As a public service, TLR is making available copies of selected documents filed in the court cases resulting from the question of whether District 2 Commissioner Thomasina Coates (D) is allowed to vote on the employment contract of County Administrator Mark Belton after having been administratively barred from doing so by the rest of the board.
On Dec. 30, 2022, District 3 Commissioner Amanda M. Stewart (D) and District 1 Commissioner Gilbert Bowling III (D) filed a lawsuit in Charles County Circuit Court seeking a judge’s ruling on whether Coates should be allowed to participate in such a vote. On Feb. 3, 2023, Coates appealed the judge’s interim temporary restraining order to the Appellate Court of Maryland. The appellate court dismissed the appeal as moot on Sept. 29, and the circuit court granted Stewart’s and Bowling’s request for a permanent injunction on Oct. 17. That same day, Coates filed a notice of her intent to appeal the circuit court ruling.
The key documents in the respective cases can be found here:
- Selected Circuit Court Case Filings (C-08-CV-23-000002, Amanda Stewart, et al. vs. The Charles County Board of County Commisioners, et al.)
- Selected Appellate Court Case Filings (ACM-REG-2133-2022, Thomasina O. Coates v. Gilbert O. Bowling, III, et al.)
- Selected Appellate Court Case Filings (ACM-REG-1623-2023, Thomasina O. Coates v. The Charles County Board of County Commissioners, et al.)
TLR‘s coverage of the cases, which are referred to collectively as “Stewart et al. v Commissioners,” can be found here.