By Adam Pagnucco.
Last week, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) appointed one of its own members, Teresa Woorman, to an open delegate seat in District 16. Under Maryland’s constitution, when a vacancy occurs for an office in the General Assembly, the governor “shall appoint” a successor picked by the central committee of the prior occupant’s party and county.
In the most recent appointment (and there have been a lot of them in the last two years), the District 16 delegate seat was open because MCDCC appointed then-Delegate Sara Love to the district’s senate seat to succeed Ariana Kelly, who was herself appointed to that seat. The delegate appointment was marred by the anonymous distribution of arrest records pertaining to Diana Conway, one of Woorman’s rivals for the appointment. This prompted MCDCC Member Liza Smith, who has crusaded in the past to clean up the committee’s appointment process, to request an investigation of the appointment by the state party. Following is the email she sent to state Democratic Party officials. (Replies will follow.)
*****
From: Liza Smith
Date: July 14, 2024 at 6:51:49 AM EDT
To: Ken Ulman, Karen Darkes, Charlene Dukes, Meredith Bowman
Cc: Justin Butler
Subject: Urgent Request for Investigation by Maryland Democratic Party
Dear Ken Ulman
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to urgently request your immediate attention and action regarding a concerning situation within the MCDCC that requires thorough investigation by the Maryland Democratic Party.
On July 11th, Teresa was selected over better-qualified applicants by the MCDCC, amidst allegations that Teresa and MCDCC Chair Saman Almad engaged in dirty tricks to sabotage the chances of another applicant, Diana Conway. These allegations are deeply troubling and raise serious questions about the integrity of the selection process.
Given the gravity of these accusations and their potential impact, I believe it is imperative that the Maryland Democratic Party conduct an investigation promptly to ensure transparency and fairness. It is crucial that any unethical behavior be addressed and rectified to maintain the credibility and values of our party.
I have already reached out to you regarding this matter and am eagerly awaiting your response. Your swift action and leadership in initiating this investigation are essential to upholding the principles of accountability and justice within our party.
Please let me know at your earliest convenience how we can proceed in addressing this pressing issue and safeguarding the integrity of the selection process before any appointments are made by the Governor.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust in your commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent procedure within the Maryland Democratic Party.
Warm regards,
Liza Smith
MCDCC D14
*****
I asked MCDCC Chair Saman Qadeer Ahmad and Woorman for comment on Smith’s email to the state party. Following is Woorman’s reply.
*****
Thanks for your email and the opportunity to comment. Liza Smith’s email to the State Party Chair that you forwarded me contains no indication of what the “allegations” against me are or who is making them, no indication of whether Ms. Smith even believes them herself, no specificity of what she believes I did other than unspecified alleged “dirty tricks,” and only includes my first name – she doesn’t even include either my maiden name (Saavedra) or my last name (Woorman). I’m not sure why you intend to publish her slanderous email, and I’d hope you’d check with Diana Conway to see how she feels about any further publicity before you decide to do so. If you do publish it, I appreciate this opportunity to provide this statement.
I did not engage in any dirty tricks to sabotage the chances of any of the eight other applicants, including Diana Conway, who is a respected Montgomery County activist with whom I worked on Marc Elrich’s 2022 campaign. I worked hard for the MCDCC’s nomination, provided a well-written application and resume, spoke about issues of interest to the community and the MCDCC, and answered all the questions I was asked at the candidates’ forum. I was the candidate with the most experience working with the General Assembly, having worked there as a staff member for seven years for five different legislators from Montgomery County. (I also was the only candidate at the July 2 candidates’ forum to mention that Sara Love’s vacancy on the Environment and Transportation Committee had just been filled.) I also provided the MCDCC with Census data that combats stereotypes about District 16 and made clear that I would represent all District 16 residents.
While I would prefer that our Party’s efforts go into supporting Angela Alsobrooks and defeating Larry Hogan for the U.S. Senate (see my April 17 Medium article), I have no objection to an MCDCC and/or Maryland Democratic Party investigation to determine who was responsible for any alleged “dirty tricks,” and would cooperate fully. I know it was not me.
*****
This is what MCDCC Chair Ahmad wrote to me.
*****
Ms. Smith attempts to spin allegations against MCDCC colleagues that are based on no facts. However, I do feel that the facts are particularly important to note here.
Her primary allegation is that a qualified applicant was not selected for the District 16 vacancy. She incorrectly assumes that only one candidate was qualified for the position. However, district 16 has always had an exceptionally deep bench of candidates. On June 11, the MCDCC went through 3 rounds of public voting with the final vote 14-10 for Teresa Woorman and Melissa Bender, respectively.
The MCDCC is constitutionally required to fill this vacancy. We have a robust, transparent and open process to do this. The public has access to information about the candidates, which is made available on the MCDCC website. We had over 170 engaged citizens send in letters of support for their respective candidates. In addition, there was a D16 public forum and the MCDCC meeting on June 11 that were both open and accessible. Collectively, these events were attended by almost 300 people virtually and in-person.
I am surprised by the scurrilous allegations made by a member of the deliberative body. She attempts to use such backhanded attacks against her colleagues to discredit their work and further her agenda for vacancy reform. Furthermore, I fully condemn the unscrupulous dirty politics of character assassination. This is a critical time for the Democratic Party. Democrats should be laser focused on the election at hand.
*****
I have seen no evidence of “dirty tricks” by Ahmad, Woorman or any other MCDCC member. But this appointment is unusual and newsworthy for two reasons. First, I don’t remember another one in this county (and I have been writing about this issue for more than 16 years) that featured the anonymous distribution of arrest records. And second, I don’t remember another request by a MCDCC member for state investigation followed by public pushback from both the appointment winner and the county party chair.
Let no one prejudge the circumstances of this appointment unless facts are produced. That said, further comment about this process is warranted.