Thanks to WJLA-TV and the Washington Post for revealing that Montgomery County School Board Chair and County Council D5 candidate Christopher Barclay has repeatedly used his School Board credit card for personal expenses. Yeah, Barclay has paid back the money, but (of course) didn’t do so until he got caught.
We’re familiar with venal politics in Prince George’s County and DC. So far, we have been spared this kind of financial scandal in MoCo (at least in recent memory). For me, stealing public money is an unpardonable offense, even for an otherwise worthy candidate. But, there is really nothing redeeming about Barclay’s campaign, even looking beyond petty theft. From his campaign manager’s being caught snooping in opponent Tom Hucker’s office to the fact that Barclay hasn’t even been living in D5, where’s the case for him? (As I have previously written, MD law requires residency only by election day. Do any readers know if Barclay now has an address that qualifies? Has anyone actually seen him living there?) If Valerie Ervin and her Coalition that Only Cares about Color (Cherri Branson, Nancy Navarro, and Craig Rice) weren’t backing Barclay, would he be even be on our radar screens?
Don’t vote for Christopher Barclay. Let’s keep MoCo (somewhat) clean.
©2014 Keith Berner
