County Executive

Our live chat begins today at Noon and ends at 1 p.m. We will be speaking with with Jeanne Singer, who chairs the board that's writing the Washington County charter that will be voted on in February 2008. You can participate by sending your questions to us by clicking here. Cynthia: How do you believe Charter Home Rule would benefits the citizens of this community? Jeanne: I believe that charter home rule will benefit the citizens of the community by making our local government more responsive and more accountable to the citizens of Washington Co. Currently, local laws need to be run through the state (via our delegation)

Washington County would elect a seven-member governing council - five from districts, two at large - under a newly released draft charter for home rule . A board has been studying the best way for the county to adopt home rule, which shifts certain lawmaking power from the state to local officials. The charter board's plan for switching from commissioner rule to charter rule is scheduled to go to public vote on Feb. 12, 2008, the same day as Maryland's primary election.

Washington County needs an executive To the editor: The government of the United States has an executive who we call president; the State of Maryland has an executive who we call governor; the City of Hagerstown has an executive who we call mayor; but Washington County has no executive. Why? There was a reason that the Constitution of the United States created three branches of government. The founders of our nation recognized the need to have a legislature that would debate and pass laws as well as a court system to interpret those laws fairly and to make sure that the laws that were passed were congruent with the Constitution.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - At a meeting Tuesday morning, the Washington County Commissioners approved a budget not to exceed $12,000 for the Charter Writing Board to use for expenses as it writes a charter for home rule. The nine-member charter board is in the early stages of the estimated 18-month charter process. The charter would serve as the governing document for the county if approved by county voters. Charter Board members are expected to hire Victor Tervala, a home-rule expert, to help craft the charter.

Del. LeRoy Myers said that having a charter home-rule form of government would enable Washington County to take care of business day to day instead of relying on a 90-day annual session of the Maryland General Assembly. Myers, R-Washington/Allegany, kicked off a discussion on the subject with a breakfast meeting Wednesday attended by the Washington County Board of Commissioners, members of the county legislative delegation, experts and interested residents. The county's current commissioner form of government requires it to depend on the Maryland General Assembly for certain types of legislation that under charter home rule could be handled at the local level.

Myers to discuss charter home rule at breakfast Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, will be hosting a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hagerstown's Academy Theater to discuss the possibility of moving Washington County to charter home rule. According to a state website, a charter government separates the executive branch from the legislative branch and “typically, it consists of a county executive and a county council.” Washington County currently operates under the county commissioner form of government.

Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr.'s push for charter home-rule government stalled last month when the Washington County Board of Commissioners took no action on his request to appoint a board to draft a charter that would then be voted on by county residents next year. Myers, a Republican who represents part of Washington and Allegany counties, said he has no interest in organizing a petition drive to collect signatures from voters to put the issue on the ballot. Instead, Myers said earlier this month that he intends to keep the issue alive by endorsing candidates for county commissioner seats in the 2014 elections who would back a move to charter home rule.

Del. LeRoy Myers said that having a charter home-rule form of government would enable Washington County to take care of business day to day instead of relying on a 90-day annual session of the Maryland General Assembly. Myers, R-Washington/Allegany, kicked off a discussion on the subject with a breakfast meeting Wednesday attended by the Washington County Board of Commissioners, members of the county legislative delegation, experts and interested residents. The county's current commissioner form of government requires it to depend on the Maryland General Assembly for certain types of legislation that under charter home rule could be handled at the local level.

Myers to discuss charter home rule at breakfast Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, will be hosting a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hagerstown's Academy Theater to discuss the possibility of moving Washington County to charter home rule. According to a state website, a charter government separates the executive branch from the legislative branch and “typically, it consists of a county executive and a county council.” Washington County currently operates under the county commissioner form of government.

Washington County needs an executive To the editor: The government of the United States has an executive who we call president; the State of Maryland has an executive who we call governor; the City of Hagerstown has an executive who we call mayor; but Washington County has no executive. Why? There was a reason that the Constitution of the United States created three branches of government. The founders of our nation recognized the need to have a legislature that would debate and pass laws as well as a court system to interpret those laws fairly and to make sure that the laws that were passed were congruent with the Constitution.

Five of the six Democrats running for their party's nomination for governor in the Oct. 4 special election were in Martinsburg Friday night trying to round up support for their upcoming May 14 primary.  All told, 16 West Virginians — eight Republicans, six Democrats and two from the Mountain Party — will square off in the primary. They all hope to fill the vacancy created when Joe Manchin left the governor's mansion to take over the U.S. Senate seat of the late Robert C. Byrd in November.

Until a couple of months ago, like the majority of residents, I had never heard of, or discussed the need for charter home rule in Washington County. Local politics are my hobby. I read the papers and communicate with a broad network of people involved with local politics. I am naturally suspicious when, out of nowhere, I find this county deciding to change forms of government when no outcry for this change existed. In this article, I will show that there is no need for charter home rule to solve any problem of local concern.

Q&A answers these and more questions regarding the proposal Question: What is charter home rule? Answer: It is one of three types of county governments available in Maryland. The other two are code home rule and commissioner. Both home rule forms offer local governments greater freedom to enact local laws. Under charter home rule, Washington County's governing document would be the proposed charter on the Feb. 12 ballot. To read the proposed charter, go to www.herald-mail.

Question: What is charter home rule? Answer: It is one of three types of county governments available in Maryland. The other two are code home rule and commissioner. Both home rule forms offer local governments greater freedom to enact local laws. Under charter home rule, Washington County's governing document would be the proposed charter on the Feb. 12 ballot. To read the proposed charter, go to www.herald-mail.com/images/draft_charter.pdf . Q: What would change under charter home rule?

HALFWAY - Two of Washington County's state lawmakers said Wednesday they will campaign against a proposal for home rule, while four others said they support it. The split within the county's Maryland General Assembly delegation surfaced during a Chamber of Commerce forum on the coming state legislative session. Each year, the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce hosts the local delegation for a pre-session discussion. Wednesday's forum at the Plaza Hotel in Halfway capped the chamber's "Advocacy '07" series, in which prominent Maryland officials spoke in Washington County.