Cecil County Councilor Diana Broomell Says She Plans to Run for Re-election to Council in 2014

July 24, 2013
By

Cecil County Councilor Diana Broomell (R-4), often a lightening rod for controversy both on the old county Commissioners board and the new County Council, told Cecil Times that she plans to run for re-election to her council seat in 2014, contrary to rampant local speculation that she would run for a newly redrawn state legislative seat in western Cecil County.

“I plan to run again for the Council,” Broomell told Cecil Times on Tuesday. She also said she would like to run again for Cecil County Executive, when current executive Tari Moore’s term is up in the 2016 election. Broomell came in second to Moore in a crowded Republican primary in the 2012 election.

“I’ve been to Annapolis,” she said, noting her past employment as an aide to state Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36). “You can’t get anything done there,” she said of Annapolis.

“My concerns are in Cecil County; I have a lot of things that I feel need to be done here,” she added.

During this week’s Cecil County Fair, Broomell and several campaign supporters have been seen wearing tee-shirts advocating “Broomell for County Council.”

[However, Broomell will face at least one serious challenge, in the Republican primary. Michael W. Dawson, a Perryville resident who previously ran unsuccessfully for a state Delegate seat, has filed as a candidate for the Cecil County Council in Broomell’s District 4.]

[SEE Cecil Times report on Michael W. Dawson’s candidacy here: http://ceciltimes.com/2013/06/michael-w-dawson-files-for-cecil-county-council-in-dist-4-broomell-seat-in-14-election/ ]

During two years on the old Board of Commissioners, Broomell was the linchpin of the “Three Amigos” faction—consisting of Broomell, former Commissioner James Mullin (R-1) and Commissioner/Councilor Michael Dunn (R-3)—that ruled the local governing body with an iron fist. Moore and then Commissioner and now County Council President Robert Hodge (R-5) were usually in a two-vote minority on decisions on the commissioners board.

But with the shift to Charter government and the defeat of Mullin’s bid for re-election, Broomell has usually found herself in a two vote minority with Dunn, but at times even abandoned by Dunn on various votes that left her as a minority of one.

Local political speculation has centered for several months on what her intentions might be for the 2014 election, especially since she moved her residence from Perryville—where she has lived on the property of her husband’s woodworking business for several years—back to a Nesbitt Rd. home in Colora that she has long owned but had rented out to a tenant for a while. She recently moved back to the Colora residence, triggering much legislative district map consultations by many area politicos about what that move might mean politically.

Her Perryville residence would have enabled her to run for a newly redrawn state Senate seat in District 35, a Cecil County-Harford County district that will have a slight voting-age population advantage for Cecil County voters. But that location would not be included in a newly redrawn House of Delegates 35B district, covering both Cecil and a majority Harford county electorate. But the Colora address would give her the flexibility to run for either a House or Senate state legislative seat.

Broomell said her family moved back to Colora for strictly non-political reasons and that the district lines of various legislative domains were simply not on her radar for the move.

Broomell has been a frequent dissident on a wide array of issues, and a perpetual critic of Hodge. She virtually acknowledged that she filed an ethics complaint against him without fully confirming it—which would have been a violation of county ethics rules. But, sources have told Cecil Times, the ethics panel dismissed the complaint.

Despite her frequently over-the-top rhetoric, Broomell often raises interesting and worthy questions about county spending and policy decisions. But the way in which she speaks about the issues often turns off and alienates even people who might otherwise be inclined to agree with her on the substance of a particular point.

For example, she raised questions about the wisdom of installing costly advanced “membrane” technology at the Seneca Point sewage treatment plant when a cheaper technology covered fully by a state grant could have met current state environmental mandates. She asserted that it was improper for current sewer service users to have to pay the costs for upgraded and expanded services that would only serve future customers many years down the road.

That argument held weight even with some fellow councilors, sources said. But the way in which Broomell pursued her argument—alleging that the county’s Public Works Director was possibly lying or covering up pertinent information—turned off other Councilors and many citizens and shifted opinion against her position.

Meanwhile, in the state Delegate contests, the redistricting for western Cecil County creates some new political opportunities– but the Cecil County portion of the district will once again be a minority of the electorate and subordinate to a majority of Harford County voters in the new District 35B.

Wayne Norman, a Bel Air lawyer who currently holds an all-Harford seat in the old 35th District, has been a fixture at the Cecil County fair for the past few days, getting to know his new western Cecil constituents in the re-drawn House of Delegates district. But Norman is also considering a run for an open state Senate seat in District 35, which would cover even more of western Cecil County than his redrawn House seat as well as covering his Harford County home base.

Donna Stiffler is the other current Harford-based delegate in District 35B but there is area speculation that she might not run for re-election in the newly drawn Harford-Cecil district, thus opening up a new opportunity for another candidate.

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17 Responses to Cecil County Councilor Diana Broomell Says She Plans to Run for Re-election to Council in 2014

  1. Bob Laird on July 24, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    All I can say is this: Elect Michael W. “Good Mike” Dawson for a Better Cecil County! Now I’m off to count Boxtops!

  2. Diana Broomell on July 25, 2013 at 10:00 am

    There was a little more to the story on Seneca Point than what you’ve reported. The facts remain: Director Flanigan withheld the letters from MDE and GHD revealing denitrification filters will meet the ENR standards mandated by the State and MDE was authorizing $10.9 million from the flush fund towards this denitrification project, but not the $30 million for the cadillac MBR System. The MBR System was chosen by Flanigan with no data to justify to the Commissioners or Council which is why the Budget oversight Committee unanimously agreed the $30 million should not be spent. More factual information at http://www.dianabroomell.com.

