No 'working relationship': Power struggle between Wicomico executive, council on hiring

When Wicomico County opted for a county executive in 2007, the question lingered as to how they would coexist with the County Council. Now 16 years later, the same issue persists with appointees in the balance.

When County Executive Julie Giordano took office in December 2022, her message to the public was simple —teamwork and transparency were at the center of her mission to improve Wicomico County. What has followed, however, was a dismissal by Giordano of the acting special counsel on ethical grounds, a controversial nominee to replace him, and other openings that were outright denied by the council, which took some luster off the message of a united county.

At the center of the latest appointment issue between the two parties is the city charter itself and different interpretations of it.

A letter by County Attorney Paul Wilber to County Council Attorney Andrew C. Mitchell Jr. noted Giordano appointed Heather Lankford as acting director of Public Works pursuant to Charter Section 414. Lankford, who served as a civil engineer prior to being selected, was subject to a limited 90-day appointment, leading the county executive to request another 90-day extension for Lankford under the same charter section.

"The current circumstance that evolved in the last month is unfortunate, and its crucial to recognize how both (branches) are supposed to operate within the charter," said County Council President John Cannon. "From the beginning, the county executive should have understood the council's inclinations in not following through with her wishes. It was her obligation to move on and look for other qualified candidates instead of taking rash measures."

The County Council declined the request, leading Giordano to appointed Lankford as acting deputy directorof Public Works instead.

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The same occurred with Giordano's selection of Matthew Leitzel as assistant director of administration, with the council rejecting it on the basis the appointment may not exceed 90 days. In Leitzel's case, Resolution 85-2023 to approve his nomination failed July 5.

In total, five county resolutions connected to appointing either Lankford or Leitzel have failed to be approved.

In an effort to underscore the point, the council introduced Legislative Bill 2023-11 to amend portions of the annual Budget and Appropriation Bill adopted June 9.

The changes would remove the salaries for the assistant director of administration position, the director of Public Works position and the deputy director of Public Works position, as the council claims the county executive failed to appoint all heads of each department within six months after the election.

"Council President John Cannon was part of my transition team and we've had open sessions in my office where they can sign up and speak with me about any issues. We've included them on items like the fire service agreement with Salisbury. Me and my director of administration have tried to meet with the council, and they want no part of it," Giordano said.

For her part, Giordano has argued the council has "repeatedly violated" the charter's non-interference with the executive branch clause, which states “neither the County Council nor any of its members shall attempt to supervise, direct, administer or interfere with any of the functions or the personnel of the executive branch."

Cannon noted the council and the county executive met in closed session to discuss the slate of new hires for the executive's office.

"I find it disconcerting that in these two instances where the council gave the executive the privilege of a closed session, that she continued to pursue the hiring of these particular individuals. It's not a productive way to manage government. The charter establishes the two branches to have an equal role in appointments," Cannon said.

A difference of legal opinion

In his letter to the County Council and their attorney, Wilber noted "all acting appointments are at the discretion of the executive. The plain language of Section 414 specifically addresses the executive’s power to appoint an acting director of administration or acting department head, and provides for 90-day extensions of only those positions by the council."

Wilber went on argue there is no acting appointment council confirmation process as is required in Charter Section 315 for the permanent appointment of department heads, director of administration, assistant director of administration or deputy directors.

The Office of the County Executive is also the only entity that can hire or dismiss the county attorney as part of a decision by the council, according to county policy.

"The council should respect the office of the executive and the executive should respect the council's role as legislators," Giordano said. "There are two councilmembers that don't like the executive form of government specifically, but this is what the people chose. We're too large to have a just a council form of government. You would think there would be more of that inclination to work together, and there just isn't."

Wilber cited legal precedence that the court "would not divine a legislative intention contrary to the plain language of a statute or judicially insert language to impose exceptions, limitations or restrictions not set forth by the Legislature.” He also attached the pertinent passages of the charter itself.

In response, a July 6 news release by the County Council that was reviewed by Mitchell countered by saying "the (council) held closed work sessions to discuss the proposed appointments on April 18, 2023, and May 16, 2023, respectively, as requested by the county executive, at which time council came to a consensus; choosing not to move forward with the individuals selected for the positions."

