Three days after they were removed from their local leadership roles as chair and vice chair of the Harford County delegation, Dels. Susan McComas and Rick Impallaria launched a counter-attack – claiming rules violations negate their dismissal, filing an ethics complaint and vowing they will run tomorrow morning’s delegation meeting rather than their newly-chosen replacements.
Del. Rick Impallaria, (Dist. 7) has today filed ethics complaints against fellow Harford County Dels. Donna Stifler and J.B. Jennings in separate sworn affidavits filed with the Ethics Counsel in the Maryland General Assembly.
Impallaria claims Stifler falsely accused him of abusing her aide in a closed door meeting between Impallaria and the aide, whom he met with at the aide’s request, to hear concerns about the Harford County Delegation. Impallaria says he denied the abuse allegation to Stifler in the presence of Del. Susan McComas.
Here is Impallaria’s account of the much-discussed altercation which ensued between himself and Stifler:
I responded that the allegation was not true. She then said that I was calling her a liar. I naturally replied ‘I am not calling you a liar, but the allegation is a lie.’ I told Delegate Stifler that we would have to talk to her aide and she said I would not be allowed to talk to her aide because I had abused her. At that point I realized there was no reasoning with her and told her that she was a ‘kook’. I stand by that statement and still believe it to be solid and true.”
Impallaria’s claim goes on to say that when Stifler’s allegations were published in a Harford County newspaper, it “accomplished all three necessary steps.” That being a false allegation to others, a false allegation made to himself and a witness and finally, a false allegation in print. Impallaria says he then contacted the State Police and the Speaker’s Office requesting an investigation which he says determined the allegations were false and that such “unfounded and untrue allegations can be very damaging.” Impallaria is “seeking appropriate action be taken against Delegate Stifler.”
The claim against Jennings states that Jennings “participated in this slander with Delegate Stifler and has spoken on the phone with constituents from the Seventh District stating that I had assaulted Delegate Stifler.” Impallaria called the statements “malicious attacks upon my reputation” and requested an ethics violation be pressed against Jennings.
“Two Chairs Set Harford Meeting on House Floor”
When it was time for the local delegations to Annapolis to announce Friday’s meetings on the floor of the house, two delegates rose to claim Harford’s chair. Conflicting times were set.
The official recording of session can be heard at http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/listen.asp.
Select the Thursday, February 5, 2009 Session #1. The recording plays as follows:
At 8:20 into session, during committee announcements, the Speaker recognized, “The young lady from Harford County.” Del. McComas announced, very quickly, that “The Harford County delegation meeting will be on February 6 at Rm 302 in the Lowe Office Bulding at 9:30 a.m. Thank you.”
At 8:34, the Speaker recognized, “The gentleman from Baltimore and Harford Counties.” Del. Jennings said, “Thank you Mr. Speaker, chair of Harford County Delegation; Harford County Delegation will be tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. in Harford County Delegation Room.”
At 11:56 into session, Del. Impallaria was recognized as “The gentleman from Harford and Baltimore” and said, “Vice chair of the Harford County delegation point of, a, personal priviledge, I, I realize that, a, [speaker bangs gavel three times] body may be confused. There is an issue goin on in Harford County, and we still believe that Susan, um McComas is still the chair of the Harford County delegation. Thank you.” [speaker bangs gavel 3 times]
Hell no, we won’t go?
McComas and Impallaria have told the Harford County Delegation that the vote taken on Monday, February 2nd to oust them as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of the House Delegation, is null and void and they intend to preside at the regularly scheduled delegation meeting Friday, February 6th. The vote in question installed Jennings as Chair and Del. Wayne Norman as Vice-Chair of the eight-member body.
McComas and Impallaria laid out their case in a letter citing violations of both the Open Meetings Act and Roberts Rules of Order. Here’s a copy of the letter:
So who will be holding the gavel and (hopefully) conducting the people’s business at 9:30 A.M. tomorrow? Stay tuned.
Who is really the ‘kook’ here? State Police charges over he-said/she-said. Unbelievable. GROW UP.
And as they fiddle in Annapolis the entire Harford County burns! We need to pay for crap like this to go on. Shame on the entire herd of them.
If McComas and Impallaria would have just let this go, it might have passed eventually. They will both be defeated in 2010. She will be portrayed as someone who is despearate to hold on to power. For God’s sake, 5 members of the delegation she is desperate to hold onto voted AGAINST her. They will make her life miserable if she does not let this go.
She won’t be able to pass any Ferret Acts or Snake Protection Resolutions.
To think that the taxpayers had to pay for the paper this letter was written on.
Disgraceful.
OK, I remember the Ferrett Protection Act well enough, but there wasn’t really a Snake Protection Bill, was there? If so, I may have to throw my full support behind McComas as a fellow reptile lover.
At any rate, do you think Mike Geppi and Terry Hanley are licking their chops at the prospect of taking on a politically-damaged McComas during next year’s Republican primary?
A ferrett is a reptile ?????
