Howard County executive candidate Chris Merdon, R-District 1, fired back at his opponents who criticized his use of the county seal on a recent mailing to county seniors, which brought up a similar incident two years ago from which he was cleared.
“It?s an obvious smear campaign by the Ulman campaign,” Merdon said Friday, referring to Council Member Ken Ulman, District 4, his Democratic challenger for county executive. “And it?s no surprise it?s coming out just 50 days before the election.”
Merdon defended his record from an incident two years ago, when he was criticized for using the seal and his position on the Howard County Liquor Board in a mailing for campaign contributions, which is illegal under a law the council passed in 2004. In the 2004 incident, which was raised this week amid concerns over a recent mailing, Merdon said he was cleared by the Ethics Commission for any wrongdoing.
At the time, the commission recognized his actions were not intended to violate the Ethics Law, which prohibits county officials from using the prestige of their office for their gain, according to a letter Merdon received from the commission in December 2004.
This week, Merdon took heat from Democratic council members for a letter he sent to county residents, alerting them to a public hearing about a bill that would give a tax break to seniors age 70 and older with an income of $75,000 or higher.
Democratic council members raised questions about Merdon?s use of the county seal and his position as council chair. They also called his approach “partisan,” since Democrats were not alerted of the bill before Merdon held a news conference announcing it, according to Council Member Calvin Ball, D-District 2.
County officials could not confirm or deny whether a complaint has been filed with the commission in this case.
Merdon said there is nothing questionable about his most-recent mailing, which was paid for by his campaign.
