Annapolis Capital Punishment

The Capital reports that Alderperson Classie Hoyle and her husband have been cited by the MD Dep’t of the Environment for lead paint violations in rental property they own in Baltimore. Their lawyer Benjamin Wechsler says, “This really is a private matter for the Hoyles.”

CP is not so certain it is just a private matter.

First of all, did she and her husband violate the law? Whenever you buy a property you have to be made aware of and sometimes fill out papers concerning lead paint issues, and you can easily have this checked out. Could they have been ignorant of such laws and unaware of their violations? Possibly, but not likely. According to The Capital, they are appealing the MDE complaint.

Were they indifferent to the law and the safety of their tenants? Possibly. What concerns CP is that the Hoyles were not quoted in the article, but apparently, and CP says apparently, referred questions to their lawyer. Alderperson Hoyle, who received large sums of contributions from a host of real estate developers in her unsuccessful 2006 campaign for County Council should come clean with everyone, including the MDE, her tenants and her constituents. Whatever the facts of the case may be, we deserve to have elected officials that are in compliance with the law, whether they be wealthy investors, middle class workers or destitute. And we certainly want to know if our elected officials are accepting money from deep pocket developers and realtors with one hand and acting as slumlords with the other hand. Classie, come clean with this story and tell us what is going on. Above all else, don’t paint over this one. Scrape and remove the lead and make sure your property is in compliance with the law. CP wonders why she would choose to invest in Baltimore rather than in Annapolis where she could be using her dollars to help build our community and where she would be certain to comply with the law--yes?