I really do not understand why this is such a big deal. From the Wicomico County Charter, Section 304, here are the duties of the Council Administrator:
Council Administrator. There shall be a Council Administrator who shall keep minutes of its meetings, maintain its journal, and perform such other duties as the Council may direct. The Council Administrator shall serve at the pleasure of the Council and shall receive such compensation as the Council may determine.
The County Council could theoretically have Doris make coffee for them if they so direct. And in both Daily Times articles I read about this appointment that’s the position she was named to. It’s almost making me wonder if her position is being confused with the Director of Administration’s position, which is a much more powerful post. From Section 412 of the Charter:
The Director of Administration shall perform administrative duties and exercise general supervision over the departments and agencies of the executive branch as the County Executive may direct. Prior to assuming the duties of the office, the Director of Administration shall be a resident of the county and shall continue to reside in the county for the duration of his term of office. The Director of Administration shall cause all county budgets to be prepared and submitted to the County Executive for modification approval and submission to the County Council. Such budgets shall be prepared in the manner and form provided in Article VII of this Charter. In addition, the Director of Administration shall study the organization, methods, and procedures of each department of the county government and submit to the County Executive periodic reports on their efficiency and economy.
And I think the reason for this confusion can be traced back to something Joe Albero said on Salisbury News. From January 26, 2007:
There is a buzzing rumor going around that Doris Schonbrunner is now THIRD in charge of the County. She was supposedly voted in yesterday as the new assistant county administrator.
However, it’s far from certain that, even if she is third in the pecking order, Doris really would have a lot of power – after all, in her position she serves at the pleasure of the Council with duties as Council may direct.
Some people on the local blog scene seem to be under the impression that Doris Schonbrunner will be a power-mad Cruella de Vil. Having met and spoken to her at some length on several occasions, I can’t see that happening at all. Her new position is an administrative job somewhat like the one she had in the Sheriff’s office, but without the law enforcement component. (Perhaps it’s a job more befitting a lady, since I heard some say during the campaign that we weren’t ready for a lady Sheriff.)
So give the woman a chance to do her job. If she’s not up to it, one of the four who voted for her on the County Council will certainly have the opportunity to change his or her mind, and they can dismiss her. I think she’ll do just fine myself, at least until a higher-level job that she’s interested in opens up.
Here, Here!
Everybody is missing the point – besides taking dirty politics to a new low in the election, Doris success lies entirely in the fact that she spread her legs for Hunter Nelms for years to advance through the Sheriff’s department, rendering her little more that a call girl with a badge while at that office. That is what nobody will come out and say, or if they do, Joe deletes it.
Ask anybody in the department and they will tell you the same thing. And, since Joe likes to prattle on about his nudie photos of Mike Dunn’s wife, many deputies have seen similar photos of Doris taken by Hunter Nelms. The proof is in the pudding.
All right then, if anyone in the Sheriff’s Department wants to come out and say this, bring it on. But don’t go hiding behind an assumed name.
Since I’ve seen no pudding, I have no proof.
And I don’t think I missed the point at all. If Doris did get through 19 years in the Sheriff’s Department, three university degrees, and preparing budgets as the number 2 in the office by “spreading her legs for Hunter Nelms”, then that kind of intelligence might be what we need in county government.
The post made by IlustforDoris is disgusting. Even if the allegations were true [Just, “ask anybody in the Department”]the language is rude, crude, and lewd.
Mr. Michael, this kind of post is beneath the dignity of a blog such as yours.
I do not care what her party affiliation is, or what platform she ran on, posting this kind of trashy rumor is the lowest form of cowardice. One could glean that the poster was a deputy, I do hope I am wrong on that, but if not, that deputy is too cowardly to arrest anyone outside of a nursing home resident.
Kip, I posted the comment because I do believe in freedom of speech, and I also believe in giving idiots enough rope to hang themselves with.
Either ILFD has this proof and is willing to own up to it (in his or her own name) or he/she is not. If not, then sit down, STFU, and let the woman do her job!