Political Notebook: Moore issues 'Green Bag' appointments, county treasurer bill 'on hold'

Two county residents included in governor's appointments

Gov. Wes Moore selected two Washington County residents to fill positions as part of the 100-plus appointments made during the “Green Bag” process, named after the color of the satchel used to ceremonially deliver the names from the governor’s office to the state Senate.

David Lehr and James Ronald Nipps now require confirmation by the state Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee to fill posts on the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission and Washington County Orphans’ Court, respectively.

“The administration will submit additional appointments in early March,” a press release from the governor’s office said.

Washington County treasurer bill on hold, state senator says

An effort to bring the treasurer position in Washington County in line with most other of the state’s jurisdictions, which appoint their treasurer administratively rather than elect the role, appears to be put on hold, at least for another year.

“There was no reason to rush anything,” said state Sen. Mike McKay, R-Garrett/Allegany/Washington, in an interview outside the Senate chamber on Feb. 12. “We have time to remove the treasurer’s position.”

More: Washington County treasurer is an elected position; the commissioners want to change that

The current treasurer's term expires at the end of 2026 and would be scheduled for that year's election. A bill could be passed in the 2025 legislative session to remove the position from ballots.

Washington County elects its treasurer to a four-year term. Calvert, St. Mary’s and Somerset counties are the only other counties that elect a treasurer, according to a 2019 document from the Maryland Association of Counties. Baltimore City elects a comptroller.

During a Jan. 25 meeting of the Washington County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis, several bills related to the county treasurer position were considered. A county commissioner spoke out via Zoom during the meeting to make the point that eight of nine mayors in the county supported the switch.

McKay made a motion to table the bills and the delegation unanimously voted for that motion. At the end of that meeting, County Administrator Michelle Gordon gave remarks in support of appointing the treasurer during public comment. But the bill had already been tabled.

“If we can get more of a Kumbaya of the people who sent us down from Washington County, we’ll be in a better place to pass said legislation,” McKay, who represents the western part of the county, told The Herald-Mail

— Dwight A. Weingarten

Several last-minute filers join Larry Hogan to run in the Maryland primaries

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Political Notebook for Feb. 19