The post Bob Gatchel calls out conflict of interest. appeared first on Cecil County News.

                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.

      Anyone who tries to stay current on what is happening in Cecil County likely has a variety of sources that they check for local news. Although the last few years saw the end of the Cecil Guardian and the Rising Sun Herald as print journalism declined, a variety of online sources have emerged. As the barrier for publication became eliminated by the internet, legacy media either died or moved to online platforms to compete for readership. At the same time, social media allowed individuals to publish developments faster than any news outlet could, and it began to emerge as a common venue for the exchange of public information.

As the way we consume news changed, so did the sources and the scrutiny of the information we read. With a variety of options comes varying quality, and any Cecil County resident who has searched for multiple sources knows that some outlets are more reliable than others. Take for example the Cecil Times. Even at a cursory glance your average reader could quickly dismiss it as more fact-free blogging than news. It is widely known to be the propaganda arm of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC and served as a mouthpiece for the McCarthy administration and fellow cronies. Despite having been largely written off as the ramblings of an out of touch CBL sycophant, the Cecil Times continues to produce content for all three of its readers.

Articles from the Cecil Times often go unchallenged mainly because they often go unread, but every now and then they produce an article so riddled with half-truths and lies that the contents of the article must be addressed. In a recent piece regarding the September 7^th County Council Legislative Session the Cecil Times attempted to opine on the events leading up to the newly formed Redistricting Commission. Attempted and opine being the operative words as the article failed to present hardly any materially relevant information, and because it contains more bitterness, lies, and deception than facts.

The article starts by setting the scene of the September 7^th Legislative Session where Council President Bob Meffley was using his gavel to try and silence a speaker during the public comment period. But the story doesn’t start there. In advance of the September 7^th Legislative Session the Council failed to include on the meeting agenda that the resolution for the Redistricting Commission appointments was going to be introduced, nor did they make the resolution publicly available in advance of the meeting, both of which are violations of the Open Meetings Act. Trying to silence the only person there who happened to be present to speak out about the Redistricting Commission only further implicates the Council’s motives to hide the process from public scrutiny. Neglecting to provide this context makes this scene seem one sided.

In the same paragraph the article says that this scene was:

“…nothing compared to the belligerent battle waged by Vincent Sammons, the chair of the local GOP Central Committee, who wanted to override county law to claim a seat on a Redistricting Commission… that both the County Charter and the authorizing legislation enacted by the Council in April to establish the local commission specified that any “elected” official could not be seated on the redistricting panel.”

If the title and tone of the article didn’t initially make the reader suspicious of the author’s partiality, hyperbolic word choice like “belligerent” “battle” and “override” quickly removes all doubt. Aside from a stylistic critique, the content in this excerpt is also lacking. First, the legislation restates the County Charter, so implying that Vincent Sammons is trying to “override” multiple statutes is misleading. Second, the author fails to mention the distinction between a public official and a party official. Vincent Sammons, in his capacity as the Chairman of the GOP Cecil County Central Committee was a party official, meaning he was selected by and works for his party, not the public. Other articles have thoroughly examined this distinction and the case law and statutes will not be repeated here, but suffice it to say that the evidence and legal opinions rendered overwhelmingly reject the notion that a party official would conform to the standard of an “elected” official as laid out in the charter.

After obfuscating and misleading the reader, the article then goes on to flat out lie when it says that:

“[the Republican]Central Committee had not submitted a full slate of five GOP candidates to the County Council, as required, this summer and instead had listed “to be determined” instead of actual names for several GOP seats.

                Vincent Sammons, when he was chair of the Central Committee, submitted a full slate of appointees on March 16^th. Two weeks before the April 1^st deadline, and without prompting from the County Council. Not only is this a lie, but it is especially pernicious in that it covers up that the Council is actually the one that “belligerently” violated the Charter. The author not only fails to mention that the Charter mandates that the Council appoint a Redistricting Commission by April 1^st, but instead falsely claims that the list was required to be submitted this summer. Two patently false statements. Secondly, the author claims that the list that an incomplete list was submitted, and “several” seats were left open. This is again a lie. The resolution that was posted when it was going to be initially introduced listed the District 4 and District 5 seats on the republican slate as TBD. However, this was because the Council removed Vincent Sammons name and the District 4 appointees name, not because there was not a full slate provided. Using the word “several” to describe two slots aside, this is a malicious lie since it shifts the blame that should be placed on Bob Meffley and the Council.

