Ali Files Bill to Open Central Committee Votes

Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) has filed a bill which required members of the County Central Committee to vote openly instead of by secret ballot when casting votes to replace members of the General Assembly. Here are his thoughts on why: This summer was a most remarkable time for Montgomery County's Legislative Delegation. We had 2 State Legislators (Senator Hogan and Delegate Goldwater) resign only months into their 4-year terms. Because of a domino-effect, another vacancy in the House of Delegates was created when a sitting Delegate moved up to the Senate. (Full Disclosure: I unsuccessfully applied to fill the vacancy left by Senator Hogan) Most people expect that when such a vacancies arise, they would be filled by a special election or perhaps by Gubernatorial appointment. They would be wrong. Pursuant to the Maryland State Constitution, Article 3, Section 13 (which you can see by clicking here), legislative vacancies are filled by an awkward process: The Central Committee of the Party and County of the vacating legislator (got that?) submits a list of names to the Governor. The Governor must choose one of those names. Traditionally, the Central Committees force the Governor's hand by sending a "list" of only one name. Since Montgomery County is now all-Democrat, that means that the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) effectively chooses the replacement. Are ya with me so far? Good....

What is the MCDCC? The MCDCC is a group of 23 volunteer Democratic activists from throughout Montgomery County who carry out the day-to-day functions of the Democratic Party. They meet on the second Tuesday of each month in a very modest office in Kensington. Most members of the MCDCC are solid, hard-working people doing quite a thankless job. Click here to see a listing of the MCDCC members. How Does the MCDCC Appoint Replacement Legislators? When a vacancy occurs, The MCDCC publicizes the vacancy and accepts applications from any interested candidates. At their regularly-scheduled meeting, the 23 members vote. It takes a majority (12) votes to win. So if nobody gets 12 votes right away, they drop the lowest vote-getter(s) and repeat until somebody gets 12 votes. It's similar to instant-runoff voting. Now here is the big problem: All Members of the MCDCC vote by secret ballot. This means that these crucially important elections are decided by a small group of well-connected party-insiders in complete secrecy without any transparency or accountability to the hundreds of thousands of Montgomery County residents that elected them. This should trouble anyone who is an advocate of open, honest government. It certainly troubles me. I don't know who my elected MCDCC members voted for. And neither do you. Private citizens vote secretly of course. But would you tolerate it if your Congressman, Senators and State Legislators made their most important votes in complete secrecy? Of course not! As an elected official I vote publicly all the time. If I can't publicly defend my votes, then shame on me. Not only does the secret ballot deprive County residents of accountability, but it warps the normal "campaigning" process (ie: lobbying the 23 members) in strange ways due to mistrust and double-dealing amongst the members. Furthermore, this Gazette article makes very clear that by employing this secret ballot, the MCDCC has violated rules of the State Democratic Party. Many people are actively criticizing this process. You can read some of their criticisms here, here and here. For these reasons, I - along with Delegates Gutierrez, Montgomery and Heller - have introduced a bill (MC 808-08) entitled "Transparency in Appointments Act". This bill would prohibit the use of secret ballots by County Central Committees. You can see it by clicking here. But we need your help to get this bill passed into law. If you support open, honest government, please take the time to do all of the following: Contact the MCDCC by phone (301-946-1000) and email (montgomerydems@msn.com). Ask them to "Stop the Secrecy" by endorsing MC 808-08. Sign up to testify in support of this bill by clicking here. The hearing will be held at 6:30 pm on Thursday November 15th at the County Council Building (100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville). We need you there! Encourage all your Montgomery County Friends/Family/Relatives/Co-Workers to do the the above 2 steps. I am counting on the good people of Montgomery County to stand up and fight against secret dealings in their government. By the way, this bill should not in any way be construed as criticism against our new Senator or two new Delegates who are fine individuals and friends of mine. This is simply about sensibly reforming a flawed process and shining sunlight where it is needed for future appointments.