Jacob Bennett, a Democrat elected to represent Harford County's District F on the County Council was not invited to today's Inauguration and swearing-in ceremony.
Newly elected Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly, a Republican, and other newly-elected members of the County Council were sworn in during a ceremony Monday morning, but according to a post by Bennett on Facebook, he wasn't included.
"It is their understanding that County Charter section 207 prevents any public school teacher from across the state from holding office in Harford County," he wrote.
A spokesperson for Cassilly confirmed this to WMAR-2 News.
"Invitations to the inauguration of the Harford County Executive and swearing-in of County Council Members were sent to those individuals who are qualified to be sworn in and take their seats as members of the Harford County Council. Mr. Jacob Bennett, who was elected to serve as the District F representative on the Council was not invited to participate in that ceremony. The Harford County Charter plainly states that a person who holds other employment for the state or county is not qualified to take a seat on the County Council," he wrote in an email.
Here is Section 207 of the Harford County Charter:
A Council member shall have been a resident and a qualified voter of the County for at least two years immediately preceding election or appointment. At the time of election or appointment, the candidate shall be a resident of the Council district from which elected or appointed. During the term of office, the Council member shall not hold any other office of profit or employment in the government of the State of Maryland, Harford County, or any municipality within Harford County, except a position held by virtue of being a Council member. The Council member shall not, during the whole term for which elected or appointed, be eligible for appointment to any County office or position carrying compensation, except to the office of Council member or County Executive in the event of a vacancy.
Bennett says he has spoken with legal counsel to "look over the charter and confirm I was not in violation of it before I ever decided to run for office."
He added more to his post from additional legal counsel explaining why he is not in violation of the charter and pointed out that educators in other jurisdictions are serving as council members. You can read his full post here:
He says he was sworn in to office in a private ceremony by the Clerk of the Court.
Bennett was not the only Democrat to win a seat on the Harford County Council. District A will be represented by Dion F. Guthrie.
However, Bennett's race was much closer than Guthrie's. He won by fewer than 100 votes, ousting incumbent Republican Curtis L. Beulah.
It is unclear how Tuesday's first legislative session of the Harford County Council will proceed.
We reached out to the Attorney General's office and they sent us three previous letters of advice sent to a delegate asking for clarification on a similar question, however added that "The Office of the Attorney General does not advise on the meaning of county charter provisions. The County Attorney would have to do that."
In a 2002 letter to Delegate Daniel Riley, the Office of the Attorney General wrote the following, specifically about Harford County:
"Does Section 207 preclude dual service as a public school teacher and Council member? Yes."
A 2013 letter to Senator George Edwards said "it is my view that there is no incompatibility of office that would require an employee of the board of education to resign if elected as a county commissioner."
The letter continued:
"The remaining possibility is that the county in question has an ordinance imposing limitation on the employment of county commissioners. Without knowing which county is in question, I cannot know whether this could be an issue."
In 2014, a letter from the OAG sent to Senator Joseph Getty concerning a question in Carroll county, stated the following:
"You have asked whether it would violate common law doctrine of incompatibility of offices for a teacher in Carroll County to also serve as a County Commissioner. It is my view that the positions are not incompatible. It is possible, however, that the Carroll County Board of Education or Carroll County has conflict of interest regulations that would prevent this from happening."
