Leopold Sued Weeks Before Election
While John R. Leopold, County Executive of Anne Arundel County, is running unopposed in the primary and is considered to be one of the few “safe” incumbents in this election, a lawsuit filed today may change all that.
Leopold has not been without controversy. He was discovered in the back seat of his County car alone near the mall in Annapolis leading to allegations and suspicion he may have been having a sexual liaison. Later, a former spokesperson for Leopold accused him of sexually harassing her. And on the heels of that allegation, another woman accused the County Executive of harassing her in the lunch line. For the most part, Leopold refused to address the controversies in public.
Now, with less than two weeks before early voting, it appears that his former employee is deciding to go public and has filed a $500,000 lawsuit. The allegations remain the same as they were in 2009.
The question that remains is not if this suit will hurt his candidacy (it will), but how much it will effect his chances of re-election. There have been no statements issued by his opponents, Joanna Conti and Mike Shay. Conti has been critical of Leopold and not shied away from criticism.
What do you think? Legitimate claim? Or politics as usual?