Saint Mary's County Republican committee holds public interviews to recommend replacements for District 29C seat

The Saint Mary's County Republican Central Committee convened a public hearing to interview candidates and assemble a list of names to send to the governor to fill the District 29C legislative vacancy created when Delegate Tony O’Donnell was appointed to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Committee chair Julie Burke Greer opened the evening and described the committee’s duty: “This is a responsibility that we take very seriously,” she said, explaining that the panel evaluates application packages and conducts timed interviews before sending recommended names to the governor.

The committee received nine applications, excluded one applicant for incomplete paperwork and scheduled a series of 14‑minute interviews for the remaining hopefuls. Each interview followed a standard format: a two‑minute opening statement, a 10‑minute question‑and‑answer period and a two‑minute closing statement. The order was set by lottery, with an accommodation that allowed a sitting committee member who applied to go first and then observe the other interviews before voting with the committee on Saturday.

Candidates repeatedly raised three themes: transportation funding formulas, local tax relief for businesses and environmental/aquaculture issues. Several candidates urged repeal or revision of the state law that ties motor‑fuel taxes to the consumer price index; Greg Sautner, who identified himself as a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Navy pilot, said he would “continue Tony O’Donnell’s position of trying to repeal the law that connects the gas tax to the CPI.” Multiple candidates said they would support measures to protect local infrastructure, including replacement or maintenance of the Thomas Johnson Bridge and other road projects they said rural counties need to preserve economic competitiveness.

House Bill 0917 — identified in the interviews as the Saint Mary’s County Property Tax Credit — came up frequently. Candidates described the bill as a vehicle to allow the county to grant property‑tax credits to businesses; Barbara Thompson, a former county commissioner and current MedStar Saint Mary’s Hospital board chair, said she would back measures that lower business tax liability to encourage local economic development.

Environmental questions centered on aquaculture and Chesapeake Bay recovery. Several candidates, including Jerry Clark and others who cited prior regional environmental work, praised oyster aquaculture and said it could support bay recovery while sustaining local fisheries. One candidate, Donald R. Stautter Jr., stated sharply during questioning, “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant,” arguing environmental policy should rely on what he called “real science.” Jacinta Bottom Spencer, who addressed the committee at the start of the hearing and recited a series of religious quotations during her opening and closing remarks, said education, the environment and agriculture would guide her priorities if appointed: “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go prospering,” she said in her remarks.

Candidates commonly named the Environment and Transportation Committee as a preferred assignment, citing the district’s coastal geography, aquaculture concerns and energy facilities in the region. Other preferences included Economic Matters and Judiciary; several candidates said committee placement would guide how they pursue transportation, tax and public‑safety priorities in Annapolis.

Committee members also pressed candidates on electability and campaign logistics. Some asked whether an appointee could realistically fund and defend the seat in the 2018 election cycle, and one candidate described a plan to retire from federal employment in the first quarter of 2018 if appointed and then transition to a contractor role to avoid conflicts of interest.

The committee explained procedural safeguards after learning that a sitting member, Jacinta Bottom Spencer, had applied. The Maryland GOP parliamentarian reviewed the committee’s bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order and advised that while a member with a personal interest normally should abstain from voting, a member cannot be compelled to refrain; the committee said she did not participate in application review and would observe other interviews before casting her vote with the group.

No appointment was made at the hearing. Committee members told candidates and the audience that the panel will deliberate and vote Saturday on the names to forward to the governor’s office. The governor, not the committee, will make the final appointment.

Reported comments in this article come directly from the public hearing transcript and are attributed to named speakers in the committee record. No formal vote to fill the vacancy was recorded during the session.