                Further down in the article it states that:

“Sammons wanted to hold on to his seat as the chairman of the GOP Central Committee while also serving on the Redistricting Commission and he filed a personal lawsuit on 8/30/2021 against Meffley in the county’s Circuit Court, seeking a “writ of mandamus” to let him hold onto his elected Central Committee seat while also seeking a seat on the Redistricting Commission. He claimed that because he was only elected by Republicans in a party primary, he shouldn’t be considered an “elected” official. But faced with the clear language of the Charter, Sammons suddenly resigned as chair of the GOP Central Committee on Tuesday and put his name in for a seat on the redistricting panel…”

                Again, the author’s unwillingness to research, inability to understand, or intention to deceive results in another excerpt filled with duplicity and lies. Sammons did seek judicial relief and filed a writ of mandamus to have a judgement resolve the dispute between conflicting interpretations. In other words, he asked a judge to do exactly what the judicial branch is designed to do, so it is hard to see why the author would frame this case in a pejorative manner. However, the author then goes on to claim that Sammons, presumably faced with defeat and acceptance that he was an elected official, chose to resign from the Central Committee. This is not true at all. Sammons decision to resign, as made public on social media, was taken to prevent the Council from barring him from the Redistricting Commission. He did not accept the interpretation of the Council that he was an elected official, and lawsuit against the Council is still pending. In fact, cecilcounty.news obtained documentation that shows that Bob Meffley has filed for a dismissal of the lawsuit, not Sammons. The author portrays this as a last ditch effort of Sammons, when in reality it was precipitated by the Council because they refused to wait until the legal proceedings had run their course.

                This article from the Times was selected to be examined not because it was a one-off that veered a little off track, but because it was a particularly egregious article and serves as an example of the kind of content routinely provided on their forum. It is a difficult balance between deciding to address the many lies and half-truths of the CBL propaganda blog known as the Cecil Times and allowing them to continue on unread and unnoticed. It is equally difficult to hold them accountable. To that end, we ask that you contact the Cecil Times and demand they retract and apologize for the lies and disinformation about important local events that they have promulgated. Please contact the author, Nancy Schwerzler at ceciltimes@gmail.com and let her know that as Cecil County residents we will not be silenced, and we will not be slandered out of public participation. If the times has any shred of journalistic integrity they must print a retraction and issue a public apology.

The post Demanding Journalistic Integrity in Cecil County 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.

As we previously reported, despite best efforts of the corrupt County government and the ill-thought-out dreams of well drilling enthusiasts, the Maryland Department of the Environment recently took the side of Rising Sun and the comprehensive plan, approving the County’s Master Water and Sewer Plan with amendments to allow Rising Sun to run its pipeline outside municipal limits.

However, it seems that Executive Alan McCarthy can’t lose gracefully. Or more likely, his donor, Artesian Water Resources, begrudges the loss of their monopoly on servicing the County’s water needs.

A press statement was made by the Executive stating that there are no quality issues with the water at Rising Sun Elementary School and West Nottingham Academy; an implication that the town of Rising Sun had been misleading the public to rally support for their water plan.

Conveniently enough, Thomas Banks of West Nottingham Academy submitted a letter to the editor of the Cecil Whig denouncing Rising Sun and supporting the County. In it, he implied that Rising Sun was pressuring him to hook up to their water line.

But the evidence is not on their side. Cecil County News has obtained records of email correspondence between Mr. Banks and Town Administrator Calvin Bonenberger Jr. where WNA’s Head of School makes statements that run counter to what he told the Whig.

For a Ph.D. you would imagine that he would have heard of the Freedom of Information Act and know that he cannot get away with lying. Any person capable of writing basic English can request public documents and correspondence. Denying that request constitutes a crime.

If there are no water quality issues with WNA, why are they going to the expense of testing their wells daily, and displaying interest in hooking up to Rising Sun to save on that expense? A lie can only evolve so much before it becomes insulting to intelligence.

The same applies to Rising Sun Elementary which uses water filters. Actions speak louder than words, and if you’re taking measures to check and improve the quality of your water, you cannot honestly claim that there is not a problem.

In reality, Mr. Banks has a better offer from the County/Artesian. The need he feels to lie to the public is senseless, unless public support was a requirement in order to get a lower rate.

At this point in time, the conduct of the McCarthy Administration and their backers amounts to sore losers carrying out a scorched earth policy.

After previously blocking Rising Sun from obtaining grant money to pay installation costs for Rising Sun Elementary, refusing to issue county funds to install fire hydrants outside municipal limits when they were ordered by the state to do so, and being reprimanded by the Maryland Department of Environment for this crooked behavior, it would be wise for them to not let their water grudge boil over.

The post Rising Sun: McCarthy’s Scorched Earth Policy appeared first on Cecil County News.

“Council approves Lidl, ‘Project Melo’ business incentive loans”

The post Economic Development for who? appeared first on Cecil County News.