This Christmas, Cecil County once again took its place on the national stage by providing the country with America’s Christmas Tree. As the lights are turned off and the decorations are taken down in Rockefeller Center, county residents can take comfort in knowing that in a turbulent time our county was able to provide a token of unity for everyone to gather around. Many of the visitors may not have known where the tree came from or may not have recognized the town of Elkton when they read the name, but no one could miss the beauty and elegance that the America’s Christmas Tree provided and the spirit of the holiday that it symbolized.

It may be easy to forget in recent times, but our little community has, throughout its history, routinely played a role in momentous events and occupied positions of national importance. During the Revolutionary War Cecil County was a strategic location for the Royal Navy. In 1777, 300 British ships sailed up the Elk River and off-loaded 15,000 soldiers who set up an encampment in Elkton. In the 1800’s Cecil County was a transportation hub with canals and railroads delivering the nation’s goods. Throughout the Civil War, Cecil County served as part of a passage for the Underground Railroad. The funeral train of Abraham Lincoln and Robert F. Kennedy passed through Cecil County with groups gathering along its path, most notably at the Elkton train station. The same train route was taken as a pilgrimage by President Obama on the way to his first inauguration. And of course, in the early 1900’s Cecil County was the premier wedding destination for the East Coast, resulting in quite a few celebrities finding their way to our wedding chapels.

                In addition to pivotal events, Cecil County has been home to many prominent figures. There have been professional musicians, athletes, and entertainers. As well as educators, writers, and luminaries who have all at one point or another called Cecil County home. Our county has produced governors, senators, congressmen, and even a Supreme Court Justice, David Davis. Davis was not only instrumental in getting Abraham Lincoln elected as his campaign manager, but was also single-handedly responsible for the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

                It is no wonder then, that residents of Cecil County can tend to transfix their focus on national events. So much so that at times we end up overlooking what is happening in our own back yards (except when our backyards are producing the country’s Christmas tree). Our County has undergone a fundamental transformation in the last decade, and it is difficult to stay informed with the rapid changes while also trying to balance a busy work and family schedule. It has been less than a decade since we replaced our Commissioner style of government with a County Charter, upending how our local government functions.

                A new form of government brings new systems and processes and even new authority. To the average person working full-time and trying to provide the best life they can for their children, there isn’t time to research what the new administrative details will look like or even the exact limits of power their local government now has. They will continue their lives until an event takes place that alerts to a problem, and rightfully so. Local residents should expect that their elected officials act in their best interest, and anything to the contrary would be a betrayal of the public trust.

                Without engaged citizens, power can easily concentrate in the hands of a select few, and the interests of the connected displace the interest of the County. As other articles have demonstrated, this has manifested locally in the form of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC (CBL PAC). As power centralizes their actions are more easily hidden by ensuring a recurring list of individuals routinely occupy positions on committees, commissions, and administrations. This has a compounding effect as local journalism begins to relay on a small cast of characters, effectively handing over their megaphone to those in charge with power to dispense and interests to protect.

                However, even with nearly limitless funding, a grip on influence, and control of the press, officials become complacent and their words on the campaign trail contrast with their actions in office and soon become so obvious that their true motives become exposed. Nowhere has that been more obvious than with the McCarthy administration. In exposing the actions, connections and administration of Alan McCarthy, County residents had their eyes opened to the kind of corruption plaguing our County.

                Although McCarthy is out of office, his affiliates and those connected to him still hold positions of influence and power, resulting in the corruption and back room deals still taking place. However, one thing that has changed over the last few years is an awakening by the citizens to the culture of corruption that has been pervasive throughout local government. As we close the book on 2021, we encourage all of our readers to perform their due diligence on the municipal and county candidates up for election in 2022. We must demand transparency and hold our elected officials accountable. In 2022 we hope that our County can continue to make a national impact by retaking control of our own backyard.

The post What is the future of our own political backyard? appeared first on Cecil County News.

