Alderman Marc Rodriguez let his constituents down by missing so many City Council meetings last fall while he studied for the bar exam that it became a joke around town.
Where in the world is Marc?
Rodriguez wronged his constituents again when he announced he would step down in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic to accept a job in Oregon — after repeatedly saying during his string of absences that he would finish his term. His decision put the city on the spot to conduct a special election during the surging coronavirus infection rates.
In the end, the alderman listened to the counsel of Mayor Gavin Buckley and others and did the right thing.
Days after he said he would leave, Rodriguez said he would stay. Then in May, he said he would resign in September.
In the ensuing months, he voted on the budget. He has worked in his community as it dealt with unemployment and hunger created by the coronavirus recession.
The city’s first Hispanic alderman, he has helped the Annapolis immigrant community as it suffers through some of the worst rates of infection in the county and the worst impact of furloughs and layoffs.
But September looms on the calendar. His constituents will have to choose a replacement.
The key date before them is Aug. 3.
That is the date past which the Annapolis Charter shifts responsibility for filling a council vacancy from a special election to an appointment, a process starting with the Annapolis Democratic Party central committee. It is 15 months until the November 2021 municipal election, when the city will vote on all council seats and the office of mayor.
A group calling itself the Annapolis Coalition of Black Progressives is pressing hard for Rodriguez to change his mind again and leave before the deadline. They want a special election so the voters of Ward 5 can choose the person who will serve until the next city election, potentially gaining the advantages of incumbency.
We are in favor of elections. But in this case, several factors make an appointment the right choice.
Coronavirus numbers in the county and Central Maryland are rising. Maryland’s rate of infection per 100,000 has earned it a dubious spot on New York’s list of places requiring quarantine for travelers.
Anne Arundel County, alarmed by the trends, has toughened measures intended to slow the spread of the virus weeks after rolling them back. Schools have looked at where the virus is headed and decided that it is not safe to have in-person classes in September.
Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to have in-person voting with absentee ballots for the November election — voters must apply for a mail-in ballot, wait for it to come, return it, wait for the ballot to come and then return that — is likely to reduce voter turnout and create unnecessary risk. We have called it wrong, and continue to believe it is a mistake.
For Annapolis, however, there is no good reason to force voters in this ward into the mess created by the governor’s decision. They should not have to choose between staying safe and voting.
The city Democratic Party leadership has the chance to validate Rodriquez’s decision by conducting a transparent process for accepting applications, vetting them and selecting a replacement. It must do better than the county Democratic committee when it selected Del. Dana Jones, D-Annapolis, to replace Alice Cain in a closed-door vote that angered many within the party leadership.
As for Rodriguez, we were among the harshest of his critics when he announced his decision to leave. We still lament his choice to quit and seek his future elsewhere. Yet, life takes everyone down unexpected paths.
Good luck alderman.
