For as long as St. Charles County has had its own charter, it has been illegal for the county executive to hire a former council member within a year of that member leaving office. The rule is quite simple:
“No former elected County Officer shall hold any compensated appointed office or employment with the County until one year after the expiration of the term for which the elected County Officer was elected.â€
That ethics rule, says St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, cuts down on the possibility of somebody in his position offering a quid pro quo — a job offer for a favorable vote, for instance — to a member of the council.
Ehlmann and I were talking about the issue because of a brewing controversy next door, in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
“I know of many cases where there was rumored to be a quid pro quo,†Ehlmann, a Republican, told me. “I also know of many cases where the beneficiary of the appointment was the most qualified.â€
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In my Friday column, I suggested that in light of the recent move by ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page to hire former Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray to an $89,000-per-year job the same month she left office, it might be time for ºüÀêÊÓƵ County to adopt such a rule.
Three council members apparently agree. Shalonda Webb, who replaced Gray, plus Lisa Clancy and Ernie Trakas all filed memos last week with the county counselor’s office seeking such legislation. Two of the proposals specifically seek a ballot initiative. Webb and Clancy are Democrats. Trakas is a Republican.
Webb, who filed her memo first, on Feb. 1, and Clancy each seek a two-year cooling-off period. Trakas seeks five years. Whichever way the council goes — if a majority agrees — Ehlmann is confident that voters will favor it. In fact, in St. Charles County, voters in 2012 extended the prohibition to all county elected officials.
“The voters in St. Charles County liked the idea,†Ehlmann said.
Only once, Ehlmann remembers, has the cooling-off period been an issue. After his tenure on the council ended in 2006, Bob Schnur, a certified public accountant, sought a job as county finance director. He went through the merit process, was determined to be qualified, and was hired, but Ehlmann kept an interim finance director in place until Schnur could be hired a year after his service on the council ended.
Clancy and Trakas both said they hadn’t talked about the idea before, but read about it in my column and decided to file legislation. Webb didn’t return calls seeking comment.
“I thought it was a great idea and I went with it,†Trakas said. He has long thought such hires of politicians by other politicians make government look like an insider political club, he added, but the hiring of Gray by Page started the conversation in this case.
On Jan. 5, Gray had cast a deciding vote to elect Clancy, a Page ally, as chairperson of the council.
“Two things can be true at the same time,†Clancy says. “Gray’s hire doesn’t pass the smell test, and she also has an opportunity to do a really good job that she’s qualified to do.â€
Passing a cooling-off period would fix both problems going forward.
Of the three proposals, Trakas’ is the most comprehensive, with the cooling-off period lasting for five years, and applying to all elected officials in the county, not just the county executive and the council.
Trakas’ proposal would also ban the hiring of other elected officials for five years, so, for instance, Councilwoman Rita Days would not have been able to hire former state Rep. Courtney Curtis, who left the Legislature in 2018. Curtis resigned from Days’ staff before pleading guilty on Nov. 6 to federal wire fraud charges related to the misuse of campaign funds. Days then hired former state Rep. Maria Chappelle Nadal as her assistant. Trakas’ bill would also ban that hire in the future.
Through a spokesman, Page said he would support the concept of a cooling-off period. Page continues to deny his hiring of Gray was a quid pro quo for any particular vote.
Clancy, who is battling in court with Days over who is the rightful chairperson of the council, said that with the three councilmembers all filing similar legislation, she’s confident something can be put before voters. “We probably have a pretty good chance of getting this done,†Clancy said. “It’s clear this is something voters want. It’s good government practice.â€