Harassment suit against Leopold expanded

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Resign with conditions? - 2010-09-13 00:46:28

In my opinion if Mr. Leopold were anything resembling an honorable man he would resign and stop making the county the laughing stock of the state. Whether he did what he is accused of or not, and I'm not saying he did, it still seems to me he has exercized some very, very poor judgment. Certainly not the kind of judgment I would want from a public official in his position in these difficult times. I'm not sure what kind of a "good job" he has done. It seems to me from what I read and hear that Mr. Callahan does the hard work of running the county and Mr. Leopold seems little more than a figurehead puppet who makes a populist speech every now and then. Perhaps a fair resolution would be for Mr. Leopold to resign with an agreement for the county council to appoint Mr. Callahan in his stead. Then nobody can complain about partisan tricks being played, and Mr. Callahan would bring his wealth of experience from his service as mayor of Annapolis to the job.

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Tom O'M - severna park, md - Karma: Neutral

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So it must be true then. - 2010-09-12 13:40:56

" Sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire."

Maryellen,
Last I checked a person was innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The problem is that this case will not see the inside of a courtroom until after the election.

The smoke that you are so sure will lead to fire, is disputed by several of the women named in the suit. This alone leads me to question the legitimacy of the whole thing.

The Capital and others that report unsubstantiated rumors do a great disservice to the community. They force us to judge leaders on rumor and innuendo rather than their record and proven facts.

The fact is Leopold is a good man, and has done a good job in very difficult times. The county was even able to pay some Annapolis City fees early to bail out the mismanaged city budget.

We can disagree on the politics, as I'm sure we do, but lets not fall victim to those with questionable motives in the height of the campaign season.

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Chris Warner - Odenton, MD - Karma: Excellent

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The Suit follows the Actions! - 2010-09-11 21:02:20

This lawsuit follows several reported alleged illicit actions by Leopold in the workplace. Women have a right to do their jobs without being "blackmailed" into accepting wrongful behavior by superiors. It is against the law and it is a violation of public trust for an elected official to use his office to advance "personal" ojectives whether companionship or money. It takes a lot for women to bring actions against bosses because they know from the start that they are dealing with other men who would just as soon dismiss the charges than offend the boss. If this man violated public employees' rights, then he is unfit for office. The allegations in the parked car, other accusations about unwanted advances to women have been published previously. Sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire.

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Maryellen Brady - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Terrible

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Please! - 2010-09-11 12:18:37

This is nothing more than a political attack using a disgruntled former employee. I don't believe a word of it.

Even if there was something to this, who cares. When Clinton was getting his groove on in the White house, everyone on the left was screaming that it was his personal life. No big deal. Lying under oath about it, no big deal.

So to complain about Leopold rings hollow.

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Chris Warner - Odenton, MD - Karma: Excellent

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Wait a minute here - 2010-09-11 11:59:55

John F, at will employment doesn't mean you as a boss are free to give someone the boot or make them subject to reprisals for complaining about you doing something illegal. It might happen every day, but the employee and not the employer is protected by law in that situation.

Dave M, there's no doubt in my mind that Lewinsky was used by Clinton's political enemies. Maybe she lacks credibility on everything else, but she proved the truth of her allegation, didn't she?

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John Munroe - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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Can't wait - 2010-09-10 18:07:33

Pat, I'm counting on the police including the Chief and the married woman who was allegedly in the car to testify under oath.

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John Munroe - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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creepy - 2010-09-10 14:08:22

political? This was going on before elections. Just creepy

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charles harrell - annapolis, md - Karma: Excellent

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M Young - 2010-09-10 09:27:24

so you have proof that the married woman was naked in the car, man let's see it. You hold the key to all of this.
Maybe it was the womans husband that called because she was meeting him at the mall. Once again zero proof anyone was naked.

If you read John's comments, he has read the complaint, 90% hearsay, this is clearly a political attack and I hope that we find out who is behind it.

