A reader left the following comment on our post about Alderman Mat Silverman’s leave of absence:
The story is exactly on the script that Mat told me and I reported a few months ago to Capital Punishment, which printed it in full. I met with Mat when the City Manager bill was coming up for a Council vote. Mat who had run on his support for the City Manger bill (the real one not the one that passed) told me that he had to change his vote. He told me he would need to leave town for 5 months when the time came for him to be offered a training slot to be a federal officer.
He told me that Josh asked him what it would take to change his vote and they agreed that in exchange for his vote against the bill, that Josh had offered him a deal. Josh would support his staying on the Council while Mat was away and that Josh would say that he would help Mat keep up the appearance that he was actively involved in Council matters. Mat told me that Josh said he would say Mat called regularly, even daily, to keep up with concerns in his Ward. Mat, as the swing vote for the strong City Manager bill delivered and voted to kill the bill and now Josh is paying off, as promised.
Hard to beleive that so much that is so obvious and politically manipulated goes on in this City and no one seems to care enough to say ENOUGH!
Rumors of a backroom deal had been swirling for months and was initially reported in early May of 2010 in the now-defunct Annapolis Capital Punishment blog.
Capital reporter Joshua Stewart sent us a tweet that the City Code does not address any leaves of absence and Silverman is legally able to take any leave without anyone’s authorization or permission.
