Council President Corey Pack said he was “very heartbroken” by the county council’s recent 3-2 vote against removing a monument to rebel soldiers from the courthouse grounds.
Pack, speaking Sunday night on the “A Miner Detail” podcast hosted by Ryan Miner, said he and Councilman Pete Lesher introduced several amendments to Resolution 290 in an effort to get the third vote for removal from Councilman Frank Divilio, serving his first term on the council.
“I was hoping, I was hoping, that we would have that third vote to remove the statue,” he said.
Divilio voted Aug. 14 with Council Vice President Chuck Callahan and Councilwoman Laura Price against Resolution 290, which would have removed the monument from its prominent position outside the entrance to the Talbot County Court House, which contains the Talbot County Circuit Court, county council chambers, register of wills, among other offices.
The monument has a statue of a young flag bearer carrying the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia atop a base with the names of more than 80 men with Talbot County connections who fought against the United States of America during the Civil War.
Pack had previously joined Callahan and Price in voting against the statue’s removal when local residents and organizations pushed for that after the Charleston, S.C., church shooting in 2015 and the Charlottesville, Va., protests involving white supremacists in 2017 in which a counter-protester was killed by a man who drive into a crowd.
He has said he was wrong and has apologized for previously voting in favor of keeping the statue on the courthouse grounds.
“To a lot of Americans, to a lot of Talbot Countians, these statues, these monuments, romanticize or, if you would, promote a lifestyle or a cause that is no longer looked upon by many Americans as one that we should hold in so high esteem,” Pack said on the podcast.
He said the Talbot rebels fought for “a wrong cause” and the statue should be moved to a museum, historical society, or a cemetery, and not remain on public land in front of the courthouse.
The monument is the last Confederate monument on public land in Maryland.
Joining Pack on the podcast were Len Foxwell, chief of staff to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot; Wini Roche, president of Roche & Associates and the former executive director of the Maryland Tourism Coalition; Mark J. McLaurin, director of political and legislative affairs for the Service Employees International Union Local 500; and Richard DeShay Elliott, Maryland progressive activist and candidate for state delegate in Prince George’s County.
Willard Engelskirchen says
Has anyone else noted that the 3 votes against moving the monument to a more appropriate place were all cast by Republicans? Sorry to see the politicization of an issue like this but such is life today.
Mike McCarthy says
And the 2 who voted to remove were Democrats. What is your point?
John Griep says
Talbot County Council President Corey Pack is a Republican.
Patricia Lynch says
We don’t romanticize about slavery. Packs just bitter he didn’t get his way. Put it to a vote by the people not by just the board. Let we the people have our say. History is history good or bad. Why do the Holocaust camps still stand? Because German people want to romanticize Hitler or to remember to never let that horror return again. It’s a warning to the modern world.
Sean Hickey says
Why should such a sensitive decision be made by five council people when their decisions can be manipulated by amendments as admitted by Pack and Lesher’s attempts on Divilio.
I would also like to hear a clear, rational reckoning for Pack’s recent “change of heart” regarding George Floyd. What is the logical connection between Floyd and the Talbot Boys statue? More likely, Pack has been enticed to change his position per political pressure and not a logical and factual assessment of current events.
We need rational leadership, not knee jerk, “change of heart” leadership.
EC says
There will be a lot of people deciding to vote quite differently for town council members at the next opportunity. So disappointed at this town council vote.
Connie Sheer says
By his words and actions, Len Foxwell is working hard to divide the residents of Talbot County AND make Talbot County look bad in other areas of Maryland as well as other areas of the country that consider Talbot County a tourist destination. Most recently, Foxwell promoted a podcast with outsiders from Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Harford County and Baltimore to advance Foxwell’s opinion that not removing a statue that has stood for years is somehow a reason for out of town visitors to avoid Talbot County. At a time when our businesses and tourism industry are hurting badly from the effects of Covid-19 why is Foxwell focusing on statues and disparaging local officials who don’t happen to agree with him? His thinly disguised agenda is to advance the political fortunes of future progressive candidates to challenge local incombent Republican office holders and candidates. Suggestion to Foxwell – focus on your very well- paying state government day job paid for by the taxpayers and support efforts to allow for a referendum so citizens of Talbot County ( the people who actually live here) can vote and decide for themselves the fate of the statue
James Brennan says
Thanks for the article and for posting the Ryan Miner Podcast.
In the interest of all the citizens of Talbot County, the statue commemorating a failed armed rebellion against the United States must be removed immediately. The statue celebrates some really bad decisions made by our Residents in the 1860’s and in the 1910’s. We must do better.
Anne Stalfort says
I too am heartbroken that the majority of the County Council voted to keep The Talbot Boys on the grounds of the Courthouse. This decision continues to be a stain on Easton and Talbot County. How embarrassing to be the only county in Maryland that still has a confederate statue on public grounds.
I for one would never vote for a candidate who chose a confederate statue and all it stands for over the importance of demonstrating that our county believes in equality for all in word and deed.