Do you believe it's appropriate for the County Executive or those who orbit around her to levy false, unsupported accusations against business owners, private citizens and other elected officials to inflict harm? As you will see in this short video clip brought to you by OPEN AGENDA, County Council Vice-President Jeff Merritt speaks forcefully at last week's Council meeting against their baseless attacks pertaining to the “No Queens Wicomico” movement. This brief video speaks for itself. Tune in and be informed.
S3 No Queens Wicomico Response by Jeff Merritt
Show Transcript
Disclaimer: The following transcript was auto-generated and may contain spelling or contextual errors.
I have a statement I have to read. Um,
unfortunately,
uh, it's about 1,200 words long,
according to Microsoft.
>> [cough]
>> Um,
in 3 and 1/2 years,
I've seen a lot of stuff go on in this
county.
I've seen every council member up here
be accused of one thing or another,
violation of the charter, violation of
the open meeting act,
violation of breathing, you name it.
I'd like to go through my day-to-day
existence with as little drama and
controversy as possible.
Unfortunately, the past 3 and 1/2 years
that has not always been possible.
I do not engage in conversations on
social media
because those discussions typically
contain more opinions than facts.
My following presentation has three
parts,
the overview,
my statement, and what's next.
For the overview, you might or might not
know of a recent effort called No Queens
Wicomico.
This appears to share some of the less
than professional activities and
behavior of our county executive and has
drawn some controversy regarding who is
behind it and the signs that are in
various locations around town.
Mrs. Hurley, can you put up the first
slide, please?
That's a picture of one of the signs.
There have been many allegations on who
is running this effort.
All are unfounded.
I'd like to read an excerpt from the No
Queens Wicomico press release on July
15th,
in which they
cl- tried to clarify their role.
Quote,
"No Queens Wicomico is a locally based
coalition of Republicans, Democrats, and
Independents
who have put aside their political
differences because of a shared concern
about the leadership and direction of
Wicomico County.
No Queens Wicomico is not funded by,
directed by,
or formally affiliated with any
candidate,
campaign,
political party,
or county official.
No candidate or campaign
controls our content or directs our
activities.
End quote.
Despite this statement, I've been
accused, along with the business that I
formerly owned with my wife,
with being part of this effort and
printing these signs
at no cost.
I wish those involved in these false and
defamatory allegations had simply picked
up the phone and called me,
and I would have been happy to answer
their questions
and any concerns they might have.
They would have saved everyone from
hearing the statement that I'm about to
read.
I've been advised by close friends,
business colleagues, and legal counsel
that due to the disparaging nature of
such false accusations, a public
statement on my part is not only
justified, but necessary.
My statement is as follows.
First and foremost, I have no part in
the No Queens movement.
Full stop.
I have not provided any funding,
nor been asked to print any signs,
or any materials, nor have I printed any
on my own.
And I have actually never had my hands
on a No Queens sign.
Something I understand the county
executive cannot claim.
To be clear,
the same goes for the business that I
formerly owned.
Never involved.
As far as my former business being
accused of being part of this effort, we
sold the business back in March.
So, those making these accusations, who
include the county executive in a recent
interview,
and I have the tape,
a deputy with the sheriff's office who
operates on social media using a fake
profile,
and I have the screenshots,
and another person who is in the close
orbit around the county executive,
should get their facts straight.
Mrs. Hurley, can you put up the second
slide, please?
I like visual things.
This is a post,
which might or might not have been
removed by now due to its false and
defamatory nature.
I'm the past chairman of the board of
the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce
that currently has 700 members,
and I currently serve on both their
board of directors and executive board
as an ex-officio member.
The fact that these false and unfounded
accusations have been levied against one
of their chamber members is
unconscionable.
Our former business,
a new business owner,
5 months in.
I brought this to the attention of the
president and CEO of the Chamber of
Commerce as a heads-up
that an innocent business could fall
victim to this type of situation simply
because their thinking does not align
with the executive.
This does not sit well with the business
community.
For an administration that claims to be
business-friendly, this type of behavior
sends a completely different message.
I've also shared this information with
the new owner of our business who is
undoubtedly and justifiably concerned.
I've also shared this information with
many of my colleagues in the business
community as a heads-up as to what can
happen if you don't tow the line.
As an aside, our former business was a
member of the Chamber of Commerce for
the entire 16 years we had it.
In those 16 years, we donated hundreds
of thousands of dollars of goods and
services back out into the community in
an effort to be a partner to the many
good things happening in our area and to
be a positive influence in the community
in which we served.
So, that's my statement.
Now, for what's next.
How can this unfortunate situation be
fixed?
We have just over 3 months left in our
terms and we've reached a fork in the
road.
Option number one is for all this
divisive rhetoric to stop immediately.
That's easy.
We just stop.
And we could all get down to the
business of running the county properly
and dealing with the problems that, as
we saw tonight,
we have.
The other option is if this divisive
rhetoric and false accusations and
information continues.
If that's the road we take,
I will be at every council meeting from
now until the end of November.
And there are seven meetings after
tonight.
With more pictures,
screenshots,
video clips with timestamps,
copies of interviews, and additional
information that will help the public
get a clear understanding of what has
gone on and is going on behind the
scenes and some of the things that we
have had to deal with in the past 3 and
1/2 years.
All this is factual
with documentation
proven.
No allegations, no broad statements with
gray area.
In addition,
I will take whatever measures are
necessary to bring the full weight of
the legal system down on those spreading
these false accusations on not only me,
but others as well.
Make no mistake about this. These false
allegations were made by some people
representing Wicomico County, which
leaves the county in an unfortunate
legal position that will likely involve
taxpayer dollars for legal expenses. So,
to those involved
that might be listening tonight, I urge
you
choose carefully.
I'm retired now.
I have time on my hands.
It is one thing for an elected official
to make statements about another elected
official, but when those statements are
proven false, and that is an entirely
different story. When innocent people
and businesses are affected by the
spread of false and defamatory
information, a line is crossed and will
not go unanswered.
Please do not perceive this as an attack
on the county executive as that is not
the intent.
This is a response to what has been sent
in my direction.
I do not condone personal attacks on any
elected official or anyone else for that
matter, especially by people in
positions of leadership as they are held
to a higher standard and they are
supposed to be setting an example.
When faced with such circumstances as
this, it is imperative to respond.
This is a response to the reckless and
unprofessional behavior that we have
seen for the last 3 and 1/2 years. While
I respect the right to free speech, we
need to understand that we are not free
from the consequences of that speech.
If anyone would like more information on
anything that I've spoken about tonight,
please feel free to contact me by phone
or email.
As I said, I do not have conversations
on social media. I never have and I
never will.
I will be happy to provide any
information that you want.
The only disclaimer is if that
information is in the county email or
phone system, you will have to submit a
PIA request and go through the proper
channels.
But otherwise,
I have a book,
a diary, if you will,
of everything
since the day I started, since the day I
was sworn in, because I've never done
this before. And I thought it might be a
good idea to keep track of what went on
during my term.
So,
thank you for your time tonight. Thank
you for the opportunity to share this
statement.
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