Following the closed work sessions, council contended the county executive failed to submit requests for confirmation of the appointments in an "open legislative session as required by the charter" for either the assistant director of administration, director of Public Works or acting director of Public Works positions.

"There's been comments made that this council has a personal agenda, but when you have a body of seven individuals, you can't have a personal agenda. I think the council, regardless of the measures the executive takes, will maintain our decorum because we want to focus on the overall concerns of the county," Cannon said.

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Council members concede, however, that Giordano notified them on June 22 that, despite their decision, she hired a person for the assistant director of administration position who would be starting on June 26, 2023; and the director of administration notified the County Council on May 17 that a person had been assigned to the position of acting deputy director of Public Works.

While five of the seven councilmembers declined to comment when reached by Delmarva Now, District 4 Representative Josh Hastings decried the overall lack of cooperation between the council and the current county executive.

"This current disfunction is unacceptable. We need to be much better than this," Hastings said.

"It is important to note that since the county executive took office in December 2022, the County Council has approved similar confirmations of 33 individuals, who have been submitted by the county executive in legislative session, to serve in comparable appointed positions, boards and commissions," the council's release stated.

Despite that, Giordano has said she is prepared to take these questions to court and that she will abide by any subsequent ruling.

"I think we can come back and work together even after these legal issues, but at the end of the day, council need to be the legislators. They don't run personnel or half the things they believe they do. I think they need to be put in their lane and define their role and they overstepped by passing legislation that's against the charter," Giordano said.

With Wilber's recusal from the matter, the county executive would have to officially request special counsel from the County Council as well as the funds to retain such representation.

According to Giordano, failure to approve such representation and associated monies could trigger a separate legal action in which the council is named as a defendant.

That has prompted the council to place an item on the Tuesday, July 18, closed session portion of the regular legislative session titled "Consultation with Staff, Consultants, or other Individuals about Pending or Potential Litigation."

"I'm so disappointed in many of the members of the council and they may feel the same about me, but I have no issue to having a judge look at this because this is an issue of right and wrong, and I know I'm on the right side. I would never put anyone at risk if I wasn't entirely confident," Giordano said.

'There is no working relationship'

This is far from the first time the two entities have failed to agree on staffing issues.

In February 2023, the County Council also nixed a request by Giordano for a legislative aide and public information officer for the county despite those positions already being fully funded and named in the charter. That same month, the council also rejected in closed session the nomination of controversial former gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox as special counsel for the county.

"I don't have a working relationship with the county council at all and I've tried several different techniques and they consistently overstep and violate the charter," Giordano said. "With Heather (Lankford), the council doesn't have the ability to vote on an 'acting' position aside from a continuation. That doesn't even apply to deputy positions. The (council) claims my office had never had an 'acting' position when we've had 14 that were listed for them."

While many of the issues have played out in open meetings, social media has also been a driver of public opinion.

Giordano has been an avid user of social media to connect with constituents and state her case. Among her assertions to the public or social media followers is what she felt was the longstanding reservations the council has with the executive form of government itself.

"I don't think it's the council's role to dictate to the executive what is appropriate or inappropriate use of social media. We're all adults and we're all elected officials, and we're expected to act accordingly and responsibly," Cannon said.

Rick Pollitt was the first county executive in the history of Wicomico starting in 2007. He recalled only limited trepidation at the time of the transition in government.

While only two members of of the current council were serving then, Pollitt recalled a functional and fruitful relationship between the municipal entities.

"For most of the eight years in office, every Friday would find me and my administrative director sitting in my office with the president of County Council and their administrator to talk. The goal wasn't to have anyone taken by surprise and to build a working relationship," Pollitt said.

The change to an executive system of government was not without its growing pains, yet Pollitt recalls efforts to instill overall transparency on issues.

"When the public passed the new form of government, all the administrative and executive authority was taken away from the County Council, and that took getting used to. Many of the administrative staff had to realize they only had one person to answer to instead of seven," Pollitt said.

Pollitt currently serves as Snow Hill's town manager.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Power struggle erupts between Wicomico executive, council on hiring