No Democrats Appointed to Redistricting Commission

9:46 p.m. The meeting is adjourned. Updates to follow.

---

---

9:44 p.m. Roberta Clay is now speaking, saying that she is looking forward to living at Carsins Run.

"I didn't know my name was on the list, but since you called it," Clay said. "I love to talk."

She is urging the County Council to continue to support the project.

One of the council members' cell phones just rang. It appears to have been Slutzky's.

Clay then invited the council members to live with them, jokingly.

"We'll send the Captain [James McMahan] right over," Guthrie said.

---

9:42 p.m. Anni Ban Basou (really unsure of spelling, I apologize), who identified himself as an economist ("Hold your applause," he joked) is now speaking.

He is talking about the Village at Carsins Run in Aberdeen and why it is a good project for the county. He is presenting a lot of numbers to support his argument.

---

9:38 p.m. , said he was only going to speak about education, but wanted to weigh in on the election redistricting commission.

He said the Deomcrats should not file suit because the Council will vote how it wants to vote anyway.

Burbey is now speaking about what he says he originally came for—education as it relates to the budget. He is urging the County Council to increase spending for teachers and that they "have to raise taxes."

Passaro is objecting to Burbey's comments from the crowd, but what Passaro is saying is not audible. Burbey asked him for the respect that he gave Passaro in keeping quiet. Boniface then jokingly asked Passaro to "behave" himself.

Burbey said that any place that "underfunds education flounders and fails."

---

9:27 p.m. Tony Passarro, who lost his son recently, as noted by councilman James McMahan, is now speaking to the County Council.

"Don't mess with our laws," he said. "I would just say [Democrats] made a mistake ... leave our laws alone." 

---

9:13 p.m. John Malamo, a frequent public commenter, is now speaking.

He said the budget will be a "real tough vote" and that people will come to the County Council asking them to raise taxes. He urges them not to do so.

---

9:10 p.m. Russell Kovac, the vice chair of the Democratic Central Committee of Harford County, is now speaking in public comment.

He said the intention of the 15 percent rule was to eliminate fringe parties from inclusion.

"It makes no sense to assume that the council president should be included in that 15 percent determination," Kovac said.

He now said that this never should have occurred and blames the "Republican-controlled" County Council. He told the the other council members that Boniface misled them for two months.

"This council's now forced our hand," he said. "We fully intend on participating on the redistricting commission to make sure its a fair process."

He is accusing the council of "going out of its way" to not follow the law.

---

9:07 p.m. To begin public comment, James Willard of Kingsville is urging the council to settle the redistricting debate out of court instead of causing more strain on citizen money with another court case.

He is providing numbers to show that the voting process skews the eligibility for the commission. He said Boniface, as council president and someone who the entire county votes for, drives down the Democratic percentage because the party did not have a representative opposing Boniface.

Willard added that 41 percent of the people—the county's registered Democrats—have been disenfranchised.

(Not all public comments were able to be included.)

---

9:00 p.m. In business from Council members:

Guthrie is honoring an active member of the Edgewood community, who recently died at 50 years old. He had a wife, Sue, and five children. Guthrie did not name the man.

Guthrie is now reading a poem from the man written before he died describing how he would like to remembered.

Woods is talking about a Route 1 safety commission meeting taking place in Fallston soon. He also announced that the Bel Air barracks of the Maryland State Police will soon receive seven new troopers.

James McMahan is now expressing sympathy for the loss of Tony Passaro's son. Passaro is a Bel Air resident and his son was a Marine.

Slutzky said he is offended by innuendos from people who spoke tonight of Republican members of the council "bending the law."

Added Slutzky: "The County Charter is unequivocal on this matter and the council had no discreation."

Slutzky said Sawyer and her committee has "dropped the ball" and that "inept leadership, if you want to call it inept leadership" is to blame for the problem of not having enough candidates to receive enough votes to have its party represented on the redistricting commission.

"I will publicly state right now that when this council makes the final decision ... I intend to do and be as fair and reasonable as I can be and locate the [20,000] new citizens we have accrued over the 10-year census" in the area that best suits the election process no matter their background.

Lisanti is going last.

"Wow, Mr. Slutzy. I feel like I need a sign there that says, 'No hating.' That's what the kids say," she said. "I hope that this raw emotional issue is past this council."

She also praised Boniface for leading a non-partisan council so far in his tenure.

---

8:44 p.m. Benjamin Lloyd, a Republican, has been appointed by the County Council to the Decennial Redistricting Commission—an advisory board.

That makes three Republicans and no Democrats on the board.

The Democrats have vowed in correspondences prior to the meeting to file a lawsuit.

There is still opportunity for public comment at the end of the meeting—stay tuned.

---

8:43 p.m. By a vote of 5–2, the motion (from Guthrie) to appoint Democrats Cathy Reilly and Joseph Tydings to the advisory committee has failed. Guthrie and Lisanti voted in favor.

---

8:39 p.m. "I urge you all to vote your conscience," Lisanti said.

Boniface is now speaking again.

"This issue has been tough for me," he said. "One of the things I've been most proud of ... is the non-partisanship that has taken place on this council."