Marion Barry, Blago, you could have thrown Bill Clinton in there too, Michael. But I guess you forgot, Barry on tape, Blago on tape, Bill Clinton no tape but we did have the blue dress. Let's see what do we have here, hmmmmm still thinking, still thinking, oh I got it a disgruntled ex-employee and a primary coming soon.

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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Neutral

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tina/fred/tavern - 2010-09-10 02:57:59

Light the fire of Justice - 2010-09-09 09:22:50

My friends , I sense in each of you a desire to seek justice. This type of passion can not go unchallenged. Send a Message and vote for Asti, she is just like all of you. She will certainly take the people's will into account once she is elected Judge of the Circuit Court. She is a Republican, and first and foremost she is a regular guy, just like you and me.

reynold cavern - Annapolis, md - Karma: Terrible


Seems like Zina Pierre is not the only one being slandered and harassed by the political machine. I am a liberal democrat for Leopold. He is a good man, a true leader and has the political will to walk the talk of effecient government, he is also much more progressive and intelligent that anyone we have in our local government. Don't throw this baby out with some tainted bathwater.


this guy is so full of crap.

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Jacob Smith - Annapolis, md - Karma: Neutral

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M Young - 2010-09-10 00:03:29

Where are all these naked people when I want to go out and get my groove on? I want to party too!!

He was doing what with your wife? Sounds like she needs some Krav Maga classes then. Or perhaps you could pretend you are a blue collar chap for a moment, and give him a good whallop, or a charlie horse at least.

If she was fired for acting angry about her treatment, then its a toss up. You cant put up with it, get canned down the line, then decide to push back. You have to do it while you are there.

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William H - annapolis, md - Karma: Excellent

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The actual complaint - 2010-09-09 18:37:16

I read Hartley's blog and I agree with him (did I really just say that??) The complaint is 90% hearsay and I am not sure how her lawyer can file all on stated hearsay.

There are maybe two or three valid points (the grabbing her shoulders, and the obsession with the hair) but they seem to be handled/dismissed in a prior proceeding.

To me, it seems like she is filing a class action suit on behalf of all these wronged women --but none of these women say they were wronged. Her answer is that they were wronged but they just are too scared to say it. That is a stretch if you ask me.

She is mad because her boss criticized her work. Wake up, that's what bosses are paid to do. She is mad because they changed the way meetings were held from all inclusive to just the top "deputies". Well, things change and your boss is empowered to do that. She applied for a new position and did not get it. I have applied for hundreds of positions in my life and not been hired, but I am not suing anyone.

And Maryland is an employment at will state, so people can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. I am not sure how the union impacts that, but...

Finally she claims that the taxpayers have been harmed by some sort of financial malfeasance to the tune of $5 million yet provides nothing to back it up.

It seems the wrong people are suing the wrong people. If I see see a neighbor breaking into another neighbor's house, it is not in my rights to sue the first neighbor for damages. It is up to the damaged party to sue.

Do I think Leopold grabbed her shoulder and shook her? Do I think he had a predilection about hair in the face? Yeah, he probably did. Issue an apology, buy her a new blouse and a gift certificate to Hair Cuttery and send the bank teller back to Kentucky.

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John Frenaye - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good

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Maybe - 2010-09-09 14:42:19

Maybe Karla filed because she needs the money in order to pay to have her suspened registration lifted, or to pay the ticket she received in Howard County in July for driving with a suspended registration. Just a thought.

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Johnathan Locke - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Excellent

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But - 2010-09-09 14:03:29

why did she wait a year before filing this suit? Just saying.

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E. corbett - severna park, Md - Karma: Excellent

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Sore issue - 2010-09-09 13:52:42

Ever since Kathleen Kennedy Townsend sued the people of Maryland for gender bias, this has been a sore issue for us. I asked Judge Bell during a county speaking engagement what could be done about it. He replied, "If something gets done, you are going to have to do it."

