Comments on: Like Dancing Hippos, Cecil County Commissioners Twirl on Economic Development Stage

By: Cecil Times

Cecil Times — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:15:46 +0000

Tina, the question asked by TMG was what could citizens do now, while commissioners are serving their elected term. The ultimate solution comes at the ballot box. Mullin’s seat is up in the 2012 election.

The State Prosecutor’s office is perpetually underfunded so the response you got might have been an assessment of the concerns you raised versus other investigations they had on their plate. That office did succeed in a case against the mayor of Baltimore and is now pressing criminal charges against two former aides to Bob Ehrlich in the so-called “robocalls” election law violations case.

By: Tina Sharp

Tina Sharp — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:56:03 +0000

I spoke to the State Prosecutor’s office when I ran in ’06, and I was told point blank, You know “the good ole’ boy system in Cecil” is hard to get through.

I ask is that really your final answer?

By: Cecil Times

Cecil Times — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:42:48 +0000

TMG, there is no mechanism for citizens to recall or otherwise remove a county commissioner from office during their term.

If someone thinks there has been a violation of ethics rules, a complaint can be filed with the county’s Ethics Commission. If someone thinks there has been a violation of state law, including election laws, a citizen may ask the State Prosecutor’s office in Towson to investigate. If someone thinks there have been violations of the state Open Meetings law, a complaint may be filed with the state’s Open Meetings Compliance Board. (As reported previously on Cecil Times, the open meetings board has already issued a slap on the wrist to the commissioners for violations in the past.)