Boniface said that when he took the oath of office, he swore to uphold the charter.

---

8:36 p.m. Lisanti is responding to Slutzky's claim that he feels he has to follow the charter.

“I appreciate what you are saying. I hope, though, that we all in being respectful of each other’s opinions that we also all recognize that this situation took everyone by surprise,” she said.

Someone in the audience called out that this is "embarrassing."

"You're right, it is embarrassing," she responded.

"Ms. Lisanti," Boniface said.

"You're right—I shouldn't do that," she said in reference to responding.

"This board is nothing more than an advisory board to this council," said Lisanti, who said that the County Council will ultimately make the final redistricting decisions.

---

8:33 p.m. Councilman James McMahan is now speaking on the issue for the first time.

"My problem is, do I abide by the charter?" McMahan said. "Or do I vary from that and support what Mr. Guthrie says?

"...My conscience tells me as best as I know it that I have to err on the side of the written law [and leave it to a judge]."

Slutzky is now responding to Guthrie, who said Slutzky's "Pandora's Box" argument was not valid because there were no votes cast for parties beside Republicans and Democrats.

Slutzky responded to that by saying that there were hundreds of write-in votes for multiple other parties. He added that the issue is going to court regardless.

"I'll go to court on the side of the law [that's been presented to us]," Slutzky said.

---

8:26 p.m. There has been a call for question by Guthrie, it has been seconded by Lisanti.

Boniface is looking up the ruling to determine what the procedure is.

"I'm seeing that previous question requires a vote," Kearney said, "which would immediately close the debate."

The vote is to end the debate, but is not for the resolution. The vote requires a vote of 5–2 to close the debate.

The motion has failed 5–2 and debate will continue. Guthrie and Lisanti voted for closing the debate, which was not successful.

---

8:22 p.m. Lisanti said she wants to hear a legal review of the constitutionality of what the charter says.

"There's one piece of this that really is challenging to me," Lisanti said. "There is, in my mind, a flawed assumption [that] an individual has to vote for their political party to determine validity.

"...In my mind that is completely contrary to free elections," she said.

Boniface has asked those in attendance to "restrain themselves" from reacting to comments.

---

8:19 p.m. County Attorney Charles Kearney said "I couldn't hazard a guess" on what a judge would rule in this case.

Councilman Richard Slutzky is now arguing that if you allow Democrats two seats, you have to potentially allow all parties to have additional members even if they didn't meet the 15 percent requirement.

"This is opening Pandora's Box and leaving us liable," Slutzky said.

---

8:18 p.m. Guthrie says no matter how the council decides, he believes there will be a lawsuit.

He thinks if only three people are appointed, the appointment deadline—Feb. 15—will have passed by the time a judge rules on the potential lawsuit and two Democrats cannot be appointed, regardless of whose favor the judge rules in.

---

8:16 p.m. With Lloyd’s appointment tabled, Guthrie is continuing:

“I would like to make a motion to put the names forward of Cathy Reilly and Joseph Tydings,” on the committee. The two names were on the list submitted by the Democratic Central Committee.

“This is certainly a very complicated matter. ... My concern is this," Guthrie said. "We don't know how a judge would rule. Both parties think they have strong arguments to go into court."

---

8:09 p.m. Councilman Chad Shrodes has moved to appoint Benjamin Lloyd to the committee as the County Council's "at large" choice. Lloyd works for the county's division of agriculture.

He is on the board of directors of the Harford Land Trust, among other things.

Lloyd is a graduate of C. Milton Wright High School.

Shrodes gave the background on Lloyd.

Guthrie said "I don't know how I would vote one way or the other. ... I would appreciate if you would table that motion," until he has more time to consider.

Guthrie has made a motion to table the vote, Lisanti, seconded. It has been tabled.

---

8:08 p.m. Chris Pate and Jason Gallion have both been confirmed by a vote of 6–0. Lisanti abstained from the vote.

---

8:08 p.m. Lisanti has asked if there is a fine for violating the charter. Kearney said there is not a fine "per se" but that officials do their best to follow it.

Councilman Dion Guthrie is now addressing Kearney.

"The guidance we have from you ... you looked over the charter and you [have] given us your legal opinion as to what the charter says," Guthrie said. "At this point in time we have opinions, but we don't have a judge's decision?"

"That's correct," Kearney responded.

---

8:06 p.m. Councilman James McMahan has moved to approve Chris Pate and Jason Gallion—two Republican Central Committee members—to the redistricting commission.

Democratic Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti has asked someone to talk about Pate and Gallion's qualifications. Boniface has brought DeLong back up to describe each briefly.

Lisanti has asked Boniface the intention of the makeup of the redistricting commission. He responded that he didn't understand the question. She then rephrased it.

"The motion before us right now is to accept the nomination that was presented to us," Boniface said. "That's the only motion we have before us right now."

The number of seats on the committee—likely to be three or five—is undetermined at this time.

Lisanti now wants to ask the county attorney, Charles Kearney, some questions so that they are on public record.

