Candidates for Harford County sheriff are weighing in on allegations of possible criminal misconduct and unethical campaign practices under present Sheriff R. Thomas Golding after an anonymous letter was sent to candidates and the Harford County Election Board.
The Board of Elections received the letter regarding on-duty deputies being solicited to support Golding and “discussed it at our last meeting,” said Board President Edward Yoder.
“It?s on hold, so to speak, based on the advice of the board?s attorney,” Yoder said. Because the letter was anonymous, Yoder said, there is little the Board of Elections can do about the allegations of deputies being solicited to support.
Through his campaign spokesman, Edward Hopkins, Golding did not deny the allegations. “For decades,” he said, “this has been the practice of the agency.”
But some experts believe the practice is perhaps illegal.
“I have said I will remove the politics from the sheriff?s office so deputies are free to do their jobs and not have to worry about who they are going to support,” Fallston resident Jesse Bane, a Democratic candidate for sheriff, said Wednesday when asked about the allegations.
“I?m not taking shots at any sheriff, present or past, but I feel this is an issue that needs addressing,” he said.
Bane said that when he was first hired as a deputy under William Kunkel, who was Harford County sheriff from 1963-81, the practice of soliciting deputies to support the sheriff was not allowed, but this changed after Kunkel left office.
“I didn?t campaign while I was on the job or while deputies were on the job. That?s just common sense,” Kunkel said Wednesday. He also confirmed that he was serving as Golding?s campaign manager.
Though the county Elections Board has been notified about these allegations, the State Ethics Commission was less forthright.
“I cannot confirm or deny that any matter is before the commission,” Ethics Commission Executive Director Suzanne Fox said Wednesday. “And that?s the law.”
Republican candidate for sheriff David Tritt said Wednesday it was not his place as a candidate against Golding to lodge a complaint regarding the allegations, but he did offer reasons he believes the letter was anonymous and why more deputies are not stepping forward: “It?s not that they?re trying to protect one of their own; it?s just that they?re scared as heck.”
Tritt said he knows several deputies who view the act of soliciting for campaign support as inappropriate, but they are fearful for their jobs and families.