                After an exhausting 2020 election cycle that left even the most ardent political spectators feeling fatigued and with the next election over a year away, few County residents are focused on the upcoming political happenings of 2022. Despite the seemingly distant events that will unfold in advance of County residents next visit to the polling booth, the County redistricting process is already underway, which will have a major impact on the 2022 race. As required by the Charter of Cecil County, the County Council is required to form a Redistricting Commission each year following the U.S. Census. The Redistricting Commission is responsible for submitting a plan that outlines residency districts, along with a report explaining it, no later than November 15^th of the year before the plan is to take effect. While redistricting is an inherently contentious process, this Redistricting Commission has been faced with last minute obstacles imposed upon them by the County Council, and Council President Bob Meffley in particular.

                In accordance with the County Charter, each party that earned at least 25% of the vote share for County Executive is entitled to nominate five members (one from each district in the county) to serve on the Redistricting Commission. As long as those nominees meet the eligibility requirements to serve, the County Council is required by the Charter to appoint the members selected. These names are to be submitted by the Central Committees of the qualifying parties (in this case, Democrats and Republicans) and confirmed by the Council no later than April 1^st. That date has come and gone, and while the Commission was established by the Council in March, the composition of the Commission has recently been thrown into question.

                On August 17^th, 2021, the Council proposed the resolution to appoint members to the Redistricting Commission, which will be voted on during the next legislative session on September 7^th. While the Democratic slate was full, the Republican slate had two noticeable absences for District 4 and District 5. Sources familiar with the matter have provided documents that show the circumstances surrounding those vacancies. The District 4 nominee lived outside of the district, making her ineligible for appointment. The District 5 nominee, however, was removed under the pretense that he was an elected official as a member of the Republican Central Committee and was therefore ineligible for appointment, because the Charter prohibits elected officials from serving on the Redistricting Commission.

                The grounds on which the District 5 nominee was blocked is legally dubious, and definitionally absurd. The Republican Central Committee, like all parties’ central committees are not a public body and are certainly not officers of the Cecil County Government. Members of the central committee are selected by the members of that party, not by the voting public. Furthermore, the County Charter doesn’t list any position in a political party as a public office, which is why the conduct, function, and members of the committees are not bound to the same laws as County Officials. Central committee members are party officers, not public officers. Therefore, a central committee member although “elected” by their respective party would not fit the definition of an elected official in the County Charter any more than a CEO elected by a board of directors, or a deacon elected by a congregation would. The provision in the County Charter is designed to prevent public officials from appointing themselves to positions that give them control over issues that affect their current office.

                Definitions of elected officials aside, the actions taken by Councilman Meffley appear to be political retribution rather than an honest, good-faith effort by our government to enforce a fair composition of the Redistricting Commission by following their best interpretation of the law. For one, other nominees listed on the resolution for appointment are also members of their party’s central committee. This means that Councilman Meffley is either targeting the District 5 nominee, or has failed to do basic due diligence on those nominated. Secondly, sources shared that the decision to disqualify both members were received on August 11^th. The Republican Central Committee was then given three days to appoint new members in advance of the legislative session where the appointments were to be confirmed. Not only is that an overly burdensome timeframe, but it also made it all but impossible to mediate the dispute over the District 5 nominee before a decision was needed.

                In light of the obvious double standard of barring one nominee from serving on the Commission on the grounds he is a central committee member and not others, sources share that the Council has removed the other nominees who currently sit on a central committee. However, the initial actions of Councilman Meffley are telling. The nominee from District 5, Vincent Sammons, is an outspoken anti-corruption advocate in the County. Many of Mr. Sammons targets are those with whom Bob Meffley has close ties. This incident, paired with past actions taken against Mr. Sammons by Councilman Meffley, reinforces the notion that Mr. Sammons removal from the list of nominees was politically motivated.

                Whether the one-sided actions taken by the Council were motivated by malevolence or are the results of incompetence, speculation can only answer. Regardless of intent, the actions taken are directly blocking eligible individuals from serving on the Commission in contravention of the Charter, and are indirectly disenfranchising Republicans who may not receive the representation on the Redistricting Commission that their party chose, potentially affecting the results of redistricting. Councilman Meffley’s actions have exposed the County to possible litigation, should the determination of the status of Mr. Sammons eligibility be taken to the courts. If pursued, the County’s limited resources will now be diverted to legal costs, and the work of the Redistricting Commission could be delayed. If not challenged, Councilman Meffley will have successfully blocked those within his own party from serving on the Commission and speaking up for voters throughout the redistricting process.

