Former Harford County Council member Dion Guthrie has asked the Supreme Court of Maryland to review rulings from Harford County Circuit Court that have prevented him from regaining his seat on the council following his plea of no contest to felony theft charges last year.

Guthrie, 86, of Joppatowne, was serving as a council member when he was charged with felony theft last year in Baltimore County. He was accused of stealing between $5,000 and $25,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 1501 in Cockeysville between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2021. Guthrie paid more than $23,000 in restitution.

The Democrat was removed from his seat on Nov. 21 by the County Council, which cited the state constitution’s requirement that elected officials be removed from office if they are convicted of or plead no contest to a felony.

Guthrie and his attorney, former state Attorney General Douglas Gansler, submitted the request to the Supreme Court of Maryland Tuesday evening. The request follows two lawsuits Guthrie submitted that aimed to reseat him on the council and bar the council from filling his vacant position.

Both lawsuits were denied, and the case was ultimately dismissed by Harford County Circuit Judge Yolanda L. Curtin. 

Throughout the case, Guthrie and Gansler have said that Guthrie did not admit guilt and did not submit the no contest plea to the felony charge. They cite a portion of a Baltimore County Circuit Court transcript in which Judge Dennis Robinson “threw out” Guthrie’s opportunity to submit a plea along with the guilty verdict — citing Guthrie’s clean record and decades of public service.

Curtin ruled that what Robinson said was a “slip of the tongue” and said the full transcript of the hearing shows that Guthrie intended to submit a plea of no contest, which led to his removal from the council.

Guthrie’s District A seat representing Edgewood and Joppatowne has since been filled by Nolanda Robert who was nominated  by the Harford Democratic Central Committee and appointed by the council Jan. 7.

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