Archive for the 'Barrie Parsons Tilghman' Category
It has been a while since we heard about Prince George’s Senator Ulysses Currie (D-Dist. 25) who is currently under a federal microscope considering between his elected office and his off-session job with Shoppers Food Warehouse, specifically whether he was hired for his influence on some of the company’s projects. Remember, he did not disclose his position with the company on ethics forms. The Baltimore Sun’s blog says that Currie used his campaign account to pay his legal bills from Miles Stockbridge to the tune of nearly $42,000.
If the name Miles Stockbridge sounds familiar, that was the law firm of choice for former Salisbury Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman and soon to be former Salisbury police chief Allan Webster when they took on Salisbury News Publisher and Maryland Politics Today Eastern Shore Correspondent Joe Albero. Webster’s case was settled in 2008 with no money changing hands. Tilghman’s lawsuit against Albero was scoreboard in favor of Albero (read: she lost). Both sued for the non-normal amount of $9,999.00.
As far as Webster goes, the soon to be former part is due to him announcing his retiring effective this June. WMAR-TV (Channe l 2) says that a feud with current Mayor Jim Ireton had nothing to do with his decision. Last month, WBOC-TV (Channel 16) reported that Ireton asked for the chief’s resignation following several armed robberies and shootings in the city. Guess what the chief said. With Webster announcing his retirement, he withdrew his lawsuit against the city following receiving the first reprimands of his career; while at the same time, Ireton withdrew the four repreimands against the chief (hhhhmmmmmm….)
It’s time to make another addition to the dishonor roll known as Maryland Politics Today’s E-List.
This time, dishonors go to Barrie Parsons Tilghman, the mayor of Salisbury…or should I say, the outgoing mayor of Salisbury because she is not seeking re-election this year. However, she is trying her best to make sure her legacy continues through City Council Vice Chairman Gary Comegys, who wants to succeed her. How badly does she want this to happen, during her radio segment on WICO (1320AM), she is proudly promoting Comegys.
Believe it or not, that is not what placed her on the naughty list. The Maryland Daily Record is reporting that during the state of the city address recently, she warned city residents that it’s not crime, or the stagnant economy that is a great danger to the city…but malicious bloggers.
The Daily Record reported that Tilghman in her speech said that the presence of a small group of suspicious, mean-spirited people over the last five years focused on the negative has grown, endangering the city’s vitality. She added that some people are avoiding serving their city because it’s not worth chancing the scorn of bloggers.
Umm, one would say that this goes back to only three years ago, which was when in February 2006, Joe Albero, of Salisbury News fame as well as our Eastern Shore Correspondent, before he had any blog, filed a complaint against the Salisbury Waste Water Treatment Plant to the state Department of the Environment. That ultimately resulted in the city getting spanked on the hand by the state.
It should also be pointed out that this is not the first time that Tilghman has gone after the bloggers. In the past, she has called a press conference to direct attention to the blogs she says were unfairly attacking her. She has also participated in dirty tricks during an election. The last municipal election in 2007, she invited the candidates for city council for a community forum she hosted. Which is all well in good, but it was with her three picks.
In addition to that, she has gone through great lengths to control the media, forbidding anyone in city government from speaking to WICO Radio host Bill Reddish, after Reddish gave the good old fashion grilling to City Council President Louise Smith. The station had to give her a show in order to have city coverage.
Believe me, it is not the scorn of bloggers that city workers are afraid of. It was the scorn of Barrie if they violated her gag order and let the truth out.
Based on history, I would think that the biggest threat to the city of Salisbury right now, besides the economy, is Tilghman with a microphone in an election year. Believe me, you might not want to take the words coming out of this woman’s mouth at face value.
That woman is Salisbury Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman…
MarylandPT Eastern Shore Insider Joe Albero from Salisbury News is reporting that Salisbury City Council Vice President Gary Comegys has formed a group to kick of his campaign for Mayor of the city known as the Crossroads of Delmarva.
Joe is also saying that he is being informed that current Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman is not planning on running for re-election.
More to follow as events warrant.
Last week, I told you that a recall effort was launched in Salisbury against Mayor Barrie Tilghman. This week, not only am I going to this time that the letter request was granted, but too more people are targeted for recall.
