The State House is reflected off the door to Prince George’s County government offices in Annapolis. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
The Prince George’s County Council has approved an expedited schedule for the special elections to replace former Council Member Jamel “Mel” Franklin, who was charged last week with multiple counts in what authorities said was a campaign theft scheme.
Under the schedule approved in a special meeting of the council Tuesday, would-be candidates will have until July 5 to file a certificate of candidacy with the Board of Elections to run in the special primary election that was set for Aug. 6. The winners of the primaries will face off in a general election to fill Franklin’s seat that will be held on Nov. 5, the same day as the presidential election.
The winner of the Aug. 6 Democratic primary is likely to win Franklin’s seat. Prince George’s County, a majority Black jurisdiction, is overwhelmingly Democratic, and the council has been an all-Democratic body for at least two decades.
Before he resigned on June 14, Franklin held an at-large seat, representing the entire county. Calvin Hawkins is the other at-large council member. There are two years left in Franklin’s current term.
Mel Franklin. Photo courtesy of Prince George’s County.
The special meeting took place in Ocean City, where the Maryland Municipal League is hosting its summer conference that ends Wednesday. Six members were present in person — Council Chair Jolene Ivey, Vice Chair Sydney Harrison, Hawkins and members Wanika Fisher, Eric Olson and Ingrid Watson — while Council Member Krystal Oriadha participated via video.
Council members Edward Burroughs III, Wala Blegay and Tom Dernoga were not present for the meeting.
The council members in attendance voted unanimously for the resolution setting the special election schedule.
Joanne Antoine, executive director at Common Cause Maryland, released a statement Tuesday that council should have provided advanced notice of the special meeting.
“A last-minute, late-summer election is not ideal, but mailing ballots with advance notice to the voter so they know a ballot is on the way can help prevent low turnout,” Antoine’s statement said.
“Mail-in ballots ensure that the election is accessible to those traveling, and is a secure and familiar means for voting for Marylanders. We urge the Council to amend the resolution to include mail-in voting and to work in consultation with the State Board of Elections,” her statement said.
Franklin had served 14 years on the council before resigning abruptly nearly two weeks ago. He represented a South County district from 2010 to 2018, when term limits forced him to run for the at-large seat. He won that year and was reelected in 2022 to a four-year term.
Less than a week after he resigned, charging documents filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court by Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said that Franklin embezzled more than $133,000 from his campaign account.
According to the documents, he used the Friends of Mel Franklin account to write checks and electronically transfer funds to pay for hotel stays, cosmetic procedures and oil changes to his car, among other expenses. From 2020 to last year, the then-council member embezzled $124,450.10 from the campaign account, according to the charging documents.
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