Baltimore County has violated a federal court order by enforcing a local law that bars campaign signs from being displayed more than 45 days before a primary election, according to court documents filed this week by a Towson man mounting a broader challenge to county sign laws.
The suit was originally brought in May in U.S. District Court by Stephen V. Kolbe, a supporter of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., after the county ordered him to remove an 8-by-4-foot "Ehrlich For Governor" sign from the front lawn of his house on Dulaney Valley Road.
New documents, filed this week as the political season heats up, argue that the county has disregarded a three-year-old ruling by a U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake in another case against Baltimore County. Blake ruled that the 45-day restriction was unconstitutional "as a prior restraint on free speech" and that the county was "permanently enjoined" from enforcing it.
On the "correction notice" that was taped to the side door of Kolbe's house, the code inspector wrote that the sign was "too large," and could only be 8 square feet. The inspector, David Kirby, also wrote down the number of the zoning code section referring to the 45-day provision.
The county said in a legal response that the inspector made a mistake in writing down a code number that the county has been barred fron enforcing. Kolbe's response, filed this week, argued that Kirby once specialized in campaign sign rules and contended that officials have knowingly overstepped the law.
"What we're seeing is selective enforcement," Kolbe's lawyer, Michael J. Pappas, said Thursday. "The enforcement we've seen to date is all about Republican candidates."
The response that was filed includes an affidavit by Steve Whisler, a Catonsville Republican running for County Council in the 1st District. The affidavit says that on three occasions in February and March, Michael Mohler, the county's deputy director of code enforcement, said the 45-day provision still applied. Whisler said Mohler made the point in private conversation, and again in two public meetings at which Mohler was the featured speaker.
After Kolbe filed his suit, Whisler said he met Mohler while he was out campaigning and again he asked about the 45-day rule. That time, Whisler said, Mohler told him the rule was no longer in effect.
The suit also points out, and the county acknowledges, that the section including the 45-day provision still appears in the official published version of Baltimore County's zoning regulations. The suit asks the court to stop the county from enforcing three sections of the sign regulations, including the code that the federal judge found unconstitutional. The court hasn't yet set a hearing on the case.
Another affidavit filed this week refers to a business owner and Ehrlich supporter in Essex who was given a notice by a county inspector on grounds that are not included in the regulations.
Leslie M. Pittler, a lawyer and member of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority board, said in his statement that Don Albright was given a notice about a 4-by-8-foot Ehrlich sign he posted on the wall of his heating and air-conditioning business on Marlyn Avenue. The inspector, Jerry Chen, wrote on the notice that the sign was a violation because Ehrlich had not then officially filed as a candidate, Pittler said in his statement.
Sign regulations include no mention of the political candidate's official status.
Pittler said in an interview that he agreed to represent Albright for free after hearing about the incident. The case against Albright was eventually dismissed.
"I thought it was wrong," said Pittler, who supports Ehrlich. "I clearly believe that certain people in the county government just wanted to go after Ehrlich."
Pittler said in his affidavit that he spoke with Chen, who told Pittler that "he did not want to issue the notice to Mr. Albright but he was instructed to do so by his superiors."
Ellen Kobler, a spokesman for the county, said officials would have no comment while the suit is being argued in court.