The Daily Times says that current City Council President Louise Smith is also facing recall, while Council Vice President Gary Comegys could be next. All three efforts are being launched by Salisbury University student Jordan Reisman.
He needs 3,500 signatures to call for a special election on Tilghman, while he needs 3,000 signatures to add Smith’s name to the recall list…that is possibly the same number needed for Comegys.
Apparently there is a recall law in the State of Maryland of some sort, and the person who is the target this time is Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman.
MarylandPT Content Partner Salisbury News has learned that a letter has been submitted to City Administrator Brenda Colgrove, pursuant to the Salisbury City Charter, with the intent of recalling Barrie Tilghman as Mayor of Salisbury.
The recall is on the grounds of:
There were a lot of unhappy people when they found out that the city audit was late for a second year in a row. In addition, the accounting firm that performed it blasted the city’s accountants of not following basic guidelines of accounting. Once the request is processed, the 90-day countdown will start to collect at least 3500 signatures.
Attention Tonight Show writers!!!
If you are looking for material for a future episode, look to Maryland’s Eastern Shore. That’s where you will find the city of Salisbury, the Crossroads of Delmarva. In this fair city, you have a mayor and a police chief who is suing a local blogger who lives in Delmar, Delaware…but for all intents and purposes he is a Salisbury Tax Payer because he is a businessman in the city who owns property.
That blogger, is Joe Albero publishes Salisbury News and is MarylandPT’s Eastern Shore Insider. This is based on the fact that many times he has the photos and stories which I link to from time to time on this website. But I do keep in contact with others to find out what is going on. While I am on the subject, if there is anyone who follows Western Maryland Politics, I would love to talk to you on a regular basis, just kindly drop an email to me.
Now, before I get the oh so predictable comments about Albero that I know are being written as you are reading this, let me explain my position. I DO NOT RE-PUBLISH NOR CONDONE EVERYTHING ALBERO DOES. He has a vision for his blog and I have a vision for mine. Albero has told me he is not a journalist and I have acknowledged as such. The truth he is not a journalist, just like politicians are not politicians at first. In other words, he didn’t go to school nor apprenticed as a journalist. But the fact is several stories that Albero has published were not only accurate, but reported before any of the traditional media outlets in the Salisbury market pick-up on it. The tagline he says “You’ll either like us or hate us” is very much true from the cross section of comments that I receive.
For Albero to be sued by Tilghman and Webster is absolutely laughable, keep in mind I live in Central Maryland and I work in DC so this is like a reality based sitcom to me. I just can’t help but to notice the irony in this situation. Both Tilghman and Webster use the services of Miles and Stockbridge, both filed cases with Wicomico County (Webster’s case was transfered to Worcester County) and both are suing for only $9,999.00. According to Albero, it was to avoid a jury trial.
Also laughable was Tilghman telling The Daily Times that she knows that criticism, public discourse and debate are a part of the Democratic process and she welcomes them. If anyone has been following Salisbury politics, this is a drastic change from prior comments.
She called a press conference to rail against the shore blogs, before myself let alone Albero started our respective blogs. Albero was submitting pictures to former candidate for Wicomico County Executive Charles Jannace (R) when he had a blog at the time. She also labeled a group of Salisbury citizens “The Dirty Dozen” when she got frustrated with a group of citizens who disagreed with her and City Council President Mike Dunn. Tilghman in yesterday’s article basically libeled herself in my opinion. And it is my OPINION, I don’t want any lawsuits filed in Wicomico County.
I do want point out that Tilghman went to Wilmington, DE to speak with the owners of WICO (1320AM) over the Bill Reddish interview with current City Council President. An incident in which Reddish has apologized for at his very next opportunity. Yet, Tilghman citing the interview and his OPINIONS issued that edict to avoid his show at all cost. Now former WICO host John Robinson has a point in that it should have been dropped at the apology.
Now onto Chief Webster. I know that I do not have a favorable opinion of the poliec chief in my home county of Prince George’s, but the one thing I can say is that at least Melvin High wears the uniform. I have a favorable opinion of former Police Commissioner for Baltimore City Ed Norris and now former DC Police Chief Charles Ramsey. Those two men wore the uniform. Not only does Albero’s pictures show Webster not wearing a uniform, but I also have a source that says he never seen him in uniform either. Oh, and he does not like Webster as a chief either….
