WASHINGTON — An interim Washington County commissioner may be in for a tough confirmation process after he made a comment derogatory to women and shared a seemingly racist Facebook post.
Earlier this week, The Herald Mail reports, Vincent G. “Woody” Spong shared a post on his personal Facebook page depicting the character Buckwheat from “The Little Rascals” and reading that the character “has converted to the Muslim faith and changed his name to ‘Kareem of Wheat.’ Let’s just hope that he doesn’t become a cereal killer …”
Maryland blogger Ryan Miner first posted two articles on the Facebook post, which was later deleted. The Herald Mail says that when asked him about it, Spong said, “there’s nothing racist about it.”
During a meeting last month, says Donna Brightman, the president of the county’s Board of Education, Spong compared “facts” to “whores” while discussing the school system’s budget. Spong told The Herald Mail, of Hagerstown, that he didn’t use the word “whore,” but acknowledges using a similar term.
Spong was named to the county board of commissioners last year by the county’s Republican Central Committee to fill the slot vacated by William J. Wivell when Wivell was appointed to the House of Delegates, The Baltimore Sun reports.
While the committee could name Spong on an interim basis because the seat was vacated by a fellow Republican, Spong still faces a Senate confirmation, The Sun says.
Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate’s Executive Nominations Committee, told The Sun that senators from both parties have expressed concerns about the comments, and that nominees have been rejected for “less egregious” conduct than that of which Spong is accused.
Sens. George C. Edwards and Andrew A. Serafini, both Republicans whose districts include Washington County, said in a statement: “While Mr. Spong has made valuable contributions to Washington County as an educator and community leader, his course of conduct over the past eight months raises concerns that will be considered by the Senate Executive Nominations Committee.”
The Herald Mail says it’s not known when the committee, or the full Senate, will vote on Spong’s confirmation.
