Ethics complaint over Howard County’s IG search dismissed

The Howard County Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint alleging a conflict of interest in the search for the county’s first inspector general.

The dismissal follows the commission’s investigation into Steve Quisenberry and his role on Howard’s Inspector General Advisory Board, which last fall selected his boss, Kelly Madigan, for the county’s watchdog job from a pool of more than 50 applicants.

Quisenberry said Monday that he was happy with the outcome of the investigation. He remains on the Howard board, but said he and his wife are planning to move out of the state in June, when he plans to retire.

“It’s what I expected and I am looking forward to the board being able to focus on the important work they’ve been tasked with doing,” he said.

Madigan started with Howard County in January after leaving her position as the first-ever inspector general in Baltimore County, where Quisenberry worked as her deputy. Before making the switch, Madigan tapped Quisenberry to serve as Baltimore County’s acting inspector general — a move some officials said she did not have the authority to make. He remains in the role.

Attorney Tonya Baña in January filed the 19-page ethics complaint in Howard County on behalf of another member of the advisory board, whom she declined to name. The complaint claimed Quisenberry actively participated in and substantially affected the outcome of the board’s deliberations.

Baña declined to comment on the outcome of the commission’s investigation.

David Salem, the chair of Howard’s Inspector General Advisory Board, said Monday that the seven-member group asked an attorney from the county’s law office to attend its meetings leading up to Madigan’s hiring. They followed the attorney’s advice that Quisenberry should recuse himself from discussions, interviews and votes concerning Madigan’s selection, Salem said.

“We believe the complaint had no merit,” Salem said. “We are grateful to the commission for its thorough investigation and pleased at the complete exoneration of Mr. Quisenberry’s conduct.”

Amid the ethics investigation, Madigan moved forward with setting up the new office for Howard County, where voters overwhelmingly approved a measure for a watchdog position aimed at rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government.

Madigan said Monday she is “grateful that the complaint was dismissed and I can continue to focus on the important work of establishing Howard County’s first Office of the Inspector General.”