By Adam Pagnucco.
How hard is it to institute political reform? The answer is it’s really difficult, especially when a rag-tag band of rebels comes together to challenge a decades-old oligarchy. And the latest version of this age-old tale will play out in what is shaping up to be a showdown tonight at the offices of the county Democratic Party.
On one side are Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) member Liza Smith and her allies, who would like to ban the long-standing practice of central committee members appointing themselves to the state legislature. On the other side are a group of committee members eyeing an expected spate of vacancies created by the administration of incoming Governor Wes Moore. The new governor has already hired Delegate Eric Luedtke (D-14) to be his top legislative officer. Rumors are running rampant over which other state legislators are applying for six-digit jobs in state government.
Smith’s proposal is that central committee members who wish to run for legislative appointments must first resign their party posts. Her petition on it has attracted almost 200 signatures. The proposal faced several procedural steps, including consideration by a rules committee sub-group, then by the full rules committee and finally by the full MCDCC.
Here is where the opponents showed their hand. A rules committee sub-group passed it, but at the full rules committee last week, the proposal stalled as opponents used discussion of other issues to run out the clock. Then one of the rebels proposed another quick rules committee meeting to discuss the self-appointment ban, which passed the rules committee. But guess what? The rules committee failed to hold a second meeting, thereby avoiding a vote on the ban.
That brings us to tonight’s meeting of the full MCDCC, which is open to the public. It will be held at the county Democrats’ offices at 12320 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210, Rockville, MD 20852 at 7:30 PM. Two critical items will be on the agenda.
First, MCDCC is supposed to vote on a new chair. The current chair is a District 14 resident who may decide to apply for Luedtke’s delegate seat. The next chair, whoever it is, will matter a lot because they will be empowered to rule on the proper consideration of the second issue, which is the self-appointment ban. Denied a vote in the rules committee, the reformers will seek to have the full MCDCC vote on whether to limit their ability to appoint themselves to the General Assembly. Will the new chair allow such a vote? Will the Empire Strike Back?
Who needs democracy?
The arguments against the ban are bewildering as opponents hurl a variety of procedural, parliamentary and legal obstacles into its path. Read the Maryland constitution’s language on state legislative vacancies. Where does it say that central committee members must appoint themselves to office?
The whole issue is pretty simple. It is not a procedural issue, a parliamentary issue or a legal issue. It’s a moral issue. Every central committee member must ask themselves who they serve. Do they serve us, the rank-and-file Democrats who fight every day against the forces of Trumpism, fascism, racism and xenophobia? Or do they serve themselves?
Let the votes be cast for all to see. We shall find out tonight.