Tilghman and Webster would not last in a city bigger than Salisbury for one simple reason. If they sued everyone who has an opinion against them they would be broke, especially if they live where I do. People will have an opinion about you whether good or bad. I know I have let dissenters comments on this blog many times. And I invite dissenters to this day. Just be ready when I counter and give me time to make sure I got the notice.
There was a Supreme Court case that I thought was dramatically executed well in “The People v.s. Larry Flynt.” The case was Flynt versus Jerry Falwell. I hate using this example but the situation is right because Falwell was suing Flynt for defamation of character. Flynt published that Falwell done more to his mom than hug her. The question to Falwell was “Do you believe anyone would believe that you had sex with your mother?” Falwell said no. Flynt won the defamation suit, but was ordered to pay Falwell for inflicting emotional distress. That decision was later over thrown by the Supreme Court.
Attention Tilghman and Webster, YOU ARE PUBLIC OFFICIALS! People are going to say stuff about you whether it’s true or not! That’s the nature of the business I’m sorry to say. This my be an over simplistic editorial and opinion, but this story is completely hilarious, considering The Daily Show makes fun of Bush on a daily basis among other politicos.
I also can’t help but point out the irony, in that Tilghman and Webster both have the same law firm and was asking for the same amount. It looks like a conspired effort. Remember, I said it LOOKS like, I didn’t say it was. Remember, no lawsuits makes Burns a happy guy.
P. Kenneth Burns is the Editor and Writer of Maryland Politics Today. He can be reached at kennyburns@marylandpolitics.us.
Good news for those of use on the western shore…PAC 14, the public access station serving Wicomico County, streams their signal on the web. This establishes two things:
1. We can see the unbelievable circus that is the Salisbury City Council meetings
2. It makes Burns’ job a little bit easier in learning and covering some lower shore politics.
With that in mind….
Watching a meeting a couple of weeks ago I saw MarylandPT Contributor Joe Albero with Salisbury News ask the city council one simple question…Who is paying the legal fees in the civil suits against him?
It’s plural now because on The John Robinson Show heard on WICO (1320AM) following that meeting that Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman said she is suing Albero.
Now comes the details from The Daily Times. The same law firm that is representing Salisbury Police Chief Allan Webster in Miles and Stockbridge, is also representing Tilghman (albeit with a different person.) This case was also filed in Wicomico County, and the amount of money being sought…$9,999.00. Which leads to one asking what in the hell is the fascination with asking Albero for $9,999.00. Anyway, it’s a defamation lawsuit in which the Mayor said that Albero made statements that were not true, like committing perjury and giving friends preferential treatment.
Albero, talking to the local media, said that he was not defaming Tilghman, but expressing his first amendment rights. He also called the lawsuit frivolous and that he can say anything that he wants as long as it’s true.
Her lawyer on the other hand said that if Albero wants to represent himself as a journalist, he needs to be held accountable and believed that he is more into sensationalism than truth. And to answer the question Albero had at that meeting, Tilghman says that she is paying for it from her own personal funds.
More from WBOC-TV (Channel 16)
That seems to be the sentiment from Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman. Back on May 20, I told you that Tilghman circulated a memo instructing to not being available to WICO (1320AM) and Bill Reddish…what’s to say that she would not avail her self to afternoon host John Robinson.
We’ll see how big this loop hole is when Tilghman makes an appearance on “Robinson on the Radio.” That word came from Robinson’s blog.
WICO, Reddish and Tilghman have been in a type of soap opera. Reddish became passionate during an interview with Louise Smith, which he later apologized for. Tilghman then tried to seek his ouster from the station, to the point that she drove to the corporate headquarters of WICO owner Delmarva Broadcasting in Wilmington, Delaware. Then the infamous letter obtained by Salisbury News in which she instructed her staff not to be available to appear on WICO with Bill Reddish.
If the Robinson show goes well, would she allow other city staffers to appear on the radio with Robinson? Also, you would think with the city hall jihad declared against Reddish, WICO would throw the gauntlet against the mayor. This is also not the first time that a municipal holy war was raged against a radio station in Maryland in recent years.
When Governor Martin O’Malley (D) was mayor of Baltimore, he had a twice a month radio program on WBAL (1090AM) but he canceled his appearances because of the criticisms from other hosts on the station.
