A Harford County judge has denied a second request from former Harford County Council member Dion Guthrie to intervene and stop the County Council from filling his seat. A council vote is scheduled for tonight to fill the vacant District A 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.

Guthrie was removed Nov. 21 by the County Council, citing the state constitution, which requires the removal of elected officials who are 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 Harford County Council to fill the vacant District A seat. Council members met the three nominees last week and are slated to vote to choose a new member during the council’s legislative session tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Since Guthrie’s removal, he and his legal team have been working to reseat him, arguing that he did not enter the plea and that the guilty verdict in the case was “thrown out” by a Baltimore County judge due to Guthrie paying the restitution and not having a criminal record.

In December Guthrie launched a lawsuit against Council President Patrick Vincenti seeking a temporary restraining order. In the suit, Guthrie failed to submit the entire transcript from his Baltimore County 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.

Harford County Circuit Court Judge Yolanda Curtin denied the first lawsuit after a full transcript of Guthrie’s Baltimore County hearing was made 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 which she denied his first one.

“None of the plaintiff’s filings indicate that he withdrew his plea before the Circuit Court of Baltimore County nor that he filed any post-trial motion/appeals related to his nolo contendere plea,” Curtin wrote. “The plaintiff has not raised any meritorious claims that warrant this court to change its prior decision or to grant the Plaintiff’s second TRO request.”

Guthrie’s attorney Douglas Gansler declined to comment.

Both 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.

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