Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The county executive says he will reimburse Anne Arundel County for his attorney fees—reportedly more than $20,000—should there be an unfavorable ruling against him in the discrimination lawsuit.
Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has agreed to pay back his attorney fees in an ongoing civil suit filed against him by a former county employee. Leopold's former public information officer Karla Hamner filed a civil suit against the executive in federal court, accusing him of official misconduct and gender discrimination. Private attorneys for the county executive left a $20,000 bill for their first 60 hours of work on the case earlier this month, according to The Capital. In a press release issued Wednesday, Leopold said he was "confident" that the case would end favorably for him. But if not, he has issued a letter to the county's Self Insurance Fund Committee that oversees payment for lawsuits against county employees and …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Three female former employees have now testified against Leopold.
An Anne Arundel County employee working under County Executive John R. Leopold detailed an alleged "toxic" work environment in a signed affidavit. The affidavit was signed Sept. 1 by Carla Sagerholm, the county's community services manager. She testified that she is on medical leave after suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome from what she calls a "toxic environment at the Executive Offices." "We appear to be constantly watched for any behavior or acts that might reveal 'disloyalty,'" according to the affidavit. Sagerholm's affidavit was first reported on by WBAL TV, and the full document can be read on its website. Leopold and the county are currently facing two potentially costly litigations from former employees accusing the …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Anne Arundel County's new Police Chief will be Larry Tolliver, who held the position from 1997 to 1998.
County Executive John R. Leopold announced Thursday that Larry W. Tolliver—the former police chief for Anne Arundel County—is his pick to become the county's new chief. “Larry Tolliver is a law enforcement veteran with 39 years of experience and, as a former county police chief, has an intimate knowledge of our police department,” Leopold said. “I am confident he can effectively lead the men and women of our police force and build on the impressive record of crime reduction established over the last six years.” Tolliver served as chief for Anne Arundel County from 1997 to 1998. “This is a homecoming for me, and I am honored to have the opportunity to work with County Executive Leopold and to serve the people of Anne Arundel County,” …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
In a letter to the utilities' regulatory agency, leaders of seven jurisdictions outline changes they said need to be made in light of the power failures during the derecho storm.
Less than two weeks after a massive storm disabled power to more than three quarters of a million Maryland residents, elected leaders wrote in a letter to a state regulatory agency that utility companies need to improve their performance and disclose critical outage information when government agencies request it. In the letter to the Public Service Commission, officials urged the regulatory agency to consider changes to the way utilities operate, including burying some power lines underground, mandatory staffing levels and improved disclosure of outage information to local municipal officials. The letter was signed by Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the executives of …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Retired Howard County Judge Dennis Sweeney issued the date for the county executive's trial.
The trial for County Executive John R. Leopold will begin in September. Retired Howard County Judge Dennis Sweeney issued the date for trial on Sept. 4 this week, according to WBAL-TV. The judge also struck down an attempt by Leopold's attorney to dismiss the case, according to The Capital. Leopold was indicted on five counts by a state grand jury in March, including four counts of misconduct in office and one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. The investigation into Leopold's activities has made headlines throughout the year. Police Chief James Teare Sr. was subpoenaed before the Anne Arundel County Council in March, but did not answer most questions posed to him about his alleged involvement in the charges against …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
ACLU representative says actions taken are "beyond the pale."
The ACLU says it has confirmed that federal and state databases were illegally accessed to compile data on three of County Executive John R. Leopold's so-called political enemies. The ACLU announced Tuesday that it has obtained documentation that the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and state Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) databases were used to dig up information on three Anne Arundel County citizens. Those individuals are: "The facts are clear that employees of County Executive Leopold improperly accessed government criminal history databases for purposes unrelated to law enforcement," said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the Maryland ACLU. "This is just beyond the pale." Jeon implored Maryland citizens to demand …
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
County Executive John R. Leopold said he and the County Council will now have to find a way to fund an additional $12 million for the school system.
UPDATE (6:50 p.m.)—The Maryland State Board of Education weighed in on Superintendent Kevin Maxwell's claim that Anne Arundel County government violated state law in underfunding students with last year's budget. The Maintenance of Effort is the minimum sum of money per student allotted by the county in order to keep school funding stable, and was the primary point of contention by Maxwell after County Executive John R. Leopold released his budget recommendations for fiscal year 2013 last week. Maxwell claimed that the executive “broke the law” by using debt service to calculate the MOE numbers for fiscal year 2012 and then used them as a launch point for next year’s budget. In doing so, Maxwell said Leopold shorted the school system $12 …
Monday, April 23, 2012
Reports say the civil rights director of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office was charged on Friday.
Carl O. Snowden, the civil rights director of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, was charged with marijuana possession in Baltimore on Friday, according to online court records. Snowden's attorney told The Capital that he is confident Snowden will be found not guilty of the drug charge and that he was with another person in his car Friday when he was pulled over by police for a broken tail light. Snowden is scheduled for a May 3 court date in Baltimore, according to online records. WJZ-TV reported that Snowden filed a $20 million lawsuit against Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold for having a dossier complied against him. Snowden said he would take a sabbatical from the attorney general's office to pursue charges without a…
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Chief said he doesn't want to impede grand jury investigation.
After being subpoenaed by the County Council, the county's police chief said he would not answer any questions that were subject to the grand jury investigation into County Executive John R. Leopold. Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare Sr. was sworn under oath on Monday, but said he couldn't answer questions that would put him in violation of secrecy laws protecting grand jury investigations. "I do not want to break the law, so I respectfully decline to answer questions which require me to do that," Teare said. Teare's attorney Gerald P. Martin said his client appeared on Monday night "to demonstrate respect for the council," but Martin called the subpoena "erroneous." Martin said the council would need to get a judge to issue the…
Sunday, March 4, 2012
In light of the recent indictment, Patch asks if the Anne Arundel County executive should step down.
On Wednesday, an Anne Arundel County grand jury indicted County Executive John Leopold on four counts of misconduct in office and one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary, according to a press release. The state prosecutor's office announced Friday that Leopold is accused of using his executive protection staff to escort him to a parking lot for “sexual activity with another county employee [in 2010].” In light of these allegations, do you think Leopold should resign or step down temporarily? Cast your vote below in our poll.
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