The post Last minute obstacles for the Redistricting Commission appeared first on Cecil County News.

In what could probably be the most predictable move in history, County Executive Incumbent, Alan McCarthy filed a lawsuit against Danielle Hornberger and the Board of Elections in an attempt to claim re-nomination for his office after suffering a devastating defeat last June.

Hornberger’s victory was foreshadowed by a Maryland Matters poll illustrating a commanding lead over the other three contenders for the County’s highest office. Running on a Pro-Trump ticket alongside councilor Jackie Gregory and Rep. Andy Harris, she took more than 60% of the vote that night. Her victory came despite ten long months of persistent smearing and libelous conduct by Executive McCarthy and his Good Old Boys/Cecil Business Leaders supporters.

The lawsuit, which was filed around the end of July, alleged that Hornberger was not eligible to be on the ballot because the county’s department of human resources could not locate Hornberger’s financial disclosure form. And they claimed that a fraud had been committed because a replacement had been backdated to last November.

The lawsuit sought an injunction on her candidacy, which in their opinion would make McCarthy the winner as he was runner up in the race. And coinciding with that, several supporters of Alan McCarthy stormed social media spreading disingenuous claims of voter fraud on Hornberger’s part along with other slurs.

But apart from creating a negative fracas to discredit her victory, not unlike the claims of Russian interference leveled against President Donald Trump, the lawsuit was without merit. Any hypothetical misconduct would be entirely on the Board of Elections and not the candidate. According to reports, a probe into the Board has been opened up, but unlike our competitors, we will not speculate on what will be found or the outcome.

The facts are also that a financial disclosure form is not necessary to appear on the ballot. The only penalty for not submitting one is a fine. The claims of forgery and fraud also do not stand, as anyone given permission may sign your name to a document, and the Board of Elections has full authority to help people fill out those documents if asked. You also do not have to appear in person to have a document submitted.

Removing Hornberger from the ballot and having the runner up named as the winner is also not within the judicial power; we don’t change elections post hoc. That is not how democracy works. At most, McCarthy could have demanded a do-over, in which Hornberger would still be on the ballot and results likely be the same.

And after a court battle likened by some to Perry Mason and comments that her lawyer was unprepared and did not know the facts, Hornberger emerged victorious as the judge ruled in her favor over Executive McCarthy.

Cecil County News will continue to report on the election throughout the coming months.

The post McCarthy Lawsuit Fails As Judge Rules in Favor of Danielle Hornberger appeared first on Cecil County News.

In the last few weeks, there have been more than a dozen ethics complaints have been filed against County Executive Alan J. McCarthy, focusing on his proven violation of the county charter laws that pertain to outside business/income. One of the accusers, whose identity shall remain anonymous, shared a copy of his personal complaint with Cecil County News, as well as the reply that it was disregarded.

As we previously reported, Alan McCarthy runs a real estate business on the side of his political career. The county charter, article 4 section 405 (b) states that the Executive shall devote full time to the duties of the office and may not participate in any private occupation for compensation.

Renting out houses certainly qualifies as a private occupation for compensation, doesn’t it? Even if you ignore the more damning elements such as fraudulently suing former business partners to recoup losses under an LLC you created specifically to mask your identity, it still is pretty cut and dry.

More than a few attempts have been made to bring this issue to public attention. Councilman Bill Coutz was handed evidence at the County Fair and refused to pass it to the rest of the Council. The Ethics Commission dismissed every single complaint made by county residents as not their jurisdiction.

But if it’s not the County Ethics Commission’s job to handle violations of county laws by county officials, then why do we have these laws if there is no one to enforce them? Why are the same people pounding Jackie Gregory over her day job as a substitute teacher, ostensibly on the same grounds, but giving a pass to another official?

Remember: All seats on the Ethics Commission are filled by the Executive.

Impartiality seems to be difficult for them.

What is perhaps the most insidious part of this whole thing is that not only did the County Ethics commission ignore the dozen complaints against Executive McCarthy, they also provided copies of the complaints to him containing the names and information of the people who issued them, effectively marking them with a bullseye for retaliation.