The funny thing is that this mayor seems to be pulling the strategies on fighting the media in a bi-partisan way.
Governor Martin O’Malley (D) with his cabinet paid a visit yesterday to the Crossroads of Delmarva. Salisbury was state capital for a day as O’Malley held a cabinet meeting at the American Legion post.
He assured local officials that the state will not shift the structural deficit to local governments. Contrary to this morning’s Baltimore Sun article, MarylandPT Eastern Shore Insider Joe Albero with Salisbury News said that O’Malley DID NOT, repeat, DID NOT urge “county and municipal leaders to join a lobbying effort to persuade the General Assembly to accept higher taxes rather than try for a solution based solely on cuts.”  Albero also told me that Lt. Governor Anthony Brown (D) was on the Bill Reddish Show on WICO (1320AM) who wondered where The Sun got that quote from.
Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman is happy that a Mayor is in Government House. Remember, O’Malley was Mayor of Baltimore before getting elected. She joined Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold (R) and his counterpart in Harford County David Craig (R) who in the article called the Governor’s comments welcome news. Tilghman stated that her city is stretched thin because of public safety commitments and other expenses.
Her concerns with the state, according to The Daily Times, was that the state did not give Salsibury the power to create hotel, restaurant or other public safety taxes. She said that while the city is 25,000 strong, it grows to 50,000-75,000 during the day. This is my guess/specualtion but it sounds like she is looking for a commuter tax.
Yesterday was part of a three-day trip on the Lower Eastern Shore.
As you have been reading about on this blog, residents in Salisbury are facing a 17 percent tax increase in the 2008 Budget. Mayor Barrie Tilghman has begin the spin machine with a guest appearance in Friday’s editorial section of The Daily Times saying that the people who are fighting against the tax increase were fighting for one last year. Although I believe that they are fighting against a double digit increase and they are just asking for the Zoo to get money from everyone in the Salisbury-Ocean City area. Tilghman also accused council members Terry Cohen and Debbie Campbell of forming their own government (paraphrasing). Nevermind the fact that people who disagree with the status quo always have their own ideas that they would like to be considered.
Anyway, this morning Bob Caldwell, a former city council member and the driving force behind the petition made an appearance in the editorial section. Caldwell smacked City Administrator John Pick for asking residents to not exercise their right to speak out against the government (a/k/a sign the petition.) He also admonished Tilghman for her one woman campaign to discredit and fire WICO (1320) Morning Host Bill Reddish.
This comes as MarylandPT Eastern Shore Insider Joe Albero from Salisbury News tells me that Caldwell received more the 10 percent over the number of signatures need, with the possibility of more coming to the Government Office Building.
Now to this budget thing…
Campbell tells MarylandPT that the city’s budget plan was based on increasing the amount of taxpayer dollars that was spent last year, as opposed to the zero-balance what we need budget. She also says that city council leadership has refused to review the budget line by line, nor did they allow for a full discussion or a compromise, which she believes could have lead to a compromise for a balanced budget within the current tax cap. Her opinion in it’s entirety will be posted.
Updated from Maryland Politics Weekend
I mentioned the case a few years back when The Baltimore Sun sued Governor Robert Ehrlich after Ehrlich forbade anyone except a talking head from talking to anyone of the Sun writers.
Unfortunately for the Sun, Ehrlich won the case. Unfortunately for WICO’s Bill Reddish, Tilghman has a right to forbid, thus pulling an Ehrlich. By the way, that includes reasons of Reddish doing his job.
I heard the Louise Smith interview as soon as insider Joe Albero posted the audio. A bit over the top, yes. Were the questions otherwise fair, absolutely. The memo posted by Salisbury News and this blog, shows that Tilghman would not survive being a county politico, let alone a state politico. But to illustrate this point, I want to use the federal level.
President Bush (the current one) has been accused of profiteering from the oil companies, as has Vice President Dick Cheney. But they have yet banned any government employee from talking to the media.
I will say this though regarding the allegations surrounding Mayor Tilghman. They are allegations that I have no complete knowledge of the evidence or even how they came to be. But I will comment on the news that has been reported…specifically, the “forum” she hastily put together for this past election. I find it completely suspect that three of the candidates were not able to attend because of scheduling conflict. I also find it interesting that it was completely partisan in tone to the point that one Salisbury television station refused to include it in their newscast.