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ficticious name - annapolis, md - Karma: Terrible

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Impeachment Proceedings - 2010-09-09 11:11:19

This situation has now gotten to the point where the county council needs to step in and ask for Leopold's resignation, and if he refuses, impeach him. They can then replace him with someone from the same party so nobody has to worry that it's dirty partisan politics. I don't know if the allegations are true or not. But I certainly have more than enough info to form a pretty good opinion on the matter. I do know that other counties don't seem to have these problems. In fact, I've never seen anything like this in my whole life. It will be interesting to see what comes out when people are put under oath in federal court.

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Tom O'M - , - Karma: Neutral

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Its a pattern - 2010-09-09 10:17:11

Lets see - 90% of county cell phone calls to a married woman who was later one of the "naked people" at the Mall. Meets with an attractive reporter for lunch and even she can't figure out why. Having police check car tags to find out who women were. Not so much an accusation as a pattern.

As for the assumption that he's a "megalomaniac" I think I'd have to concur after having met him twice and watched him fawn all over my wife and some of the others at the events. Mr Neley says it best - "he just seems weird".

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M Young - Crownsville, MD - Karma: Excellent

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Nothing to - 2010-09-09 09:24:54

see here folks move on. Maybe the married woman was interested in him, maybe she told him her marriage was over. Maybe she decided to try and make it work with her husband. Maybe he found the Capital reporter attractive, she says he did nothing disrespectful. He did not expose himself to her. There have been many women come forward and said he was nothing but respectful to them. Just dirty politics.

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Pat Magnum - Arnold, MD - Karma: Neutral

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Leopold : Good - 2010-09-09 09:17:53

Seems like Zina Pierre is not the only one being slandered and harassed by the political machine. I am a liberal democrat for Leopold. He is a good man, a true leader and has the political will to walk the talk of effecient government, he is also much more progressive and intelligent that anyone we have in our local government. Don't throw this baby out with some tainted bathwater.

These poor demure gentle women have has ample opportunity to protest and file grievances , the timing of this stinks--though arguably not as badly as the timing of the Cohen slander machine.

All voters must look at Leopold's track record--what has he accomplished for us voters. Do not be destracted by the soap opera

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reynold cavern - Annapolis, md - Karma: Terrible

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Did we hire him to do something? - 2010-09-09 09:12:47

Good lord, man! Isn't it enough that you have a job to do (hint: working for the County). I guess its not corruption, but its pretty venal.

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Brandon Gates - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Terrible

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Once again - 2010-09-09 08:00:03

As Mr. Frenaye has correctly noted, this is simply a campaigning tactic in the self-righteous guise of a politically correct 'victimization' that will be paid for by all of US! This is beneath even the contempt of old-fashioned "mud slinging". A child could see through the transparency of the timing involved in this action.
Not only do I hope Leopold is found innocent of any wrong-doing, I hope Karla Hamner is exposed as a political shill and enjoys all the future credibility of Monica Lewinsky.

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Dave Moore - Arnold, MD - Karma: Terrible

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Please... - 2010-09-08 18:45:28

Mr. Leopold, please try to take a step back and look at how ridiculous you are making yourself. If you were a private citizen, such behavior could be kept out of the papers. But you're the top elected official in the county. Don't you have any dignity or self-respect at all?

You're quickly becoming a laughing stock on a par with Marion Barry in DC, and Blago in Chicago. Please try to do the honorable thing.

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Michael Willis - Glen Burnie, md - Karma: Excellent

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Huh - 2010-09-08 18:26:07

Very confusing. Several people named in the suit denounce claims. Former employee denounces claims. Reporter for The Capital Denounces claims. Karla Hamner doesn't.

Seems like this is going to be a he said she said type trial. Very expensive for the county and taxpayers one way or the other.

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John Frenaye - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good

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wow..... - 2010-09-08 18:15:24

he just seems wierd....

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