On Tuesday
that Cecil County County Executive Tari Moore has returned to the Republican fold, in a story that will certainly not help with Moore's credibility:
Moore of course changed her party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated shortly before her swearing in as County Executive solely to circumvent the ability of the duly elected Cecil County Council to appoint her replacement to the council. This of course after
, and then
in the General Election.
"The judge was clear that I did not violate the charter," added Moore, who said she knows in her heart that she did the right thing.
Reflecting on it now, Moore said, "It was a pretty bold thing. I felt I had to return Cecil County to those who are elected to represent people on the county level."
That statement is rich considering that Moore's act was one of defiance against the charter and against the people that elected her by instead taking the power to appoint her replacement from the people who were elected to represent the people of the county and instead instilling it herself, a move that we typically associate with Maryland Democrats and others who are trying to circumvent the spirit of the law.
In a statement released Tuesday morning Cecil County Republican Chairman Chris Zeauskus remains defiant:
The issue that I and others at Red Maryland always had with Moore was one not of laws or legality, but integrity and character. At the time of the incident I wrote:
Something I stand by today. What Moore did shows that she lacks the character of somebody who should be occupying an office of public trust. I look forward to seeing this poor excuse for a leader face a credible and serious primary challenger in 2016.
--Brian Griffiths is a co-founder and contributing editor for Red Maryland, which has strived to be the premier blog and radio network of conservative and Republican politics and ideas in the free state since 2007. He is chairman of the Maryland Young Republicans. and has worked on and advised numerous local, state and federal campaigns. His Red Maryland posts appear here regularly.