This itself is a violation of the County Code as it pertains to confidentiality. Cecil County Code Chapter 39 section 10 (H) states: “After a complaint is filed and until a final finding of a violation by the Commission, all actions regarding a complaint are confidential. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, upon the filing of a complaint, and unless and until a finding of violation has been made, the proceedings, meetings, and activities of the Commission and its employees in connection with the complaint shall be conducted in a confidential manner. The Commission, its staff, counsel, the complainant and the respondent shall not disclose any information relating to the complaint, including the identity of the complainant and the respondent, except that the Commission may release any information at any time if the respondent has, in writing, agreed to said release.”

The commission cannot argue that it had any validity to leak the information to the accused person when it never even began to investigate when they rightly should have.

The double standard is glaring. The self-perceived ruling class has their own set of rules to abide by, meanwhile anyone who isn’t part of the club gets scrutinized for anything that could be interpreted as a violation of the most obscure rule.

The post Ethics Commission Ignores +12 Complaints Against McCarthy, and Violates County Code by Sharing Identities appeared first on Cecil County News.

At this point it’s common knowledge that Alan Judson McCarthy, our County Executive, flies far away from the Republican flock. Many photos have surfaced of our erstwhile leader in the company of not Republicans, but prominent Democrat figures.

Among these individuals are former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, Attorney General Brian Frosh, and the vice chairman of the Cecil County Democratic Central Committee, John Dixon.

In addition to palling around with his supposed political rivals, it is publicly posted by https://campaignfinance.maryland.gov that McCarthy donated to the campaign of former Governor Martin O’Malley. He has also received public support from the Project Cecil PAC, which was established on November 13, 2019 and is chaired by none other than John Dixon.

The Project Cecil PAC’s purpose is described as voter education and economic growth support. Its ballot issue is the Southfields Development.

On a flier distributed by the PAC, a fundraiser is being held on March 21, 2020 with spotlights on the Southfields Development, as well as the “accomplishments” of the McCarthy Administration.

The question at hand is this: why is McCarthy being supported by the Democrats? Their own Central Committee’s bylaws parallel their Republican counterpart as it pertains to endorsements. Despite running Cecil County like a Democrat, Alan McCarthy is a Republican on paper. Vice Chair Dixon ought to be prohibited from endorsing a candidate outside of his party.

The post Executive McCarthy’s Strange Bedfellows appeared first on Cecil County News.

The government of Cecil County is accelerating a vote on a bill that would grow the county’s enterprise zones to include 1,788 acres of land along Route 40 in the Elkton, MD area. For many who do not know, an enterprise zone is a range of land where businesses can develop and open shop and take advantage of tax breaks and credits.

Many people tout the commercial successes of enterprise zones, lauding Cecil’s status as the second fastest growing county in the state. In the past, the County government has used tax incentives and MEDAFF loans to court companies such as Amazon (Project Melo) and Lidl into setting up shop.

For many, this is considered a good thing. Having big companies such as the aforementioned two, joined with the Great Wolf Lodge and Smithfield certainly provides quite a few job opportunities to county residents. But one must be wary of the negatives of crony capitalism and corporate welfare.

Nearly all of these development projects have been to the benefit of the friends and donors of the County Executive, as well as members of the County Council.

Stewart Properties sold the land that the Amazon warehouse now stands on for $112,000,000.00, significantly more money than the land was purchased for, which was $8,000,000.00. The company used forgivable MEDAFF loans to develop the property for resale.

MEDAFF loans come from the casino revenue that was promised to help the towns and schools, not to help rich developers catch a higher profit from big corporations. While this money is being used for corporate welfare, the property taxes on county residents were raised to pay for spending the casino funds were promised to cover, as well as other vanity projects like the $18,000,000.00 public library being built in North East.

It’s worth noting that Stewart donated generously to the McCarthy campaign. So too did David Williams and other members of the Cecil County Business Leaders PAC.

The conflict of interest is too much to ignore, and no one has asked what will happen to these jobs in ten years when the incentives are gone. What is to stop Amazon, Lidl, Smithfield, Great Wolf, and any other business the County bribes into setting up shop from leaving when the breaks are gone and someone else offers them a handout?

More importantly, why do county residents deserve to foot the bill for development through their taxes while their dollars and revenue that was promised to help them are being given to land developers and big corporations? The motion to expedite the vote is a thinly veiled effort to hammer it through and stop resistance.

