COLUMBIA, Md. — Tempers at times flared at the Columbia Association board meeting Thursday, as more than a dozen neighbors spoke out against April’s closed-door vote to remove three members: Karin Emery, Eric Greenberg and Reg Avery.
“I’m here tonight because many members of this community feel unheard, dismissed, and increasingly concerned about the direction this board is taking,” Nancy McCord said.
“It's the most shameful period of Columbia's history that I’ve ever seen and I’ve been around Columbia since 1972,” said Alan Klein, representing the Coalition for Columbia’s Downtown.
Several outbursts at Columbia Association meeting after removal of three board members
Howard County Police officers did receive a disorderly conduct call, but spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn tells WMAR-2 News the person in question was asked to leave and did so voluntarily, requiring no additional enforcement.
At some points, board chair Collin Sullivan had to remind the audience to remain civil or took a recess while outbursts continued.
“As a fiduciary of the corporation, I believe that the appointment of Mr. Greenberg, Ms. Emery, and Mr. Avery to the board of directors is contrary to the best interests and indeed harmful to the organization,” Sullivan shared in a statement.
The three are accused of filing a frivolous complaint against Sullivan and another board member and failing to cooperate with an independent ethics committee’s investigation, which documented months of in-fighting among board members.
The final vote to remove them happened in closed session, which the CA reported was in line with their bylaws.
But two Howard County state delegates, Chao Wu of District 9A and Jennifer Terrasa of District 13, have sought an Attorney General opinion on the matter as the ousted members claim the vote was done with only half the board present.
“If the state finds it illegal to remove these three board members, you should fire your legal counsel,” Delegate Wu said. “Some of you should resign too.”
Though, not everyone who attended the meeting felt the board’s move was done improperly and spoke in support.
“Sometimes what is right is not what is popular, and doing the unpopular thing is hard, especially when your actions to hold members accountable for their unethical and damaging behavior are rebranded via social media campaign as an assault on democracy despite all the facts,” Regan Mercer said.
The trio have filed suit seeking their reinstatement, and though their initial attempt via restraining order was denied by a judge due to procedural issues, they’ve since re-filed.