Then there was the case of her behavior following a city council meeting, which lead to the case in which they had to import a judge from Somerset County. Remember, that was from the pre-blogging days.
I question Tilghman’s integrity on those events. Now that one member of the Eastern Shore press corp is asking real questions, she wants to shut them down. If anything, it was the mayor who took time out of everyone’s busy schedule to rail against bloggers and citizens who had concerns about Salisbury. The dirty dozen is what I believe she called them along with then-City Council President Mike Dunn. I think it is unprofessional for a politician calling it’s constituents, “dirty.” Can you imagine if Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett called his constituency dirty? How about Martin O’Malley when he was mayor, or even now that he’s governor calling people in say Anne Arundel County “dirty?” O’Malley was taken to task over language used when calling out Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy a few years ago.
This memo written by Tilghman is an antidote, let alone a waste of time, to the point that it becomes the pot calling the kettle black. If I was Delmarva Broadcasting and WICO management, I would give Bill Reddish a pat on the back and thumb my nose at Tilghman’s attempt to discredit someone with more integrity than she displayed within the past six months. It takes more integrity to apologize for an action than it does shutting the door.
UPDATE!!! 21 May 2007
Salisbury News and MarylandPT’s Eastern Shore Insider Joe Albero may not claim that he is a journalist….but I do. I have the work to back that up, and the experience to do a second look at a story.
With that said, here’s another reason to ask, what the hell is going on here. Checking the MarylandPT archives and cross-referencing with the WMDT (Channel 47) archives, believe it or not, there was a time that Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman did not think that Louise Smith was the consensus builder she was looking for. It was nearly three months ago on the stations morning newscast where Tilghman said she did not favor Smith or Terry Cohen. The reason, they are not consensus builders.
Here’s the transcript of the story which ran on their 6PM Newscast on March 5.
Salisbury News Editor and MarylandPT Insider Joe Albero tells me that Salisbury Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman has pulled an ‘Ehrlich.’
The term ‘Ehrlich’ was based on when former Governor Robert Ehrlich (R) forbade anyone from speaking to The Baltimore Sun during his first year in office and directed all communication to go through his flaks. The Baltimore Sun was not happy so they sued and lost in court…eventually giving up the fight.
The Sun’s credibility in the case was further shot when then-Sun Columnist Micheal Olesker admitted that he was not at a meeting called by then-Lt. Governor Micheal Steele (R). He later resigned after the Baltimore CityPaper of all publications caught him taking work from his own colleagues without attribution. Olesker now writes for The Baltimore Examiner.
Back to the Salisbury Version with Tilghman, in a memo obtained by Salisbury News, directing all city employees not to appear on WICO (1320AM) with Morning Host Bill Reddish. The exact wording from the memo:
“City staff will not be available to appear on WICO with Mr. Reddish. I regret that this action is necessary, but given the events of May 4, 2007, I see no alternative.”
The event Tilghman is referring to was a emotionally driven interview, in which Reddish takes Smith to task over her recent actions on the council. Reddish later apologized for going a bit over the top.
But Tilghman states her case beginning in 2005, in which Reddish interviews then Councilman Michael Day. She says that Reddish began a much more aggressive style of interviews, including personal attacks. The interview also states that “Most recently, his interviews have repetedly called into question my integrity as well as that of selected elected officials.”
Tilghman also alleges in the memo that she had “several conversations” with Reddish’s supervisor about “the need for truth and balance in his show.” She said she requested a meeting with Reddish and his managers to discuss his repeated assertions. In case you’re wondering, the two most common allegations are:
The memo goes on to say that there was no meeting ever scheduled. Tilghman says that she even consulted an attorney who said that it was inappropriate for Reddish to make allegations with no facts to support the allegations. She paid money to find that out? That’s Civics 101.
From the memo: “Given my attempts through the appropriate channels of Delmarva Broadcasting fell on deaf ears, and given the most recent performance by Bill Reddish, it is clear to me that WICO is unwilling to provide a reasonable standard of professionalism and fairness to on air guests. It is equally clear that Bill Reddish’s pattern of behavior is becoming overly intense.”
No comment from WICO, or it’s parent company Wilmington, DE-based Delmarva Broadcasting. Also, no word from Reddish. Reddish did issue an apology on his next show after hearing a replay of the interview.
