March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 50 F

Slots Shenanigans

Middlebrooks Recuses Himself From The Slots Vote

pass the buckAnne Arundel County Council, it seems, is doing everything possible to avoid voting on the slot issue one way or the other.  The issue is scheduled to be up for a vote on Monday, December 7th and requires four votes of the seven member Council to pass.

Today, Councilmember C. Edward Middlebrooks (R-Severn) advised that he would be recusing himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest although he declined to elaborate.

And then there were five.

Yes, in addition to Middlebrooks’ non-vote, Josh Cohen’s vote is a moot point as he will be sworn in as the new Mayor of Annapolis earlier in the day. And there is also an alternate bill floating around as well.

Does anyone think that the Council who has been unable to vote on the issue for nearly a year can get four of the voting five to agree one way or the other?

There is some pressure being applied to Chairwoman Cathy Vitale to recuse herself due to the firefighter’s union’s recent involvement in the debate. The union has backed the slots proposal and her husband is a long time firefighter with the County.

Additionally, slot opponents are pressuring Ron Dillon to recuse himself as they claim he has a personal interest in seeing the slots come to the County. Dillon runs a family transportation (charter buses) company in Pasadena.

We have said it before, this Council is weak. The public spoke very clearly in last year’s election and the Council has so far refused to address their constituent’s mandate.

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