    • Rick O'Shea on July 25, 2013 at 2:45 pm

      Please provide the readers with your academic record. Do you have an engineering degree? Do you have a Professional Engineer (PE) certification? Have you spent decades in the engineering profession? Director Flanigan has all these qualifications.I find your allegations of wrongdoing against all who oppose you quite disgusting.

    • RED 833 on July 26, 2013 at 9:09 am

      There certainly is a “little more to the story than what you’ve reported.” Doing the minimum upgrade effectively blocks future expansion of Seneca Point to accommodate the decades-long hopes and dreams for redevelopment of the abandoned Bainbridge naval training site.

      I visited Broomell’s site. She lists on her resume that she is a “Founding Member and VP of the Cecil Land Use Alliance,” an anti-growth organization. She is the one who is engaging in a “pattern of deceit” on this and other matters before the County Council.
      Shame on her!

    • Duct Taper on July 26, 2013 at 2:43 pm

      Two Words Apply Here: Elkton West. Diana Interjected Here And Cost Us All $62mil. ..

    • Ron on August 5, 2013 at 2:47 pm

      Why is that Dianna Broomell doesn’t have a place on her website so that people can comment on her overbloviated self back patting?

  3. Ron on July 26, 2013 at 7:45 am

    God help us if we re-elect Diana Broomell. She has been an obstructionist since the beginning of her current term. She’s also learned the art of throwing anyone under the bus who disagrees with her. The citizens of Cecil County don’t deserve having to spend any more time with her than what we already sentenced ourselves to.

  4. Carrie on July 31, 2013 at 8:21 am

    “Obstructionist”? Is this the new term for “elected female officials who ask questions”? Is it really “throwing people under the bus” or is it uncovering facts and exposing officials for their corrupt nature? I don’t know ,”boys” [but] it appears you don’t want to play nice with a “girl” on the same play ground. Quit whining.

    • Bob Laird on July 31, 2013 at 9:03 pm

      Carrie, I cannot speak for the others here but, as for me, I can unequivocally state that it does not matter to me the gender (or race) of any politician. In addition to the results that are the main goal of earning a role in public service, what matters is how they go about their business.

      Mrs. Broomell has proven to be a disruptive force on our County Council for a multitude of reasons. Her aloof nature on issues that are “beneath her” (my quote) has always boggled my mind as well. If she would put half as much passion into doing the job she was elected to do as opposed to spending all of this time on these personally-contrived issues, a lot more would be happening for the people of her district.

      I am not perfect – far from it – but her issues are not male-female in nature. It is simply incompetence and selfishness, plain and simple.

    • Rick O'Shea on August 1, 2013 at 6:18 am

      Playing the “gender card” is a sign of weakness. We have another “girl” County Council member and a “girl” County Executive who, unlike Broomell, are quite competent. The taxpayers are tired of her personal attacks, manufactured “facts”, and false allegations of corruption.

      • Carrie on August 5, 2013 at 4:07 pm

        As a citizen of this county, it is quite evident that Ms. Broomell is up against the “good ol’ boy” culture of this county. I don’t even have an affiliation with Ms. Broomell; and yet RICK throws an insult in my direction for my opinion. Thank you RICK for proving my point. Please do not speak for me as YOU (Rick) are not qualified to do so. As a taxpayer, I am not tired of her. To the contrary, I find it amusing that our commissioners and executive waste time, money and energy slinging accusations back and forth in an attempt to protect themselves or others from scrutiny. She must be onto something due to the defensive nature of some of these posts. You go GIRL!!

        • Mary Ann W on August 19, 2013 at 6:04 pm

          I’ve heard of the “good ol’ boy” culture around Cecil County, but sure would like to know who they are. Maybe we can get them to fix all of the problems we have, since they seem to have all the power!

          On a serious note though, Carrie you’ve accused the commissioners and executive of slinging accusations back and forth. Frankly, I’ve only seen one of those elected officials making accusations – and it’s the one you’ve been defending. If the others are doing so, please point me in the right direction of understanding, so I can evaluate with all of the relevant data. Thanks.

        • Rick O'Shea on September 2, 2013 at 8:33 am

          Carrie, I don’t see an insult in my reply. You are claiming that sexism is the basis for anti-Broomell sentiment while I countered that we have well-respected female elected officials in the county. I agree that she should go–HOME!!!

    • Ron on August 1, 2013 at 6:48 am

      Carrie, she has done more than go after elected officials. She has gone after private citizens who have disagreed with her or have gone against her. She has investigated their backgrounds and thrown it back in their face as a means of intimidation. This type of bully peddling is not acceptable.

      • Carrie on August 5, 2013 at 4:11 pm

        Ron, thank you for this information. Can you be more specific? I agree with you, this type of “bullying” is unacceptable, and frankly, does a dis-service to the citizens of Cecil County.

  5. David Neff on August 16, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    I am considering a run against her in the GOP primaries.

  6. Bill De Freitas on August 31, 2013 at 7:58 am

    Looking at the overall responses, seems to look like Broomell won’t have a chance of getting elected Animal Control officer in 2014. The people of Cecil County need to replace her and get her out of public service as quickly as possible.

    She doesn’t follow the rules of order of the meetings, she scripts her own people at the Citizens Corner meeting, thus using up the time for the real residents who have come to ask for help on their individual issues. Things are a mess, businesses won’t move here until she is gone.

    We have to remember that the most important thing for Cecil County residents are Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

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