Accused county commissioner 'did not violate any provisions of the Ethics Ordinance'
The Washington County Ethics Commission cleared the president of the board of county commissioner of any wrongdoing after a county commissioner candidate filed an ethics complaint against him alleging an abuse of position for private gain after the transfer of lakefront property at Fort Ritchie.
Jeff Cline, who is seeking re-election, "did not violate any provisions of the Ethics Ordinance" and that the complaint filed by Kayden Snyder was meritless and illogical, Ethics Commission Chairman Alan Levin wrote in a June 28 opinion.
"There are no facts presented that would indicate that Commissioner Cline's public position on the matter, or that of any of the other commissioners, was based on anything other than their good-faith belief that their position regarding the proposed conveyance was in the best interests of Washington County," Levin wrote. "There are no facts indicating any nexus whatsoever between Commissioner Cline's 2017 position on a matter of public business and his political organization's receipt of a contribution from an individual in 2021, four years later."
In a text message response to the opinion, Snyder said that regardless of the ruling, he still thought Cline was in the wrong.
In 2016, the county entered into an agreement with JG Business Link International, also known as JGBLI — a management consulting firm from Germantown, Md., and a subsidiary of JG Group — to serve as its agent in brokering redevelopment of the former Fort Ritchie Army base.
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Cline, along with three other commissioners at the time, had voted in 2017 to transfer about 63 acres of lakefront property at Fort Ritchie to JGBLI to help kick-start a proposed Cascade Town Centre development.
In his 2022 annual campaign finance report, Cline reported receiving a $500 donation on Aug. 12 from a Junior Choi Lee. JGBLI was listed as Lee's place of work. On June 1, Snyder filed the complaint and said in a news release that Cline "knowingly accepted this donation knowing Mr. Lee was part of the JGBLI organization and knowing that he voted to give away free land to that company as county commissioner."
In a previous report, Cline called Snyder's action a dirty trick.
"The complaint is without merit, lodged by an inexperienced political opponent seeking unwarranted publicity ... dirty tricks just before an election," Cline said.
Cline and Snyder, both Republicans, are among the 17 people running for a seat on the county board of commissioners. Cline, 66, is seeking is fourth term. Snyder, 19, is seeking his first.
Bruce Poole of the Poole Law Group, who represented Cline in the case, said in a news release Wednesday that the county ethics commission's decision was not surprising as it is "keeping with the facts and the law."
Cline said in the news release: "It is now time to get back to business and focus on the future (of) Washington County."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: County Commissioner cleared in ethics complaint filed by opponent