GD !
Somebody please call Barry Glassman!!
OK Guys, its time to clean up your act and get back to business.
When will McComas & Impallaria team learn that they have failed us? Thier lack of leadership and innapropriate behavior has now been made public for all to see. Whatever the excuses, no one will forget this. What a shame for them. We gave them a chance and they let us all down.
Since they continue to fight losing battles, it will just prolong the inevitable:
The delegation will have another vote and remove them again for the same good reasons.
Oh, and by the way, Impallaria owes Stiffler a public apology. I hope the Aegis can get a hold of the his public attack on her on video tape so no one is “fuzzy” about this. The police had to show up it was so bad!
I’m sorry we can’t replace McComas & Impallaria sooner than 2010.
Impallaria’s conduct is outrageous. Forget about the whole feud or the he-said/she-said. He doesn’t deny verbally going off and now says “I didn’t curse at her, I just called her a kook.” Yes, that is the response of a mature delegate? GROW UP!
Send the kids to their rooms. Elect responsible leaders who know how to play nice in the sand box and get things done. Bad reputations are hard to grow out of and Harford is in desperate straits with these folks at the helm.
from the newspaper:
Poor guy.
“At the center of the flap is Del. Richard K. Impallaria, a rough-edged and sometimes emotional lawmaker who got into a shouting match with a colleague, Del. Donna Stifler. Both are Republicans.
Impallaria and Stifler argued last week over payment for snacks at delegation events. Impallaria hurled invectives at Stifler, a former Christian school teacher, who told The Aegis newspaper that “I have never been spoken to like that in my life.”
Impallaria has a history of outbursts, some of which have prompted police investigations. When he was running for office for the first time in 2002, some Republicans urged him to drop out of the race when his police record came to light.
As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time: “Impallaria’s record shows nine cases involving 27 charges, most of which were not prosecuted for unrecorded reasons or dismissed, according to Maryland District Court documents. The charges include bribing a public employee and four counts of assault with intent to murder stemming from allegations that he tried to run down four people, including his mother and brother, with a car after an argument at his home in Joppatowne in Harford County in 1982.”
In 2004, police investigated an incident in a House of Delegates building during which Impallaria and Del. Pat McDonough, staunch opponents of illegal immigration, got into a shoving match with immigration activists. ”
Who keeps this kind of company ? Hopefully the delegation isn’t dragged down too low by this character. as we often learn a bit too late: Never argue with an idiot. He’ll drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Whether the insult was ‘kook’ or some other more extreme insult is not the issue. What is at issue, is whether our delegates can work together in the best interest for the people of Harford County.
Personally, I would find it very difficult to work within any group, where the vice-chair of that group would use intimidation through insults. I would further feel hampered in my responsibilities to the group and/or the people I serve, if the chairperson of the group condoned such behavior. The fact that in this situation, the chairperson has allied herself with the vice-chair, clearly sends the message that this behavior is acceptable.
Oh look, Harford County Delegation is home to not one, but two of the top three LEAST EFFECTIVE Delegates in Annapolis as determined by a poll conducted in January 2006 by the Gazette.net. Check out the judges comments for their #1 Delegate… Guess they could see this mess comin’, huh?
Least effective delegates
1. Richard K. Impallaria
(R-Dist. 7) of Middle River
Points: 254
Judges’ comments: ‘‘Wanna fight about it?”
2. Joseph R. Bartlett
(R-Dist. 4A) of Middleton
Points: 253
Judges’ comments:‘‘A textbook example of the dangers of nepotism.”
3. Patrick L. McDonough
(R-Dist. 7) of Middlesex
Points: 237
Judges’ comments: ‘‘Illustra porque la prueba psicologica debe se parte del proceso de la orientacion del estudiante de primer ano (Illustrates why psychological testing should be part of the freshman orientation class).”
I am awl struck about our Delegation. But I think I can see it both ways. The Aegis describes this incident in Fridays paper as Impalaria responding to what he says are false alligations by a fellow delegate. These are serious and women should not accuse others of wrong doing if it is not true. Maybe calling a fellow Delegate a kook is wrong, but I was looking for a bunch of four letter word that I for one do not use. So kook does not sound so bad and maybe she is a liitle kooky. Everyone work with someone that is kooky and maybe we don’t have the courage to say it. I have not voted for Mrs Stifler after learning that she was a character witness for neighbor who took a guilty plea on a child sexual assault. I think that Impalaria has a right to file ethic charges if her store is false.
Brian – I’d still take any of these kooks over “former Mayor” Terry Hanley.
Trust me, it wasn’t ‘Kook’… And there were enough witnesses present to verify that it was much harsher than that. So harsh that the real words could not be printed in a neighborhood paper. Impallaria filing ethics charges, with his history? Now that’s the scum calling the pus ‘white’…
Someone need to revise the MD Constitution to allow for a provision to recall State Delegates and Senators. I don’t say this often, but California has it right when it comes to this issue.