In last week’s Aegis article, “Harford County posts employee’s handwritten notes online, in response to sheriff’s complaints,” County Executive Bob Cassilly made the outlandish claim that he fundamentally rejects the idea that an employee can be compelled to disclose “unspoken thoughts.” To put it in very basic terms, this is Bob Cassilly lying to the citizens of this county by claiming that anyone had requested to reveal an employee’s “unspoken thoughts.” To double down on his hypocrisy and dishonesty, the same Cassilly administration that ordered the interception of emails and text messages of a county council member, other government officials and private citizens, now claims to oppose “government intrusions.”
Rather than simply obeying the court order to release public records, Mr. Cassilly has chosen to mislead our community by distorting the issue with legal mumbo jumbo. No one cares about unspoken thoughts, but as the director of administration’s meeting notes were an official written document prepared in his role as a government employee, these are public documents, and the public has a right to see them.
In its January ruling, the Public Information Act Compliance Board ordered Bob Cassilly to release official documents, emphasizing that “the Maryland Public Information Act is rooted in the principle that all persons are entitled to have access to information about the affairs of government and the official acts of public officials and employees.” This decision was recently upheld by the courts, which likewise ordered Mr. Cassilly to release the public documents in question.
As the elected sheriff, answerable to the people, I am seeking transparency from an administration that has defunded the police, circulated false narratives targeting the men and women of law enforcement and handed out a $1 million taxpayer-funded payday based on a ransom note and lies. Our county deserves accountability from Mr. Cassilly, not deflection.
Make no mistake, Cassilly’s act of releasing the documents was not a genuine act of transparency, but a calculated political distraction. His explanations are nonsensical excuses to deflect attention from the deeply troubling conduct of his Administration.
The public deserves better. The public deserves consistency, accountability, integrity and honesty from its elected officials. Unfortunately, we have seen the opposite from this county executive — contradictory actions, evasion of responsibility and persistent disregard for the law.
— Jeffrey R. Gahler, Bel Air
The letter writer is the Harford County sheriff.
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