Additionally, Sawyer and DeLong were given four minutes to speak instead of three during their speeches.

---

8:02 p.m."I've watched with great interest the temper tantrum thrown by the Democratic party this week," Republican Central Committee chairman Scott DeLong said.

He is now citing the County Code that would make the Democratic party ineligible to nominate members for the committee.

"The Democratic Party's cries of foul in this case ... are pretty remarkable really," DeLong said. "This happens to be the current Harford County charter so obviously there's no conspiracy."

DeLong says "it's their own failure to field candidates in multiple county offices ... not a conspiracy by the GOP."

"The facts are stubborn things and the facts remain," he said. "They failed to meet their duties, and now they're going to hire a lawyer."

He said the state has already gerrymandered Democrat-favored districts in Maryland, eliciting applause from some in attendance.

"I ask the council to take [the facts] into consideration," he concluded.

---

7:59 p.m. "This isn't about fielding candidates ... this isn't even about politics. This is about every Harford County citizen having the right of a representative government," Wendy Sawyer, chairwoman of the Democratic Central Committee is telling the County Council.

She has three minutes to speak.

"We deserve to speak on this advisory comission," she said.

She has acknowledged the offer Boniface gave the DCC (see below) and said that one member is not enough.

"I'm disappointed that the council's waited so long to address this issue," Sawyer said.

She says she was informed Dec. 15 that the County Council would not accept nominations from the Democratic party.

Sawyer said she received a call from Boniface this weekend about the offer and she says she does not believe it was a "legal" or "ethical" offer.

"I refuse to enter into that kind of negotiation," Sawyer said.

"We have offered you our best and our brightest who are willing to serve this county and to ignore them really, really shrieks of unconstitutionality ... we look forward to working with them on the committee," she concluded.

---

7:53 p.m. The County Council is being briefed on the redistrictiong.

Each party that polled "at least 15 percent of the total votes cast" for members of the County Council should have two appointees. The Board of Elections has advised the County Council that only the Republican party members earned enough votes to garner two appointments.

Democrats received only 11.6 percent of the vote in the general election.

---

7:52 p.m. The County Council just accepted a resolution to accept HUD funds.

Now the fun is beginning with the redistricting commission.

---

7:46 p.m. The five nominees submitted by the Republican Central Committee of Harford County are Chris Pate, Dave Pridgeon, Vernon Gauss, Jason Gallion and Eric Daxon.

Boniface told Patch before the meeting that he will allow the chairwoman—Sawyer—of the Democratic Central Committee of Harford County, and Scott DeLong, the chairman of the Republican Central Committee of Harford County, to speak for three minutes on behalf of their respective parties. This is not required by the County Charter.

---

7:44 p.m. Also, Ryan Ellerman (unsure of spelling) of John Carroll School was just recognized with a U.S. Navy acceptance proclamation by the County Council. Ellerman is now speaking and thanking his mother, Guthrie and Jarrettsville, among others.

---

7:43 p.m. Attached is the letter Boniface sent to Sawyer in reply to her decline.

---

7:41 p.m. While they work on presenting to Hopkins, here is some background on the election redistricting:

Even though 41 percent of the county's registered voters are Democrats, less than 15 percent of the candidates who received votes in the fall's general election were Democrats, so they are not eligible to have two spots on the redistricting commission, according to County Charter.

"I’m trying to balance the fairness of it. I think it’s unfair even if the tables were switched," Councilman Dion Guthrie, a Democrat, told Patch before the meeting. "I think the Republicans lose some credibility if in fact they stonewall this thing and ramrod it down." 

The County Council will select two of the five recommendations given by the Republican Central Committe, as well as one of their own at large selections later in the meeting.

The Democratic Central Committee argues on behalf of its party that it deserves two spots as well, despite the fact that it does not meet the requirements of the County Charter.

Councilman Billy Boniface sent a letter to Wendy Sawyer, chairwoman of the Democratic Central Committee, saying that the council would consider selecting a Democrat for its at large bid if the party's central committee dropped its threat of a lawsuit.

Sawyer, however, declined Boniface's offer and said that the party will pursue legal action if two Democrats are not appointed to the commission, which will advise the council when it considers "redrawing" the county voting lines for the next 10 years.

Guthrie plans to make a motion to appoint two Democrats to the redistricting commission. He said he favors Joe Tydings and Cathy Reilly.

Guthrie expects the only other Democrat on the council, Mary Ann Lisanti, to support his motion. He would need at least two of the Republicans' support, though, to get a council majority of 4–3 or higher.

---

7:32 p.m. Harry L.W. Hopkins Jr., daughter, son and a close friend are up front for the presentation of Hopkins as a Harford Living Treasure. He most recently served as the Harford County Register of Wills for more than two decades.

"Old age sucks!" Hopkins said as he began the slow walk up front to accept his proclamation.

He graduated from Bel Air High School in 1944.

Councilman James McMahan is reading Hopkins'  biography.

---

7:29 p.m. The board room is nearly at full capacity tonight with the hot topic of election redistricting appointments. First, though, Harry Hopkins will be approved as a Harford County Living Treasure.