Montgomery County’s Democratic Central Committee voted Tuesday night to recommend that Del. Ariana Kelly (D-Dist. 16) fill a vacancy in the state Senate District 16 seat—amid disagreement about whether she had verbally attacked one of her challengers in the days prior.
The chair of the panel told MoCo360 that the committee was not the appropriate venue to adjudicate the allegation, and the allegation was not aired at the meeting.
After Kelly and her challengers—Scott Webber and Jason Woodward—fielded questions and made opening and closing statements to the committee, 24 of its members voted for Kelly, who has served in the House of Delegates for more than a decade. She’s been a champion of health care and abortion issues while in her time in Annapolis.
Arthur Edmunds was the lone committee member to abstain from voting, and declined to explain why to MoCo360 after the meeting.
The District 16 state Senate seat was vacated last month when Susan Lee was tapped by Gov. Wes Moore to serve as secretary of state.
Before the meeting, an email thread obtained by MoCo360 showed Webber relaying the contents of a phone call Kelly had with Woodward, in which she allegedly said words to the effect of: “Do you know who I am? I am Del. Ariana Kelly! I got more delegate votes than anybody!” and “You don’t know who you are f—ing with.”
According to that thread, Kelly also allegedly said to Woodward that it was her “f—ing Senate seat” and that nobody was going to stop her, among other profanities.
Kelly denied the accusations multiple times on Tuesday. She said that her call with Woodward was a courtesy call, or “a normal phone call” with a political competitor, something she’s done in multiple races.
“We talked about the race, and I did tell him … there were 12 people running for the open delegate seat, and that I feel like he was new to the political process, and that he might appreciate that information,” Kelly told MoCo360 after Tuesday’s vote.
But Woodward said in an interview that the phone call was not a “courtesy call.” He said that it did not rise to the level that Webber had described in the email thread, but that there was an “inappropriate element.” He declined to elaborate when pressed, but said he hoped that Kelly would learn from her mistake, given she is seated in the state Senate.
“This was not a courtesy call. It was harassing and intimidating and it was inappropriate given her position as an elected official,” Woodward wrote in a follow-up text to MoCo360. “I’m hopeful she will strive to do better once she is seated in the Senate.”
Meanwhile, Webber maintained in an interview after Tuesday’s meeting that his description of the phone call between Kelly and Woodward—as relayed to him—was accurate, as he took notes on the call.
“There is no question that is what he conveyed to me,” Webber said. “I don’t use that language at all; you will not find a single person who has [said I’ve used that], and I was in shock.”
When asked about Webber’s assertion, Woodward, replied via text: “The election is over and the Committee has made their decision. I’d like to put this unfortunate experience behind me.”
The disagreement about what occurred during that phone call stood as a contrast to Tuesday’s meeting, where Kelly, Webber and Woodward were seen chatting while votes were counted.
Saman Qadeer Ahmad, chair of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, called for an executive session shortly after the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting. She said that a letter would be sent to Moore’s desk recommending Kelly for the open seat before midnight on Tuesday.
Ahmad told MoCo360 multiple times after Tuesday’s vote that only Woodward could answer questions about the substance of the phone call between him and Kelly. She did note that, according to the Maryland Constitution and Democratic Party rules, the committee has 29 days to pick someone to fill a legislative vacancy. Wednesday is the 29th day since Susan Lee resigned last month, Ahmad said.
She declined to answer why the committee decided to vote Tuesday instead of delaying action, given the allegations against Kelly. She asked a MoCo360 reporter to leave so that the committee’s executive session could start.
Along with the allegations against Kelly, the committee has also faced criticism about its appointment process for legislative vacancies. Some committee members have proposed changes to the process, in an attempt to make it more democratic. But none of those proposals have reached a vote before the full committee.
Given that Kelly is picked by Moore, that will leave a vacancy alongside Dels. Marc Korman and Sara Love, the two delegates who serve alongside Kelly in District 16.
District 16 covers Bethesda, Potomac, Cabin John and other nearby areas. Ahmad said during Tuesday’s meeting that the appointment process would begin in the coming weeks, if Moore picks Kelly to fill the state Senate vacancy.
