HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Maryland's highest court ruled this week that Aaron Penman is ineligible for a seat on the Harford County Council because his simultaneous employment as a sheriff's deputy violates the county charter.
The Maryland Supreme Court affirmed a ruling by the Circuit Court of Harford County and required Penman to pay court costs, according to a statement from the Harford County administration.
Harford prohibits such dual employment because it creates a conflict of interest for council members charged with oversight of county spending on the sheriff's office and other state offices.
Penman told voters prior to his election that he would retire from the sheriff’s office if elected to the county council. After he was elected, Penman reversed his stance and took a new position with the sheriff’s office. In response, the Cassilly administration called on Council President Vincenti and council members to uphold the charter and remove Penman from the council. Because the council failed to uphold the charter, the Cassilly administration filed a lawsuit seeking Penman’s removal from the county council. Maryland’s highest court agreed with the Cassilly administration’s longstanding position that Section 207 of the Harford County Charter clearly prohibits Penman from simultaneously serving on the county council while employed by the sheriff’s office.
Prior to the court’s ruling, Penman illegally rushed through the council several bills, including a charter amendment intended to greatly expand the power of the deputies’ union and other county-funded employees of the state government to influence the county budget process. Those bills have now been invalidated by the Maryland Supreme Court’s ruling that Penman was not a legitimate member of the Harford County Council when he introduced those bills.
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