Council member says he'll abandon term-limit effort after attorney's opinion

Yahoo

20-03-2025

A council member who pushed for term limits in New Market said Wednesday that he is abandoning his efforts after the town attorney declared the charter amendments to be 'defectively adopted.'
The town did not give adequate notice for a public hearing on the amendments, as mandated under state statute, Town Attorney William Wantz said in a legal opinion sent on Wednesday to Town Clerk Michelle Mitchell and posted on the town website.
Council Member Michael Wright, who introduced the measure, said Wednesday that he is not currently planning on pursuing it further.
'As the town attorney said, the resolution is defective and therefore I do not intend to modify it or move forward with it,' Wright wrote in an email.
The term-limit measure that the council passed 3-2 on March 13 would have prevented Mayor Winslow Burhans III from running for re-election, which he said he planned to do.
Burhans said he thought the new limit was aimed at trying to prevent him from staying in office.
The changes would have gone into effect May 2 — 11 days before the town's elections on May 13. The town's primary election date is April 28, and its filing deadline for candidates is April 7.
'The timing of this is not only dubious, but they have also done so in a way that provides no time to petition the Town for referendum on the amendments,' Burhans wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday, before Wantz's opinion was made public.
However, in an email statement on Wednesday, Wright denied the claim the ordinances were targeting Burhans.
'Mr. Burhans has mentioned to me directly that he does not intend to run for election again after this term,' he wrote in an email.
Burhans said in an interview on Wednesday that he had signs up indicating his intention to run for mayor prior to the meeting when the term limits were passed. He said he stated publicly his intention to run.
The language allowed council members to run for a maximum of six four-year terms and the mayor to run for a maximum of four four-year terms. Previously, the town had no term limits.
The language made no exception for current or previously elected officials.
It was passed by a 3-2 vote with Council Members Matthew Chance, Shane Rossman and Wright voting for it and Council Members Dennis Kimble and Chris Weatherly voting against.
Burhans has held his position since 2001. He has said he is running for his seventh term.
Wright said in an email he introduced the term limits to 'promote inclusivity, fairness, and fresh perspectives in New Market.'
As New Market grows, he said, the town needs participation from more people.
However, Burhans said that turning people away in a small town like New Market would not increase volunteerism. New Market had a population of around 1,500 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census.
'... If Councilmen Chance, Rossman and Wright think that... eliminating me provides them an uncontested path to becoming your next mayor, let me assure you, THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN,' Burhans wrote in the Facebook post. 'You will not get your next mayor by default.'
The Maryland state statute governing charter changes for municipalities mandates that amendments to the charter must be posted in the town hall for at least 40 days after their passage.
They must also be placed in a newspaper of general circulation at least four times over a period of 40 days after passage.
Proposed changes may only go into effect 50 days after it was voted on, the state statute outlines.
The town could meet the time requirements outlined if it were not for an additional requirement that it give public notice for a public hearing on any charter change at least 21 days before the public hearing, Wantz said in his legal opinion.
Wantz said the council did not meet the 21-day requirement for the March 13 meeting. If the council wanted to pass term limit measures, it would have to give adequate public notice before hosting a public hearing on them, he said.