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Rothstein calls journalists "snakes", as Carroll Observer reports potential conflict of interest
Resorting to personal attacks means Observer is onto something
On Thursday morning, Carroll Countyâs award-winning volunteer journalist Scott Ewart of the Carroll Observer, reported a potential conflict of interest when he discovered that a prior contributor to the campaign of District 5 Commissioner Ed Rothstein, is now the applicant in a commercial zoning change request being heard by the Commissionerâs Board.
The zoning request at issue was filed by Eldersburg Investors II LLC, who is asking that four parcels of land totaling 12 acres just off 26 opposite Liberty Exchange, be changed from Commercial-2, which allows for medium retail & office usage, to Commercial-3, allowing for large scale retail, regional destinations, wholesalers, and light processing operations.
What Ewart discovered is that Eldersburg Investors LLC, the same group, had previously thrice contributed to Rothsteinâs campaign in 2018. Reacting to his discovery, Ewart wondered aloud on video from his public Facebook page: âShould Carroll County Commissioners recuse themselves from rezoning or development decisions related to campaign contributors?â.
A reasonable question to ask. A developer donating to a politicianâs campaign, then later asking that same politician for a zoning change, could certainly be said to give off at-least the appearance of potential impropriety or a quid-pro-quo type entanglement. So Ewart decided to attend the Commissionerâs meeting in person to ask his question and hopefully get an answer.
Before Ewart could ask his question during public comment, as the rezoning case was still being heard, Rothstein preemptively lashed out at the âsnakesâ and âgarbageâ on social media, before confirming he has no intention of recusing himself from voting on a matter involving a campaign contributor of his. He said:
âSocial media can get away from people, and itâs garbage in so many cases, especially when people write anonymously, which is even more garbage, but, I have no intent of recusing myself in any decision we make, because I believe I can be very unbiased as Iâve shown over the last five years. It actually questions my ethics, over thirty years in uniformâ.
He concluded:
âAll those, whether we call them snakes or whatever on social media, that donât want to identify themselves, rest assure, Iâm very comfortable in a very unbiased leadership role that I have on the daisâ.
After the insult, Ewart could be seen on video leaving the Commissionerâs meeting. Soon after, he posted another video to his Facebook, saying: âIâm assuming Commissioner Rothstein was talking about me about being the anonymous snake on social media.â He said he would take some time to cool off before publishing a more complete response.
Curiously, none of Ewartâs content or the Observerâs is published anonymously, an indication that Rothsteinâs facts were incomplete, and that he is likely conflating the Observer with other local volunteer journalists.
Back in the room, Commissioner Guerin said, âCounty residents are concerned about developmentâ, before saying at more length:
âIf people have questions about their County Commissioners, and they want to ensure that theyâre taking an unbiased approach to all the decisions we make up here, I think itâs completely within a County residentâs right to ask that question.â
During last summerâs District 5 Commissioner debate against Kate Maerten, Rothstein was asked during public comment if he would be willing to sign a pledge not to accept campaign contributions from developers moving forward. He scoffed at the idea, saying, âNo, I wouldnât sign a pledgeâ, and that, âThis pledging stuffâ should be kept âback in college daysâ.
In Howard County during the last election cycle, a non-partisan group including the Progressive Democrats of Howard County, the HoCo Watchdogs, and the Howard County Citizens Association, came together to create the âNo Developer, No Dark Money, Campaign Pledgeâ, where office-seekers can confirm they are unwilling to accept campaign contributions from developers or those working in direct support of developers. The pledge was signed by 28 candidates.
As for Eldersburg Investors IIâs commercial zoning request, the Commissioners decided to punt on making the decision for another month.