By JOE MURCHISON
Courtesy of Jeffrey Mills
A Laurel City Council review of proposed election law changes has exposed tensions between two councilmembers.
Disagreement about the proposed changes prompted Councilmember Jeffrey Mills (Ward 2) to go on social media last month to say he had been bullied by Councilmember James Kole (Ward 1) and the LGBTQ+ community, with which Kole identifies.
The council reviewed proposed election law changes at a Feb. 5 work session. The changes had been proposed by the city’s Board of Election Supervisors, aided by Council Clerk Sara Green and Bruce Marcus, an attorney consulting with the board. “We’ve cleaned up and modernized the existing code,” Marcus said at the work session, noting that many changes would bring city rules into conformity with state election law.
Mills spoke out against two of the proposed changes: that a candidate could not serve as his own campaign treasurer, and that a candidate seeking reconsideration of a decision of the city elections board would have to appeal to Circuit Court rather than the city’s board of appeals. In his 2023 election, Mills was his own campaign treasurer, and he also successfully went before the board of appeals to overturn an elections board decision. The board had deemed that he was not eligible to run due to late payment of fees for failing to file a finance report in a previous election.
Kole spoke in favor of both changes.
Courtesy of James Kole
Following the Feb. 5 meeting, Mills posted to Laurel MD Connect!, a public Facebook page that is unaffiliated with the city’s government. Mills’ post said in part, “It has come to my attention that, in recent times, there have been instances where I felt threatened, harassed, or bullied, both within the LGBTQ+ community and by certain government officials. I want to make it clear that I will not stand by quietly in the face of such treatment, nor will I allow anyone, from any group or position of power, to intimidate, silence, or undermine me.”
In an interview, Mills said he was referring to Kole when speaking of “certain government officials” and in citing the LGBTQ+ community. Kole has been open about being gay and introduced the council resolution that established Laurel’s annual Pride Day celebration in 2022.
In an interview, Kole said of Mills, “He had a problem with one councilmember and decided to make it about a whole community. … Apparently my views are bullying because they don’t agree with his.”
At the Feb. 24 council meeting, Amy Dunham, a member of the city’s Pride Day Committee, offered similar thoughts. “It was very disappointing to see a member of the council posting on social media that the LGBTQ community is bullying him,” she said, adding, “There is no evidence as to why this minority community is called out. … This is a dispute between two elected officials. There is absolutely no need to bring in a minority population.”
Mills said the administrators of Laurel MD Connect! took down his post sometime in February.
Council President Kyla Clark (Ward 2) said further discussion of the election law changes would occur at another work session that had not been scheduled as of press time.