Wicomico County Council back to square one in county executive appointment process

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md –  During a tense, but rather quick special meeting Friday evening the Wicomico County Council decided to reopen the application process for county executive instead of pushing forward with the two remaining candidates.

The meeting comes after Dr. Rene Desmarais declined to accept his appointment this week after the council voted 4-3 to appoint him in what some say was a surprising decision.

District 5 Councilman Joe Holloway (R) first motioned to reopen the process. The motion was seconded by District 1 Councilman Ernie Davis (D) and subsequently supported by District 2 Councilwoman Nicole Acle (R) and Council President Larry Dodd (R) to reach a consensus. The same four members who had backed Dr. Desmarais.

The move to reopen the application was contested by the three councilmembers who had voted for Del. Carl Anderton Jr.  At-Large Councilman William McCain (D), Council Vice President John T. Cannon (R) and District 4 Councilman Josh Hastings (D). All who argued that there was no reason to restart the process because there were still two candidates left, Del. Anderton Jr. and former county employee Michele Ennis, who had been vetted and publicly interviewed.

Hastings also told the council that he has received hundreds of phone calls, voicemails, and texts from residents who believe the council should appoint Del. Anderton Jr. He also said he had spoken with a former councilman who said that it’s clear who the community wants and the council should act accordingly.

Council President Dodd responded saying he has heard from numerous residents that they want to see the application process reopened.

During the meeting, the issue of timing was also raised with Hastings, Cannon, and McCain arguing that the council should stick to naming a new executive within the 45 day period outlined by the county charter. However, Acle and Holloway leaned on the legal opinion of the council attorney who said that although the language in the charter says they council shall appoint within 45 days, that they could in fact go past that deadline.

“I’ve always been one that, no matter how you may be able to re-interpret the charter. I like to take it for face value and it says shall be 45 days. I try to live within that code,” said Cannon.

Ultimately the deadline for the application process will fall outside of that 45 day period, with the same consensus deciding to give until the close of business September 14th. The council attorney had suggested a much shorter application period given the fact that this is the second time, however, Councilman Holloway explained the need for a later date.

“I think what the attorney didn’t do is take into account the holiday season, you know labor day weekend. You know people are going to be out of town for three or four days, there will be staff that won’t be working for a few days so I think that’s one of the reasons we needed to extend it like we did,” said Holloway.

Holloway also added that he fears some potential candidates may shy away from applying for the job because of the public scrutiny that Dr. Desmarais received after his appointment.

Following the application process, the applicants will then interview for the position. However this time the council has decided to allow for public comment on the matter.