Wicomico County Council Raises Concerns Over Executive’s Conduct
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. — The Wicomico County Council met Tuesday morning to discuss concerns about professionalism and online conduct involving County Executive Julie Giordano.
Council members raised concerns about Giordano’s conduct, citing several recent incidents.
The discussion followed Councilman Joe Holloway’s Facebook endorsement of county executive candidate Ernest Davis. Holloway criticized the administration, saying, “The past four years has been turmoil in the Wicomico County government with the blame from the current executive always shifted to the council.”
Council President John Cannon outlined the members’ concerns.
“County executives also made statements threatening the jobs of council staff, specifically Angela Shatel, the interim officer and Mrs. Hurley. She indicated that Mrs. Ingle was a maybe, and stated that Mr. Benson was completely gone,” Cannon said.
Cannon also cited alleged threats against council staff and a separate exchange between Giordano and state Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes.
“Referring to the delegate in derogatory manner. This was a provocative engagement in her own government office building,” Cannon said.
Holloway shared his thoughts on the events that followed his post.
“I don’t apologize for doing the post. I apologize for the pain it caused them from her actions. It’s a personal Facebook post. It’s not a political Facebook post. I can post like everybody else does if I want to,” Holloway said.
He added that he deleted several comments because of their hateful nature.
“Some of the comments I had to delete because they were so hateful. So, people and it was comments that I had to delete because it was people that supported our county executive. I mean, they’re really nasty things,” Holloway said.
Council Vice President Jeff Merritt also acknowledged derogatory comments made by Giordano’s supporters online.
“It’s surprising to me that a person in the highest position of the county not only allows this to happen,” Merritt said.
Giordano later deleted the comments. In a statement obtained by WMDT, Giordano addressed a comment posted by another individual on her Facebook page, saying she did not agree with the views expressed. She clarified that the presence of the comment on her page did not mean she endorsed or shared the sentiments.
“I respect people’s right to express their opinions, but I also believe it is important to distinguish between the statements of others and my own personal beliefs and positions,” Giordano said.
She confirmed that the comment had since been deleted and reiterated her commitment to serving Wicomico County with professionalism, integrity and respect.
Giordano said she would continue focusing on issues affecting residents and efforts to bring the community together.
