Slowhand
Pre-Banned
Surprising opinion from the Capital news. Dems picked a replacement state delegate for district 30 in closed meeting. Winner (Jones) received ZERO votes from district 30 committee members. Elected by committee members from other districts. Go figure...
Our Say: Shame on Anne Arundel Democrats for picking delegate in a digital backroom
By Capital Gazette Editorial Board
Capital Gazette |
Apr 23, 2020 | 5:19 AM
We’re sure you’ve heard the old saw about backroom deals the middle of the night deciding the fate of elected office. A thing of the past?
Democrats in Anne Arundel County have given it a new life for the coronavirus age.
At a time when elementary school students have learned how to connect via the internet, the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee met in a virtual backroom sealed from the public last week to select their nominee for the vacant District 30A seat in the House of Delegates.
Shame on the Democrats.
We urge members of the public to heed health experts and government leaders and ignore libertarian ideologues who see no limit on their ability to cough on the rest of us, the editorial board writes. https://t.co/iiEJRuwJY0
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) April 18, 2020
They voted to send Dana Jones’ name to Gov. Larry Hogan for appointment to the opening created by the resignation of Alice Cain. Cain resigned because of an unforeseen change in family circumstances.
Jones was selected after a 6½-hour interview process. She has worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, research director for Emily’s List, and as a volunteer on County Executive Steuart Pittman’s 2018 campaign.
We’ve got no beef with Jones.
The committee, however, refused to open this process to public view. They refused to make letters of reference from influential Democrats public. They even refused to release resumes submitted by the 19 candidates.
They graciously invited the news media to view the meeting on ZOOM, but when a Capital Gazette reporter dared to report what was happening in real-time, chairwoman Thea Boykins-Wilson unplugged her from the meeting.
The vote came at 2:15 a.m.
The next morning, the committee released a statement, pointing the public to recorded interviews posted on the Anne Arundel Democratic Party Facebook page.
And they listed the breakdown of the votes. Deliberations remain a secret.
Strangely, none of the committee members from District 30 voted for Jones. Boykins-Wilson, Stacy Korbelak, and Brooks Schandelmeier split their votes between Chrissy Holt, Ian Pfeiffer and Scott McMullen.
Instead, Jones got the necessary seven votes from members outside her district.
As for refusing to share the applications of Jones and the other 18 applicants, the explanation is flatly ridiculous.
“Because we did not ask the applicants for permission to release their resumes and letters of interest to the public, we will honor their confidentiality at this time. If any community member wishes to receive this information, we ask them to contact the applicants directly.”
The committee failed to make a minimum effort to assure a transparent government. Their opaque process has needlessly saddled Jones with the extra burden of questions regarding why she was selected.
We have argued in recent months that the coronavirus pandemic makes clear that appointments to fill legislative openings have advantages over special elections given the need for continued social distancing.
But the committee has sorely tried our convictions in that assessment by failing to run an open process that gives both district constituents and the general public a window into how this decision was made.
We urge Boykins-Wilson to release all documents and emails connected to this selection and advocate for a change in rules that will make all future selections a public process — even if that means live-streaming in the middle of a pandemic.
We wish Jones the best when she takes office. But to show her commitment to transparency, this new public servant should be among the first to advocate a change.
Our Say: Shame on Anne Arundel Democrats for picking delegate in a digital backroom
By Capital Gazette Editorial Board
Capital Gazette |
Apr 23, 2020 | 5:19 AM
We’re sure you’ve heard the old saw about backroom deals the middle of the night deciding the fate of elected office. A thing of the past?
Democrats in Anne Arundel County have given it a new life for the coronavirus age.
At a time when elementary school students have learned how to connect via the internet, the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee met in a virtual backroom sealed from the public last week to select their nominee for the vacant District 30A seat in the House of Delegates.
Shame on the Democrats.
We urge members of the public to heed health experts and government leaders and ignore libertarian ideologues who see no limit on their ability to cough on the rest of us, the editorial board writes. https://t.co/iiEJRuwJY0
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) April 18, 2020
They voted to send Dana Jones’ name to Gov. Larry Hogan for appointment to the opening created by the resignation of Alice Cain. Cain resigned because of an unforeseen change in family circumstances.
Jones was selected after a 6½-hour interview process. She has worked as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, research director for Emily’s List, and as a volunteer on County Executive Steuart Pittman’s 2018 campaign.
We’ve got no beef with Jones.
The committee, however, refused to open this process to public view. They refused to make letters of reference from influential Democrats public. They even refused to release resumes submitted by the 19 candidates.
They graciously invited the news media to view the meeting on ZOOM, but when a Capital Gazette reporter dared to report what was happening in real-time, chairwoman Thea Boykins-Wilson unplugged her from the meeting.
The vote came at 2:15 a.m.
The next morning, the committee released a statement, pointing the public to recorded interviews posted on the Anne Arundel Democratic Party Facebook page.
And they listed the breakdown of the votes. Deliberations remain a secret.
Strangely, none of the committee members from District 30 voted for Jones. Boykins-Wilson, Stacy Korbelak, and Brooks Schandelmeier split their votes between Chrissy Holt, Ian Pfeiffer and Scott McMullen.
Instead, Jones got the necessary seven votes from members outside her district.
As for refusing to share the applications of Jones and the other 18 applicants, the explanation is flatly ridiculous.
“Because we did not ask the applicants for permission to release their resumes and letters of interest to the public, we will honor their confidentiality at this time. If any community member wishes to receive this information, we ask them to contact the applicants directly.”
The committee failed to make a minimum effort to assure a transparent government. Their opaque process has needlessly saddled Jones with the extra burden of questions regarding why she was selected.
We have argued in recent months that the coronavirus pandemic makes clear that appointments to fill legislative openings have advantages over special elections given the need for continued social distancing.
But the committee has sorely tried our convictions in that assessment by failing to run an open process that gives both district constituents and the general public a window into how this decision was made.
We urge Boykins-Wilson to release all documents and emails connected to this selection and advocate for a change in rules that will make all future selections a public process — even if that means live-streaming in the middle of a pandemic.
We wish Jones the best when she takes office. But to show her commitment to transparency, this new public servant should be among the first to advocate a change.
