LEONARDTOWN, Md. – On January 30, 2023, Delegate Brian Crosby [D] introduced House Bill 447, which could potentially change the way County Commissioners are elected in Calvert, St. Mary’s, and Garrett Counties.
Currently, every registered voter in the county has a vote for each Commissioner candidate on the ballot. If the bill is passed, voters will only be able to select the Commissioner who resides in their district and the Commissioner President.
Crosby initially filed the bill back in 2021. The bill passed the House of Delegates, but stalled in the Senate Committee, as it was very close to the end of session.
“Officials should be elected by the people they are supposed to represent,” Crosby told TheBayNet.com. “It is important that districts (areas with common needs and interests) be able to elect their own leaders, rather than other areas having a say in who represents them. For example, the people of Virginia shouldn’t have a vote in the election for the Governor of Maryland.”
St. Mary’s County Commissioner Eric Colvin [R] has been very vocal in his opinion on this bill.
“I do not think it is right to take away people’s ability to vote on all of the commissioners,” Colvin told TheBayNet.com. “The Commissioners work together to manage county government and build a budget using money from taxpayers–residents should get to select all of the commissioners who are governing locally. Second, it is not right that this bill is forced on St. Mary’s County with no local input. The County Commissioners have unanimously opposed this bill, but the General Assembly can still pass the bill and change the way our local elections work without the voters having a voice. Citizens should be able to vote on changes to the format of their government. This change should go to local referendum, not be mandated by legislators who do not live in St. Mary’s County.”
“Finally, I am opposed to the bill because I think it will have negative impacts on St. Mary’s County. Right now since Commissioners are elected by the entire county, we allocate county resources where they are most needed within the county. If this bill passes, Commissioners will only be elected by the district they live in and I believe they will then need to justify to the voters of that district the amount of resources they bring back to that district. We would see a more equal distribution of resources but not necessarily where they are most needed,” says Colvin.
When asked if this bill should go to a local referendum, Crosby had this to say.
“If you are asking whether this bill should be brought to a referendum in the counties that it affects, you are asking a paradoxical question,” Crosby said. “The bill is made to eliminate at-large voting, and putting it to a referendum would be another at-large vote.”
The hearing for the bill is on Tuesday, February 14. Citizens are encouraged to offer their opinion on this bill by contacting their representatives.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
The vast majority of Maryland counties vote by district. Colvin makes it sound like the apocalypse will happen if the commissioners are elected that way versus county wide. It is probably easier to manage government when you don’t have to hear concerns from a district, but is easier better?
Eric Colvin is wrong. We want to vote for the commissioners that represent us. Someone from Lexington Park can’t possibly represent those of us in the north end. I say let’s do this!
And if you call the county commissioners with a question, you are directed to the commissioner that was elected to your district. Each district should elect the person that they want to represent them & the Commissioner President.
once again, this year, we are having to put down everything we’re doing + focus on the GA + what they’re doing. It would be nice to be able to trust them.
What is “paradoxical” is that Crosby espouses democracy but opposes a referendum to let the people decide.