Complaint raises ethical concerns in Howard County inspector general selection process
Kelly Madigan's path to becoming Howard County's first inspector general is now being put into question, after a complaint is alleging "serious ethics violations."
The complaint, filed by attorney Tonya Baña, is pointing the finger at the actions of Steven Quisenberry, a member of the Inspector General Advisory Board that offered Madigan the job. He also served as Madigan's deputy inspector general in Baltimore County.
Baña filed the complaint on behalf of another member of the board, who remains unidentified.
It's calling on Quisenberry to be removed from the board, Madigan's contract to be voided, and for the inspector general process to restart.
When WJZ reported about Madigan's resignation and move to Howard County, she and the board's chair David Salem said Quisenberry had recused himself from the decision.
But the complaint lodges even if that's true, it's not enough to cast out the doubt.
Potential conflict of interest
Madigan declined to comment on the complaint Monday.
But in December, she told WJZ she initially didn't plan to try for Howard County inspector general until the effort to unseat her last summer. That's when she informed Quisenberry she was going to go for it.
"He took all of the steps to recuse himself, he wasn't part of the selection process at all, knowing that I was going to throw my hat in," Madigan said.
But according to a 19-page complaint filed Friday, that wasn't enough, even going as far to say Quisenberry's actions have resulted in violations to the Howard County Public Ethics Law and the Howard County Charter. It claims he influenced the decision to select Madigan, who in turn picked him to be interim inspector general in Baltimore County.
"Our focus is on the process, it's not anything against Ms. Madigan," said Baña, who acts as co-counsel on the complaint. "We're not calling her credentials or her ethics into question. It's just the process has the appearance of quid pro quo; the process has the appearance of a thumb on the scale."
The complaint also contends Quisenberry still participated in other aspects of the selection process that could've helped Madigan, saying he "actively participated" in all other aspects of the decision-making process.
"If he were to talk ill of a particular candidate, or not like a particular candidate, any discussion relayed against a particular candidate is necessarily for Ms. Madigan," Baña said.
The complaint also details how one board member, Kathleen Downs, resigned from her position over the situation's "bad optics."
Baña added that they're just awaiting a response from county leadership, as well as the county's ethics commission.
"Meritless" allegations
Salem broke his silence on the complaint Monday, calling them meritless and maintaining Quisenberry fully recused himself from the decision.
"Given the fact that he had no part in discussing, interviewing, debriefing the board on Ms. Madigan in any manner -- it is really ludicrous to suggest that wasn't enough," Salem said.
The complaint calls on Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Howard County Council to remove Quisenberry and void Madigan's contract, as well as redo the selection process.
Salem argues those powers lie solely with the board, per the law that established the county's Office of Inspector General in the first place.
Howard County councilwoman Liz Walsh, who sponsored the first bill that started the process to establish and OIG office in the county, described the complaint Monday as "silly and desperate."
"Finally, finally we have in place a gold-standard Office of Inspector General. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should start acting right," Walsh said in a statement.