March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 40 F

Pantelides nominates controversial City Manager

Thomas C. Andrews, nominee for Annapolis City Manager. (Photo:  WXIA-TV Atlanta>
Thomas C. Andrews, nominee for Annapolis City Manager. UP(Photo: WXIA-TV Atlanta

UPDATE: Eye On Annapolis spoke to Tom Andrews this evening and he offered his explanation of the circumstances surrounding the lawsuit in Georgia. You can read that information here

NOTE:  Some of the dates in the original article were inaccurate and some areas needed clarification.  To make it clear, we will be striking out incorrect info and adding clarification in red.  The Mayor’s office is sending us some additional information and we will reach out to Mr. Andrews for comment.

Annapolis Mayor, Mike Pantelides has nominated Thomas C. Andrews to lead the City through his administration. The City has been without a permanent City Manager since January when Pantelides fired City Manager Mike Mallinoff. Mallinoff was replaced by Assistant City Manager Virginia Burke who abruptly resigned in March. Her replacement was Brian Woodward (then Parks & Rec Director) who abruptly resigned in July. He was replaced by David Jarrell (then Public Works Director) who still holds the position.

The nominee will likely have a difficult time being confirmed by the council. Eye On Annapolis spoke to several members of the council who have immediately expressed deep concern over Andrews’ nomination. Andrews was charged and found guilty of racial discrimination and ultimately cost Fulton County nearly $1.5 million dollars in a jury verdict because of his actions.

Anne Arundel History

In 1999, Andrews was the land-use officer for the county and was embroiled in an investigation where he deviated from the law to facilitate a developer without any public input. In the end, a panel found that there was no wrong-doing, however they did state that they deviated from policy to facilitate the change.  Shortly before the decision, Andrews resigned to take a position as County Manager for Fulton County, Georgia.  (Baltimore Sun article).

In an interesting connection, the developer in the Anne Arundel case was Annapolis Developers Associates; and current Assistant City Manager Bob Agee, was a partner in that company which ultimately brought the scrutiny of the FBI and the Anne Arundel County Ethics Commission in to investigate.  In By 2005, Agee was working as the Annapolis City Administrator under Mayor Ellen Moyer. During that period, Agee was the key person in the Market House debacle.

Fulton County Lawsuit

In August of 2012, a jury found Fulton County and Andrews guilty of racial discrimination and awarded an employee $300,000 in the lawsuit.  A The jury found that a caucasian man was passed up for a promotion in 2007 based on his race because a commissioner and Andrews wanted a black woman to fill the open position. According to testimony, Andrews  referred to employees as “black marbles” and “white marbles.”  Like in Anne Arundel County, Andrews resigned the position shortly before the jury verdict was returned.

WSB-TV2 Video

Later In April of 2013, after the employee was awarded the $300,000 in 2012, a judge increased the award by an additional $1.18 million. The employee, who was white, was serving as an acting department head (in 2007) and was passed over for the position which ultimately went to a black woman who had not even interviewed for the position according to court records. The plaintiff’s position was ultimately eliminated in 2010.

According to Annapolis You can read Mayor Pantelides’ press release hereAndrews has held three positions since leaving Fulton County in 2012. (it is unclear how many positions have been held since leaving Fulton County [reportedly in 2007], we interpreted the Mayor’s release listing positions chronologically; the Mayor’s office has said that the positions were listed by rank–Federal down to local) Subsequent to leaving Fulton County in 2008, Mr. Andrews has held two positions; one as a part time instructor at Georgia State University, and another (most recently) as Senior Vice President for a municipal recruiting firm based in Florida.

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