La Plata’s mayor quits, cites ‘politics’

Ambrogio tells crowd at concert his term is over

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008

Ambrogio, who was elected three years ago as the town’s mayor and served four years as a councilman prior to that, said Saturday that he was disillusioned with the ‘‘politics” of the mayoral position and that he felt that he could no longer carry out what he felt are the wishes of the town’s residents.

‘‘This has been building for awhile,” he said. ‘‘When I look back over my term as mayor the record speaks for itself. It was hard to reach any consensus on any decisions that were made. There was a level of incompatibility between myself and the council.”

Ambrogio said that he did not warn his fellow council members or Town Manager Daniel Mears that he was going to announce his resignation during Friday night’s concert.

‘‘I work for the citizens of La Plata; they put me in office,” he said. ‘‘I go to the concerts all of the time and I’ve built up a rapport with people. I felt that it was the best place to do it.”

After the mayor announced his resignation, he got in his car and drove away.

Ward 1 Councilman Jim Goldsmith was at the concert.

‘‘It was a shock to everybody,” he said Saturday. ‘‘I was very surprised. It certainly wasn’t the proper venue for it.”

Ward 2 Councilman Scot Lucas heard about Ambrogio’s resignation from a Maryland Independent reporter Friday night. Lucas called Mears to let him know about the situation and then called a meeting with his fellow councilman at the town hall.

‘‘This has taken all of us totally by surprise,” he said Friday night. ‘‘We’ll call an emergency meeting as soon as possible to resolve this issue.”

Ambrogio stated in a letter of resignation that he handed to a town employee following his announcement during the concert that he was disappointed in the political process in town.

‘‘I have been faithful to my campaign promises by serving the citizens of La Plata to the best of my ability by keeping their interests at the forefront of my decisions,” he said in the letter. ‘‘I have not allowed my personal opinions and interests to affect my positions and votes, but have always put the people first. ... Unfortunately, during the past three years as mayor, my eyes have been opened to the realities of politics and it is a very disappointing picture. I no longer want to spend my time and energy in an environment that is counterproductive.”

It is unclear whether last Thursday’s meeting with the town’s ethics commission weighed heavily in Ambrogio’s decision to resign. He filed a complaint with the commission a couple of weeks ago that claimed Lucas should be barred from participating in the review and decision process of a proposed annexation because he is planning to open a Quizno’s Sub Sandwich Shop in Rosewick Crossing. The shopping center is located across Rosewick Road from the parcel that is being proposed for annexation.

The Faison development company is building both the Rosewick Crossing and La Plata Crossing shopping centers. The developers want to annex into town about 15 acres now occupied by Mitchell Supply Co. so that the land can be included in the La Plata Crossing center.

The ethics commission meeting was closed to the public, and the three members of the board are expected to make a ruling on the ethics violation charge in about a week, Lucas said.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Paddy Mudd, who was barred from the ethics commission meeting last week along with other council members and Faison representatives, said Ambrogio has always fought against the tide in most of the major decisions facing the town during the past three years.

‘‘I believe that Gene quit rather than resigned on the day following the town’s first-ever ethics hearing which he initiated at great expense to the taxpayers of the town,” she said Saturday. ‘‘Since his election in 2001 ... he has been a fence-sitter on all major issues. He listened much too often to the loud vocal minority and not to the majority and professionals on the issues.”

But, Ambrogio said the ethics issue was just the last straw in a long line of problems he has dealt with since being elected mayor.

‘‘I guess the ethics thing was the icing on the cake, but ultimately I feel that it’s just time for me to step aside and let the remainder of the council go on with business,” he said. ‘‘They’ve been proceeding anyway without any input from me.”

Ambrogio ran his mayoral campaign in 2005 on the issue of slowing down growth in La Plata. He stated often before the election that he would not approve any annexations in town until all of the available land in La Plata was developed.

‘‘I ran my campaign on a platform of limiting growth and annexations in town,” he said. ‘‘I believed that we should deal with what we have in town now. I feel that the council is going the other way. I feel that I’m not being effective and that the council should find someone for mayor who is more in line with their way of thinking.

‘‘There was always a frustration factor,” he added. ‘‘I always felt that the council had an underlying distrust of me. There was never a meeting of the minds on some major growth issues.”

Ward 4 Councilman Vic Newman said that it is not true that the council does not have the town residents’ best interest at heart.

‘‘The council’s first priority is to the people of this town,” he said Saturday. ‘‘What he is saying is totally untrue. The town’s growing, and we have to follow certain rules and regulations. We always try to keep development as nice as possible in town.”

Mears said Monday that the town council will continue to operate without a mayor until the vacancy is filled by a majority vote of the council members. Ambrogio’s term expires May 2009.

No date has been set yet for the council to elect someone to fill Ambrogio’s seat, Mears said, adding that the council still has a quorum to continue to do business until someone is elected to fill the vacancy.

A special meeting to elect a replacement could be called for the Aug. 12 work session, Mears said, adding that if that is the case the special session announcement will be on the council’s agenda.

The council can choose to elect a council member to replace Ambrogio, Mears said. If that is the case, the council would have to elect someone to fill the empty council seat.

Mears said that the town will continue to operate smoothly despite the absence of a mayor.

‘‘The business of town will still continue even though the council is down a member,” he said.

Ambrogio’s photograph and contact information have been deleted from the town’s Web site. Next to the word ‘‘mayor” it reads ‘‘vacant.”

Council members agreed that town operations will not be impacted by Ambrogio’s departure.

‘‘I’m sorry that Gene is leaving in this manner, but we’ll continue to function as a town,” Goldsmith said.

‘‘It’s unfortunate that he quit, but you win some and you lose some,” Newman said. ‘‘Gene’s heart was in it, but he has a hard time when things don’t go his way.

‘‘We’re going to resolve this as soon as possible so that we can continue as usual,” he said. ‘‘We need to keep going.”

Mudd said that she would like to see someone who is not serving on the council fill the mayoral seat for the next nine months.

‘‘We have to move on in the best interests of the town,” she said. ‘‘I believe that the council should appoint an elder statesman who has the knowledge [to act as mayor], but has no intention of running for mayor in 2009 to the position.”

Relief was very evident in Ambrogio’s voice as he spoke about his resignation and his plans for the future. He did not discount the possibility of running for an elected seat again.

‘‘Right now I’m just going to relax and spend some time with my grandchildren,” he said. ‘‘I’ve learned to never say never. Who knows what the future holds, but right now, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. I’m spending an enormous amount of time and energy and ultimately coming out on the short end of the stick. I tried my best, but overall, I just can’t see any way to make this better. I stuck to my campaign promises. I feel that I held up my end of the bargain.”