Friday, February 1, 2013
The Anne Arundel County Council no longer needs to vote on the removal of John Leopold from office after a judge found him guilty this week of two counts of misconduct.
UPDATE (3:20 p.m.)—John Leopold resigned as Anne Arundel County Executive on Friday, after a judge found him guilty earlier this week on two counts of misconduct. The Pasadena Republican said in a resignation letter that he was stepping down "with great sadness and regret," but that it was a necessary to allow the county to get back to business. "It was a compelling and humbling experience for me to sit through two weeks of the trial and listen intently to the words expressed by the court," Leopold wrote. "I acknowledge the serious errors in judgment that I made and do not want these errors in judgment to further distract the County from its ability to move forward in a positive way." The resignation means the county council will no …
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 …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold is mentioned in two recent lawsuits against the county, which seek more than $1.3 million in combined compensation.
Anne Arundel County councilmen are introducing a pair of bills that would give them the final say when large legal settlements are reached. And if the individual is a county official in a case of misconduct, the official would have to foot the bill. The pieces of legislation come at a time when the county is facing two potentially costly litigations. Former employees Karla Robinson Hamner and Joan Harris are each pursuing cases against the county in U.S. District Court on grounds of wrongful termination. Hamner is seeking $300,000, and Harris is seeking nearly $1 million. Both women worked for County Executive John R. Leopold and mention him as being instrumental in the filing of their legal complaints after accusing him of official …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A criminal investigation into Teare is being dropped by the state as a result of his retirement.
UPDATE (3:05 p.m.)—Maj. Pamela R. Davis is the new acting police chief for the Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACPD), effective immediately after Police Chief James Teare Sr.'s retirement is set to begin in Aug. 1. Davis will be the first female police chief in Anne Arundel County history. She is currently the commander of the Administrative Services Bureau of the police department. The other heads of the department are retiring later this year—including Deputy Chief Emerson Davis, who is set to retire in August, and Deputy Chief David E. Pressley, who will retire in September. County Executive John R. Leopold made the announcement of Davis' appointment on Wednesday afternoon, hours after Teare's retirement was made public. “Pam …
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 …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The schools superintendent rails against the county executive in a speech at the second budget hearing.
Hundreds of parents and teachers raised their voices in support of a fully funded school system at the Anne Arundel County budget hearing on Monday night. An estimated 800 people filled the auditorium at Old Mill High School with applause after dozens of parents testified before the County Council during the second hearing on the budget for fiscal year 2013. The County Council holds the purse strings for the school system, which takes up $572 million of the county's proposed $1.2 billion budget. Most who testified on Monday implored council members to fully fund the school budget, but had some additional projects in mind for their local schools. Some of these projects included a replacement for Edgewater Elementary, construction …
Monday, April 16, 2012
The primary disagreement is whether the county met Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements in 2012 and how those numbers impact fiscal year 2013.
County Executive John R. Leopold’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 is more than $21 million less than the amount requested by Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS). Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell recommended a total operating budget of $986.2 million but Leopold appropriated $965 million for the school system, asking for $572.5 million from the county. Leopold, who released the budget Monday, adopted Maxwell’s recommendations for 62 new teaching positions and several school construction projects including funding the replacement of Severna Park High. Patch previously reported that Maxwell stated that about $4 million in “salary savings from all employee groups” will cover the funding of the new positions. The county executive’s …
Friday, March 2, 2012
Legal experts said the charges against the Anne Arundel County executive show weakness, but that prosecutors will have to work hard to convict.
The allegations outlined in an indictment against Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold are publicly embarrassing, legal experts said, but prosecutors could have trouble convincing a jury that he broke the law. Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt announced on Friday that an Anne Arundel County grand jury handed down a nine-page indictment alleging that Leopold stole and hid campaign signs from a political opponent and used county police officers to drive him to sexual dalliances in public parking lots in 2010. The indictment includes four counts of misconduct and another of fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail. The indictment alleges that Leopold: Lawyers involved in public corruption cases said most …
hawkeye
3:33 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I'd like to know where Grasso got his law degree from that he can say the legislation to remove Leopold was "illegal". We do know that Leopold's actions were illegal though - a judge convicted him. And that's not the same as "not quite legal". Grasso seems to have a strange sense of reality. I am glad Leopold resigned though so we can get past this blight on the county. more ›