round of voting continued as usual, split 3-3 between Smith and Wagner. But during the second round, Ladd announced he was changing his vote to Smith. "It is with some trepidation that I will change my vote to Mr. Smith. I do this with a great deal of concern, deep thought, and I suspect ... trepidation about my future…
The Anne Arundel County Council is scheduled to meet Monday night for the fourth round of voting over District 1's successor.
The Anne Arundel County Council is scheduled to make its fourth attempt Monday at filling the District 1 seat left vacant by Daryl Jones. Jones, who reported to federal prison in January, was convicted in November for his failure to file federal income tax returns. Since February, the six remaining councilmen have been deadlocked in a tie stretching more than 100 votes between two replacement candidates—Michael Wagner and Peter Smith. Patch’s look at the two candidates, and the council’s failure to choose between them: Some of Smith's supporters have accused three Republican councilmen of playing political games with the vacant seat, just weeks away from the beginning of a crucial budget season. It’s now been more than 50 days since …
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Friday, March 16, 2012
Some Anne Arundel County councilmen lay the blame for a split vote on party politics.
Many Anne Arundel County councilmen claim a political game is being played over the vacant District 1 seat at the expense of the district's constituents. Patch editors interviewed each of the six councilmen to gauge their position in the division over who should fill the District 1 seat. The final candidates are Peter Smith and Mike Wagner. The councilmen who have supported Wagner include Derek Fink (R-3rd District) of Pasadena, John Grasso (R-2nd District) of Glen Burnie and Dick Ladd (R-5th District) of Broadneck. Smith's supporters include Chris Trumbauer (D-6th District) of Annapolis, Jamie Benoit (D-4th District) of Crownsville and Jerry Walker (R-7th District) of Gambrills. Wagner's backers have primarily touted his experience and …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge said he would issue his written opinion on the matter at a later date.
The question of Anne Arundel County's District 1 representation moved into court on Wednesday, but a decision may take some time. The Anne Arundel County Council passed a bill in January that declared the District 1 seat vacant saying that former Councilman Daryl Jones would be living outside of his district while serving a prison sentence in South Carolina. Jones was convicted in November for failing to file tax returns and began serving his five-month sentence on Jan. 23. The validity of that bill is now under consideration by Judge Arthur Ahalt. At the end of Wednesday's hearing in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Ahalt said he would issue his written opinion at a later date, but did not specify when that might be, County Attorney …
The County Council has failed to choose between Peter Smith and Mike Wagner after more than 100 rounds of voting.
It’s been 57 days since the Anne Arundel County Council declared Daryl Jones' seat vacant, and the remaining six members still cannot agree on his replacement. Can you do any better? Patch is wondering who you would choose and why? Ten people applied to replace the imprisoned Democrat, but the field was quickly narrowed to two: Peter Jones and Mike Wagner. Watch: Smith Video Interview, Wagner Video Interview There were 100 rounds of voting Feb. 16, and two more deadlocked sessions followed, the most recent on March 5. The county charter is partially to blame, as there is no tiebreaking procedure in place. The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that the council's failure to choose a replacement within its self-imposed 30-day deadline may hurt …
William Thomas Capps Jr.
11:25 am on Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The man is not fit for office. When the law makers break the law they need to be removed from office for good and not allowed to come back. We the people are tired of the GOOD OLD Boy network in Annapolis and their lobbyist buddies. more ›