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Not much has changed in the swamp Baltimore County has become since the death of late County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. In fact, it seems to be business as usual, which means a total lack of transparency (among other things).
Two of the most important factors that impact constituents in Baltimore County are leadership and accountability. A little known fact is that the Baltimore County Code calls for certain members of the county government to take a yearly ethics class. With that in mind, The Baltimore Post finds it incomprehensible that there has been no outcry from anyone inside county government after the public and vulgar outburst of Councilman Todd Crandell’s legislative aide, Ron Metzger. One would think that someone would stand up to protest and demand accountability for this out-of-control behavior.
If you click on the image below, you will see the first attempt we made to contact County Executive Don Mohler and County Council Chair Julian Jones regarding this serious breach of conduct. Just to make sure there were no errors in the delivery of the emails, the Post contacted both Mr. Mohler and Mr. Jones by phone to make sure they were aware of our request for a response.
Please click on the image below to read the email
Some of our readers may remember this post by Councilman Wade Kach in which he stated the county government was out of control. In fact, The Baltimore Post would consider Councilman Kach the only member of county government who deserves another term.
We did speak to the county executive’s office and left a message after being instructed to do so. The Post then contacted the Mr. Jones’ office and left another voicemail. To date, no one has returned our phone call.
So we ask our readers, if they don’t condemn this incident as conduct unbecoming of a legislative aide, does that mean they condone it?
How long do you think it would take someone to be removed if they were to act in the same manner at a function with the county executive in attendance, or if they acted this way inside the council chambers?
We think this is unconscionable behavior on the part of our elected officials to not acknowledge this outrageous and over-the-top behavior. Mr. Metzger’s actions are especially troubling since he completed his ethics training in February 2018, according to the county’s website.
What is even more troubling is that no other county official or elected member of county government has spoken out on this conduct unbecoming of a councilman’s office staff member.
The only politician that did contact us was Delegate Rick Metzgar. When asked what his response would be to this type of behavior, Delegate Metzgar stated that Mr. Metzger should face termination. Delegate Metzgar felt the incident was far beyond the pale, and removing the offender from service to the government is the only way to dissuade future public officials from acting in this unacceptable manner.
The Post contacted Delegate Bob Long by phone and left a message requesting a response on this matter. Delegate Long did not return our phone call for a comment.
Finally, there have been no statements from Delegate Robbin Grammer or Senator Johnny Salling regarding this matter.
We would like to point out that Councilman Todd Crandell, who also received a copy of our email, allowed Mr. Metzger to go right back to work as if nothing had happened. This is a direct slap in the face to every respectable constituent, not only in Mr. Crandell’s district but to everyone in the swamp known as Baltimore County.
The Baltimore Post will continue to express outrage about this matter. Remember, these elected and appointed public servants are supposed to work for the people of Baltimore County. To our knowledge, the county is not a dictatorship, even if it seems that way most of the time.
We would strongly urge voters to keep this in mind when going to the polls. We strongly believe it is time to:
“Drain the swamp.”