Whether it is Enterprise Zones, the Master Water and Sewer Plan, every little thing going on in the county paints a bigger picture of Alan McCarthy and his administration steering development in a manner that enriches his benefactors and gives them more power.

After all, Artesian Water was a donor to McCarthy, and after he became Executive he gave them rights to service properties along Route 40 and I-95 (The same regions holding the Enterprise Zones) and went as far as to over-reach his authority and block Rising Sun from expanding its utilities outside of municipal limits and meet the demands of the State and Federal governments.

They did this in order to clinch the business of West Nottingham Academy for Artesian. In addition to that, they will also get to service Great Wolf Lodge which will include a water park.

Everything fits together like a puzzle and the money flows into as few pockets as possible. It begs the question: who is the real power in Cecil County? Is it the people, or McCarthy and the Business Leaders PAC?

The post The Problem With Enterprise Zones appeared first on Cecil County News.

“The Executive shall devote full-time to the duties of the office. The Executive shall not participate in any private occupation for compensation. During the term of office, the Executive shall not hold any other office of profit.”

County Charter; Article 4, Section 405 (b) – Qualifications for the County Executive.

The rules of the Cecil County Charter are very clear in the matter of outside employment for the position of County Executive. After taking the role upon democratic election, an individual must end any employment in the private sector and step away from any business enterprises they may run.

In the case of retired veterinarian Dr. Alan McCarthy, the rules of his office need not apply apparently. His role in land development and real estate continued into his term as Executive.

Baker’s Hill LLC (McCarthy, plus Kenneth Simmons, Jay C. Emery III, and Stephen Baker) acquired a swath of land from Willard E. Megonigal Jr. of New Castle, DE, and developed the land into a townhouse community.

Initially, this was nothing out of the ordinary, just a group of investors looking to make a profit. But when the housing market tanked and sparked the Great Recession in 2008, the investors of Baker’s Hill fell on hard times and were unable to meet their financial obligations.

One by one, Baker, Simmons, and Emery withdrew from the LLC in 2013 and assigned all their interests to Dr. McCarthy (who as of 2012 was sitting on the Cecil County Council), leaving him the last remaining member of Baker’s Hill. In effect, McCarthy had bought out their stakes in Baker’s Hill and indemnified them from any future financial obligations.

Rather than pay the debt to Megonigal when it was due in July of 2016, Councilman McCarthy let it go into default while selling homes and collecting rent from more than thirty tenants; and making his bid for the position of County Executive.

On December 20^th, 2016, County Executive Alan McCarthy (newly sworn in and bound to Article 4, Section 405 (b) of the County Charter) received a certified letter from the attorneys of Willard Megonigal stating that if the debt and interest were not paid, legal action would be taken against McCarthy and the other three investors.

On January 26^th, 2017 the debt of $250,000.00 and interest of $6472.25 referred to as the Megonigal Note was paid off by Baker’s Hill LLC.

However, a one-member LLC called Ulysses claimed to have paid off the debt soon after and proceeded to sue Kenneth Simmons, Jay C. Emery III, and Stephen Baker to pay debts they were indemnified of when they assigned their interests to McCarthy. Any liability that may still exist vanished the moment the Note was paid off.

Ulysses LLC, which is owned by Dr. Alan McCarthy, and is therefore his proxy, appears on none of the checks written. McCarthy wrote checks from his personal PNC Bank checking account to Baker’s Hill and wrote checks from Baker’s Hill’s Harford Bank account to Willard Megonigal. His other LLC, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, has no role in any transaction.

The entire lawsuit was without merit and amounted little more than a scam by McCarthy to recoup his money.

In his efforts to save political face and commit fraud to shirk his debts, County Executive Alan McCarthy has broken charter laws and violated the Clean Hands doctrine. During his term as County Executive, he continues to collect rent as a landlord.

In February 2019, the lawsuit against Baker, Simmons and Emery by Ulysses LLC was dismissed by Judge Colleen Cavanaugh after proof was established that Ulysses had no role in paying the Megonigal Note.

*Copy of court documents can be found here: cecilcounty.news/downloads/McCarthy-Baker.pdf

The post McCarthy Violates Charter Laws appeared first on Cecil County News.