The contentious battle over Carroll?s board of commissioners has begun anew, as a state delegate pushes a plan to expand the board.
Delegate Donald Elliott, R-District 4B, said his compromise would allay concerns among critics who have continually failed to agree on the layout of districts. He proposes four commissioners elected by districts that align with state lawmakers? and another elected at-large.
But Elliott?s plan has encountered stiff opposition.
“The citizens of Carroll County have alreadyspoken,” Westminster resident Janine Brown wrote in a e-mail to Delegate Tanya Shewell, R-District 5A. “They chose a five-district map.”
She was referring to a 2004 referendum in which residents supported five commissioners elected in five districts.
Shewell?s next e-mail from a constituent, however, supported an all-at-large commission.
That reflects mixed public opinion, she said.
Delegate Susan Krebs, R-District 9B, however, said she refuses to open the door to at-large supporters. “I?m going to do everything I can to get districts implemented,” she said. “We?re not going back to the drawing board.”
When officials settled on districts before, they could not agree on the layout.
Democrats in Carroll challenged the maps in court, and lawmakers said Democrats in the General Assembly allowed the plans to die in committees.
Still, Sen. David Brinkley, R-District 4, was confident that without a state election this year, a consensus could be reached.
Sen. Larry Haines, R-District 5, remains the only delegation member opposed to the plan to elect commissioners by districts.
“I?ve never been a proponent of the districting,” he said. “I think that?s going to create divisiveness.”
It should be sent to a referendum for voters to sign off on whichever plan lawmakers agree on, he said.
