BREAKING NEWS: The DECOY DICTATOR Casts Tie-Breaking Vote, Charter Spending Amendment to Appear on November Ballot

As expected, two county employees who are currently "serving" on the council in violation of the plain language of the County Charter just voted for a bill that will expand their power, influence, and ability to vote themselves raises. For those of you who are new to the newsletter, you may not be aware of Article II Section 207 of the Harford County Charter.

It reads, "Section 207

Qualifications of Council members.

[Amended by Bill No. 12-31]

A Council member shall have been a resident and a qualified voter of the County for at least two years immediately preceding election or appointment. At the time of election or appointment, the candidate shall be a resident of the Council district from which elected or appointed. During the term of office, the Council member shall not hold any other office of profit or employment in the government of the State of Maryland, Harford County, or any municipality within Harford County, except a position held by virtue of being a Council member. The Council member shall not, during the whole term for which elected or appointed, be eligible for appointment to any County office or position carrying compensation, except to the office of Council member or County Executive in the event of a vacancy."

For those of you who have been reading our newsletters for a while, you may remember we've mentioned this before... HERE, HERE and HERE are just a few examples. In either case, you're probably not hearing this from many other places since "journalism" these days no longer seems to involve intellectual curiosity.

What we are really seeing is a lawless government which increasingly ignores the constitutional restraints in the pursuit of more power. We saw this with tyrant governors like Larry Hogan in MD, Cuomo, Whitmer, Pritzker, Newsom and plenty of others who showed their true authoritarian colors during a crisis. We saw it locally in Harford when exactly ZERO elected officials in the county stood up for your right to work, worship, travel, gather, and make medical decisions for yourself.

We saw it again when newly elected councilman Jacob Bennet refused to resign from his government job following his election as the charter demands; instead finding high-powered lawyers and a liberal judge to declare the charter doesn't actually mean what it says.

We saw it again when the Council President Vincenti, AKA The Decoy Dictator, bullied and silenced concerned citizens speaking up at council meetings during the public comment portion of the meeting. If you remember during Covid, Vincenti was one of the many spineless, gutless, constitutionally ignorant politicians claiming "there's nothing we can do" when citizens begged, pleaded, and even cried out for help in defending their basic liberties during Lockdown Larry's unlawful authoritarian mandates. But The Decoy Dictator turns into a real "tough guy" when ordinary peons like us say words he doesn't like.

Back to the OTHER county employee, Sgt. Spendman... after winning the District B race in 2022, Council Critter Aaron Penman resigned his post from the Harford County Sheriff's Office because even he understood what the charter says, just like every other council had understood it before- including former councilman Chad Shrodes, who resigned from Harford County Planning and Zoning when he won his election. However, once Penman saw his colleague Bennett successfully violate the charter without getting kicked out, the gravy train was too much for him to resist. Instead of demanding the rule of law be followed over the whims of some liberal judge, Penman got his pal, Sheriff Buford T. Gahler to re-hire him at the Sheriff's Office. Just like during the lockdowns, Gahler was quick to follow the whims of activist liberals over what that actual law says. Not a good look for the county's chief law enforcement officer.

"Bill 24-016 is a proposed amendment to the Harford County Charter that would allow additional spending by the County Council in any area of the budget. Currently, Section 512 of the County Charter states that the Council may decrease or delete any items in the budget except those required by law, provisions for outstanding debt service, or estimated cash deficits. The proposed legislation would amend the Charter to allow the Council to also increase, but not add expenditures, items to the budget."

ROLL CALL:

AGAINST THE CHARTER AMENDMENT:

Dion Guthrie- Dist. A

Tony Giangiordano- Dist. C

Jim Reilly- Dist. D

FOR THE CHARTER AMENDMENT:

Jacob Bennett- Dist. F

Jessica Boyle-Tsottles- Dist. E

Aaron Penman- Dist. B

Patrick Vincenti- Council President

"In accordance with Charter § 905, this amendment must be approved by a majority of County voters before it takes effect."

Having passed the County Council, the bill will now be on the November ballot. Rest assured, HCPS and Sheriff Buford T. Gahler's political machines will be working overtime to ensure their gravy train continues by working to pass this charter amendment.

This summer, the adults in the room need to stand up and vigorously oppose the passage of this initiative, and the torrent of new taxes and spending which will inevitably result if it does.

Let me caution you if you're welling up with feelings like "We need more Republicans!" The problem here is that three republicans and a democrat just passed this bill. One democrat, Dion Guthrie, was more conservative on this issue than three of his republican colleagues. We can't keep voting for people just because of their party affiliation. Principles matter. Freedom matters. Memorial Day was only a few weeks ago. Let's not forget the sacrifices of those who gave their last full measure of devotion so that we could be The Land of the Free. It wasn't so we could just end up another banana republic in the dustbin of history.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone who appreciates low taxes and responsible spending levels from their local government.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/ EVENTS/ MEETINGS

JUNE 19th- NO WINERY MEETING...ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

JULY 30th- POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD MEETING- Information

SEPT 3rd- HARFORD COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING