December 18th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
Allegany County Board of Education President Robert Farrell supports a proposed bill that would give the County Commissioners the authority to fill vacant board of education seats- but adds that he would take things a step further to ensure local input, suggesting in such cases, a special election be held. Currently, when a seat on the Allegany County Board of Education is vacated for any reason during a member’s term, a replacement is appointed by the governor. That happened recently when, in October, the state removed BOE member Wayne Foote from office for misconduct. It took nearly two months for the post to be filled by the governor, who selected veteran educator Edward Root to fill the vacancy. In addition, three times in recent years there have been instances of board members passing away while in office, resulting in gubernatorial appointments. Farrell tells WCBC News that the current set-up can be confusing- and it allows the governor to select a replacement for what is a locally elected position…
.jpg)
December 18, 2019 at 7:14 am, Bill Brauch said:
Bob Farrell sounds like a crybaby cause his ‘Three Amigos’ wasn’t supported by the governors appointment. Leave the control with the governor for cases just like Foote’s misconduct where the good old boy system has failed the county. Times like this a downstate point of view is needed, and afterall the governor is a locally elected position and locally Hogan won in Allegany.
The commissioners are not expressing the views of the people of Allegany county with the proposed windmills, what makes anyone think they will with political appointments. Terrible idea Senator Edwards!
December 18, 2019 at 9:21 am, Jay said:
In this county, the candidates who win local offices are the ones who display the most signs and billboards. It’s not rocket science.
December 18, 2019 at 10:45 am, Kevin said:
Allowing the commissioners to fill a vacant board seat is just bad policy. If they had filled this one Bill Valentine would be sitting right where no one wants him. The other possible choice would be a political hack loyal only to the commissioners. The governor making the pick is just the sane thing to do.
December 18, 2019 at 2:08 pm, Ed Dodrill said:
Bad move. It should NOT be filled locally by the county board. That makes it highly politicized. The governor’s if removed from the situation and can appoint someone who is of the highest caliber and not just someone who is buddy to the commissioners.
December 18, 2019 at 7:58 pm, Jay said:
“Farrell tells WCBC News that the current set-up can be confusing”. Seems to me the only one confused is Farrell.