UPDATE: The hearing to select a person to fill the Ward 1 Annapolis City Council alderperson was held on Zoom on beginning at
19:00 Tuesday 2024-09-03 as described below. Members of the ADCC and the candidates participated. Harry Huntley was selected to fill the Ward 1 vacancy on the City Council created by the resignation of Elly Tierney and will fill out the balance of her term. The meeting was viewed live by many members of the public on the same Zoom link that participants used to join.
The meeting was recorded and can by viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CW7vxAZb-w&t=209s
On July 29, 2024, the Mayor of Annapolis informed the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee (ADCC) that Ward 1 Alderwoman Elly Tierney will be resigning from the City Council on September 1, 2024. According to the Annapolis City Charter, the ADCC must fill the vacancy for Ward 1 on the City Council.
The ADCC will hold a hearing to nominate a new Alderperson at 19:00 September 3, 2024. Qualified candidates must be a member of the Democratic Party, be registered voters in the City for at least one year, and must have resided in Ward 1 for at least 6 months.
The Process for Filling the Ward 1 Vacancy
The following procedure will be followed by the ADCC for selecting a person to fill an alderperson vacancy, because fewer than 15 months will remain until the next city general election.
On July 29, the Mayor informed the ADCC that Ward 1 Alderman Elly Tierney will be resigning on September 1, 2024.
Qualified candidates shall be registered voters in the City for at least one year immediately preceding their election and must have resided in that ward for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of the general election.
All ADCC members and their alternates shall affirmatively endorse and agree to abide by this procedure. ADCC members shall do their best to refrain from substantive discussion with both prospective candidates and their advocates/detractors outside the process. Members of the ADCC shall rebuff politely any attempts to influence or lobby for or against candidates when such communications lie outside the process. ADCC members shall enter this selection process with an open mind, harboring no favoritism or antipathy toward any prospective candidate prior to the exchange of information that will occur during the process.To conform with the city code, referenced and copied below, the following actions will be performed on the approximate timeline:
Step 1: The city declares that a vacancy exists, by notice from the Mayor to ADCC as he is required to provide within 5 days of an aldermanic resignation.
Step 2: ADDC meets on 7/30 to review and finalize this procedure considering circumstances then prevailing, including the design of a final candidate fillable form. Work shall commence on a list of questions, the same ones to be asked of each candidate in turn during the hearing at which candidates will be interviewed. (by 8/13)
Step 3: ADCC announces the time and place of a public hearing 19:00 September 3, 2024 to fill the vacancy, by notice in Capital Gazette plus announcements posted by on the ADCC web site, the ADCC Facebook page, and sent to Maryland Matters, Eye on Annapolis, WNAV, District 30 Democratic Club, and Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee. ADCC members and alternates are encouraged to post copies on their personal social media and/or web pages.
It shall be made clear from the outset that all documents, including applications, biographies, other statements, the hearing itself, and letters of support produced in the process will be made public, and will be posted on the ADCC web site.
Step 4: Deadline is 8/20 for applicants to submit the fillable form which will include a statement of interest, biography, and any letters from other persons either accompanying the candidate’s submission or received separately.
Step 5: On 8/21 the ADCC publicly announces the list of qualified applicant candidates and informs the public that additional candidates will be considered after the deadline if a petition signed by at least fifty registered democratic voters who live in the affected ward is submitted together with the same information required of the other candidates.
ADCC voting members review the submitted documents to be fully prepared to participate in the public hearing and interview the candidates.
Step 6: ADCC completes questions to be asked of the candidates in the hearing, deciding whether each shall be distributed in advance to all candidates or held undisclosed until the hearing.
ADCC Nomination Hearing – Agenda
The Hearing will be on Zoom. Active participants are the candidates and members of the ADCC. The public will be able to view the meeting with microphones and camera disabled. Watch this space for the Zoom link.
INTRODUCTIONS
Welcome – Chair introduces committee (or members introduce themselves) and outlines process.
5 min each – Candidates give introductory statements
QUESTIONS
Candidates are questioned based on the order in which their applications were received.
Chair asks each candidate a prepared question. Candidates have 3 min each to answer questions.
Questions follow a round robin format (1st candidate answers question 1 first, 2nd candidate answers question 2 first, 3rd candidate answers question 3 first, 1st candidate answers question 4 first, etc.)
After all candidates answer each question, members of the committee may ask follow-up questions which candidates have 2 min to answer. Members are recognized by the chair. Follow-up questions must be directed to specific candidates. Total time for all follow-up questions is at the discretion of the Chair.
Candidates have 3 minutes each for a closing statement.
DELIBERATION
After all questioning is complete, the committee will openly deliberate – the Chair moderates the deliberations. Members may discuss qualifications, strengths, weaknesses of candidates and their perceptions of how questions were answered. Total time for deliberations is at the Chair’s discretion.
VOTING
Members of the committee will proceed to vote on the nominee. Voting is open (no secret ballot).
If no candidate receives the required 5/9 votes, the committee will deliberate as outlined above. As needed, allow members to ask follow-up questions to the candidates during the deliberations.
Members will vote again and deliberate until a nominee is agreed. If there is no change in the vote totals after the first two rounds, the candidate that received the least amount of votes in the third round is eliminated, unless there is a tie for last place. Chair will adjust as needed based on the number of candidates.
Candidates who have Applied
Ron Gunzburger, Harry Huntley, Tom Krieck, Genevieve Torri, Tom Sells
Information on the candidates, including submitted Application forms, Biographies, and Letters of Support are viewable by clicking on the names above.