Ethics complaint over Howard County Council member’s community center scrutiny dismissed

The Howard County Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint alleging that a Howard County Council member’s scrutiny of a planned community center in Columbia was driven by her campaign for county executive.

Last month, Brian Kim, developer of The Source, accused County Council member Deb Jung of violating county ethics rules by questioning the project’s funding in an effort to boost her campaign.

Kim filed the complaint June 10, the day before early voting began for last month’s primary election. Jung finished second, garnering 22% of the vote, compared with Vanessa Atterbeary, who secured the Democratic nomination with nearly 55%.

Jung said in a statement that she’s “pleased, but not surprised” that the ethics complaint was dismissed last week.

According to Jung, the Ethics Commission said in its letter of dismissal: “After consideration of the Complaint, due to lack of facts stating whether there was any actual economic gain, the Ethics Commission dismissed the Complaint.”

In his complaint, Kim suggested that Jung’s scrutiny of a planned community center was not driven by routine oversight concerns but by resentment that the project’s board members had donated to Atterbeary. He also alleged that Jung timed her public raising of the issue to maximize election-season visibility.

Kim plans to build a community center called The Source to replace the former Columbia Flier building along Little Patuxent Parkway. Its development has been in the works since 2023, when the county approved an ambitious proposal for a public-private partnership to convert the Flier building into a community center and hub for recreational, health and social services.

Kim, with county financial support, would redevelop the building, which then would be managed by a nonprofit board of directors and leased to Columbia Community Care as its headquarters.

The county awarded Columbia Community Concepts, the nonprofit managing the project, two grants totaling $25 million in 2025 and 2026. About $12.2 million of the awarded funds has been spent so far.

Jung, who once supported the project, began raising questions about it in mid-May. She said last month that she wanted more information about how county money was used and the plan for the facility.

Christopher DeCarlo, an attorney representing Kim, did not respond immediately Wednesday to a request for comment.

Jung said that ethics complaints should not be pursued to prevent appointed or elected officials from performing oversight obligations or asking tough questions.

“The quick dismissal of the complaint itself is evidence of its lack of merit from the outset,” Jung said.

To prevent any “frivolous or politically motivated complaints” from being filed in the future, Jung urged the commission to consider changing its policies.

Banner reporter Lillian Reed contributed to this story.