On Tuesday the County Council unanimously voted to reaffirm James Hedrick to the Planning Board.
“The Council reaffirmed our support for Mr. Hedrick because his insight and housing expertise have served and will continue to serve our community well,” Council President Evan Glass said. “We remain confident in his ability to ably and effectively serve the County residents on the Planning Board.”
On Friday County Executive Elrich used his executive power to veto and expressed his disapproval of Hedrick’s appointment. Elrich based his veto on his 2-hour interview with Hedrick and his social media posts. He said he did not feel Hedrick was willing to recognize the opinions and lived experiences of others. Elrich described Hedrick as closed-minded with rigid views.
“We need Planning Board members with good judgment who are open-minded, constructive, and, above all, interested in hearing from all sides in a fair and transparent process before they have reached a decision,” wrote Elrich. “Mr. Hedrick does not meet those standards.”
Elrich also stated Hedrick would preserve the previous “toxic atmosphere” of the previous planning board forced to resign after the council registered a vote of no confidence last October. On Tuesday Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, who was President then, referenced Elrich’s concerns and pointed out many of Hedrick’s social media posts were actually aimed at him.
“As we were going through a very emotional and difficult conversation around Thrive, that comes with the territory, for better or worse of being a public official,” said Albornoz. “And I don’t feel that any of those social media posts were out of bounds.”
Immediately after Elrich’s veto, Council President Evan Glass expressed his disappointment. On Tuesday Glass opened the conversation emphasizing the appointment of planning board members as one of the most important tasks of councilmembers.
“The Planning Board is vital to the County’s functions and the strength of the board will be its diversity in opinion – no one candidate will meet all of our political views, nor should they,” said Glass. “I continue to fully support Mr. Hedrick, who has already participated in three Planning Board meetings as a very engaged member. He has spent his career working in community development and affordable housing and brings this experience to his work at the Planning Board.”
Nine votes were needed to reaffirm Mr. Hedrick’s position on the Planning Board. He was originally appointed February 28th in a 8-3 vote. Council Members Kristin Mink, Will Jawando, and Laurie-Anne Sayles voted for Cherri Branson instead.
“While I appreciate the County Executive’s input on this and other items, I don’t agree with his veto, and I think it will only perpetuate disorder at a time when we need our planning board to function well to meet the needs of our region,” said Jawando.
“We have a growing agreement that aggressive action must be taken to control housing costs,” said Mink. “And it’s my belief this includes both providing stability and predictability for our existing renters, half of whom are cost burdened, and producing more housing at every level of affordability, especially affordable and deeply affordable housing. I’m confident that Dr. Hedrick will be an asset and advancing innovative strategies to address these needs from his position on the planning board.”
The search for a new Chair for the Planning Board and one additional planning board member continues. The application deadline is April 3 at 5 p.m.
