Legal Opinion: Council Members Not Eligible for Executive Appointment

In the wake of former County Executive John Leopold's resignation, two Anne Arundel County Council members expressed interest in a bid for the seat, but attorneys familiar with charter legislation say the county's charter makes the council members ineligible.

After council members John Grasso (R–District 2) and Jerry Walker (R–District 7) expressed interest in putting their name in the running, County Attorney John Hodgson requested an opinion on behalf of the county from Rosenberg, Martin Greenberg LLP, as to whether they are eligible to be appointed to the office.

Andrew H. Baida, an attorney for the law firm, cited several county and state rulings that suggest this section of the county charter makes current council members ineligible:

From Section 202(b): "… After qualifying as such, no member of the County Council, notwithstanding the fact that he may thereafter resign, shall during the whole period of time for which he was elected be eligible for appointment to any County office, position or employment carrying compensation."

Baida explained in a letter to the county attorney Thursday, "It is in my opinion that no member of the county council is eligible for appointment to fill the current county executive vacancy."

Grasso, who has also expressed intentions to run for county executive in 2014, said he decided not to put his name in Thursday morning before receiving the opinion from the attorneys.

"I had already made the decision I wasn't going to run—that was a given earlier today," Grasso said.

He put some of the weight of that decision on his fellow council members.

"I wasn't able to get the support of my colleagues," he said. "I guess I'm just not political enough to get the support."

The council is set to vote on the new executive on Feb. 21.

According to recent reports, a possible bid for the county executive seat could come from former First Lady of Maryland Kendel Ehrlich.

Beth Jones, spokesperson for the county council, said Ehrlich is not one of the four applicants, as of 4 p.m. Thursday. Jones says she expects most of the bids to come in by the deadline on Friday.