The Harford County Council on Tuesday night appointed Nolanda Robert to represent District A, filling the seat left vacant after Councilman Dion Guthrie was removed from his position late last year. .

Robert, a Democrat, ran against Guthrie and challenger Maryann Connaghan Forgan for the District A seat in the 2022 primary election. She lost to Guthrie by 352 votes.

Robert worked in the Cecil County court system for 18 years managing budgets that exceed $500,000. She now owns her own therapy business and said she has over 30 years of experience advocating for underserved communities.

“I am very excited and happy to be able to give back to the community and advocate for them with all of the needs I know they have as far as education, transportation and the environment,” Robert said. “I look forward to working with everyone and getting the job done.”

Robert also serves as vice chair of the Harford County Democrat Club, is a member of the Harford County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Advisory Council and is a board member of the Harford NAACP. She is also president of the Maryland chapter of the Association of the Family and Conciliation Courts and competed on Wheel of Fortune in 2023.

Robert was one of three candidates submitted by the Harford County Democratic Central Committee to the council for consideration to fill the Guthrie’s seat.

Guthrie, a 86-year-old Joppatowne native, had served several nonconsecutive terms on the council over 14 years when he was charged with felony theft last year. 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 has since paid more than $23,000 in restitution.

He was removed Nov. 21 by the council, citing the state constitution, which requires the removal of elected officials convicted of felonies or who plead nolo contendere. The plea acknowledges prosecutors have sufficient evidence to convict without admitting guilt.

Since Guthrie is a Democrat, the Harford County Democratic Central Committee was tasked with submitting at least three nominees to the council to fill the vacant District A seat.

Following his removal, Guthrie launched a lawsuit in December against Council President Patrick Vincenti seeking a temporary restraining order with the intention to be reseated on the council.

In the suit, Guthrie failed to submit the entire transcript from his Baltimore County felony theft hearing to the Harford County judge. The portion he submitted showed what the court called a “slip of the tongue” during which Judge Dennis Robinson seemingly struck Guthrie’s plea of nolo contendere.

The lawsuit was denied by Harford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda Curtin after a full transcript of Guthrie’s Baltimore County hearing was available. Curtin said in her analysis of the case that the moment Guthrie submitted his plea of nolo contendere, he was removed from the council under the Maryland State Constitution, and the court “does not have the legal authority to change what is required by the Maryland Constitution.”

Guthrie filed a second temporary restraining order against Vincenti last week, which aimed to stop the council from filling Guthrie’s District A seat. On Friday Curtin for a second time denied the restraining order, citing the same reasons for denying his first one.

Guthrie and Vincenti have requested a hearing for a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment, during which a judge will review arguments from both parties and either dismiss the case entirely or grant a judgment in favor of one party without a trial. A date for the hearing has not been scheduled.

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