Charles County Maryland Commissioner President Wayne Cooper Resigns Abruptly

July 16th, 2010 // filed under: Charles County, La Plata, MD, Off Topic, Southern Maryland, Waldorf

Charles County Commissioner President Wayne Cooper abruptly resigned today, making the announcement on the local government cable station that as of 4:30pm this afternoon he was no longer going to be holding public office.  While it was common knowledge that he was not seeking re-election, it’s a shock to find out that he is leaving on such short notice.

The Commissioner Vice President, Edith Patterson, played down the possibility of any possible void due to the absence, noting that there are still 4 commissioners on the board.

As to whether or not this causes any real trouble for the county remains to be seen.  I highly suspect that this move does not come as a real surprise to the commissioners themselves (There were rumors about this floating around when Cooper announced he would not seek re-election due to personal and medical reasons).  It’s likely that for whatever reason this was kept quiet until the last possible minute.  I would have liked to have been at the press conference they held in La Plata, but I only got the notice as it was starting :-(

Commissioner Cooper issued the following statement regarding his decision:

“Since my announcement in April that I would not seek another term as your Commissioner President, I have been working to bring to a close several priorities before the end of my term that will continue to strengthen Charles County’s competitive position. They’ve included the adoption of the FY 2011 County Budget financial plan, which resulted in no increase in property taxes; provides stable funding; and maintained government services, along with funding to support a continued quality educational system, which has been one of my priorities since my days as a member of the Board of Education.

“Additionally, the Board of Commissioners completed its work and commitment to build the new digital classroom high school in Waldorf. And, we have set in motion a plan to continue our aggressive effort at providing economic development to bring jobs to our citizens.

“Therefore, I have come to the conclusion, with the support of my family, and prayers, that I will step down as your Commissioner President, effective 4:30 p.m. July 16, 2010.

“I want to thank my fellow Commissioners for their support and friendship during a very challenging period in the economic history of our country and State. I commend them all for their hard work and commitment to doing the people’s business, and protecting the future of this great County. I am confident the County government will continue to be well served when I’m gone.

“I want to take a moment and extend a special thanks to the Board’s Vice President Edith Patterson, for her strong leadership. As vice president, Dr. Patterson brought a unique point of view and strength to the Board. Thank you, Edith, for your service.

“In closing, I want to again thank the people of Charles County for their trust in me over the past 14 years and 8 elections. The best part of public service is working together, and I truly believe we have made a difference for our children and friends. I could not have done this job without all of you.

“As I exit the public stage, I do so with the knowledge and satisfaction that I gave it all I had. God bless you all and God bless Charles County. Thank you.”

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posted by Jonathan Benya // Leave A Comment

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Charles County, La Plata, MD, Off Topic, Southern Maryland, Waldorf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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