In anticipation of a lawsuit from former council member Dion Guthrie, who was removed from his post after pleading no contest to a felony theft charge last week, the Harford County Council approved the hiring of external lawyers Tuesday night.

A motion to retain Rifkin Weiner Livingston, LLC — a law firm that specializes in government relations, operations and procedure — to represent the county council passed with five affirmative votes.

Council member James Reilly was the only council member to cast a dissenting vote, calling the retention a “blank check.”

“I don’t understand why we are getting outside counsel when we haven’t even been sued,” Reilly said. “I think it is just a blank check for this council and we don’t need a blank check when we aren’t even being sued.”

Council President Patrick Vincenti said during the meeting that based on a letter from Guthrie and his “comments in the media,” the council has reason to believe a lawsuit is forthcoming.

“Council has an established relationship with this firm and has full confidence in their ability to represent the council and all of its members,” Vincenti said.

Guthrie’s black-and-white nameplate, which had a place on the dais for more than a decade, was removed Tuesday night. A silver bar with a small square outline of removed adhesive was all that remained in front of his empty seat.

The 86-year-old Democratic council member was removed last week because of his plea to a felony theft charge based on allegations that he stole between $5,000 and $25,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 1501 in Baltimore County between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2021.

The former president and business manager of the union local entered a plea of nolo contendere, which acknowledges that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict him without admitting guilt, to felony theft.

Baltimore County Judge Dennis M. Robinson Jr. accepted Guthrie’s plea then struck the guilty finding and granted him probation before judgment, citing Guthrie’s age and lack of a criminal record. He will serve one year of unsupervised probation.

Hours after Guthrie submitted his plea, Council Attorney Meaghan Alegi sent Guthrie a letter saying “effective immediately,” he was to be removed from his position on the council and his seat was to be deemed vacant.

The letter cited a portion of the state constitution that dictates “any elected official of the state or of a county … who during the elected official’s term of office entered a guilty plea or a plea of nolo contendere to any crime which is a felony or which is a misdemeanor related to the elected official’s public duties and responsibilities and involves moral turpitude … shall be removed from the elective office by operation of law and the office shall be deemed vacant.”

She said in the letter that Guthrie must turn in his county-issued work phone, badge and other county property.

In a Saturday email to The Aegis, Guthrie said Alegi had “no authority to write such a letter” and said Alegi “should be fired,” as only the county executive has the authority to remove someone from the council. In a separate email, Guthrie wrote: “FYI. I will sue if necessary.”

Guthrie’s comments were called preposterous, unwarranted and “outright unacceptable” by Vincenti who, in a statement, said he is “deeply disheartened” by Guthrie’s actions.

“Mrs. Alegi has continued to follow the letter of the law, as laid out by the State Constitution — with the utmost professionalism,” Vincenti wrote. “Mr. Guthrie’s threat to file suit against the Harford County Council has no basis as the Maryland State Constitution is very clear on this matter.”

Guthrie and his attorney, Domenic Iamele, argue that his removal is invalid because he was given probation before judgment and was not convicted.

“In Mr. Guthrie’s case, the grant of Probation Before Judgement required the court to strike the conviction and further required Mr. Guthrie affirmatively agreed that there was no conviction to appeal,” Iamele wrote in the letter to Alegi.

Iamele also cited the state constitution’s position on the event of an overturned or reversed finding of guilt of an elected official. If a reversal or overturn occurs, an elected official shall be reinstated by operation of law to finish their term, according to the constitution.

Iamele said because Guthrie did not admit guilt, the outcome was identical to a reversal of conviction.

The Harford County Democratic Central Committee is beginning the process to fill Guthrie’s vacancy. As of Wednesday morning, Guthrie had not formally filed a lawsuit against the Harford County Council.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at 443-651-0101, mhubbard@baltsun.com or @mthubb on X.