Rob Slocum barred Sprecher from closed session commissioner meetings

Two sources inside Washington County government who read former Assistant Washington County Administrator Sarah Lankford Sprecher’s resignation letter told A Miner Detail that a section of Sprecher’s letter explicitly stated that Washington County Administrator Rob Slocum barred Sprecher from closed session commissioner meetings after she filed a complaint alleging that Commissioner LeRoy Myers sexually harassed her.

Sprecher notified Washington County’s Human Resources Department on the morning of Wednesday, September 6, with the intentions of immediately resigning.

County officials refuse to release Sprecher’s resignation letter because personnel records are considered confidential.

A Miner Detail’s request to obtain a copy of Sprecher’s letter was denied by county officials.

Sprecher’s attorney, Elias G. Saboura, said Sprecher’s decision to resign was because her workplace conditions had “become unbearable due to her complaint,” according to Herald-Mail Media.

Earlier this year, Sprecher accused Myers of “taking predatory and offensive sexual related actions” against her, stemming from a county business trip to Seoul, South Korea, that Sprecher, Myers and other county officials took part in last October.

Washington County government announced in a September 19 press release that no evidence of “unlawful conduct” was found in Sprecher’s complaint against Myers.

Two county commissioners later acknowledged that Myers did kiss Sprecher during the South Korea trip

The September 19 press release authorized by Slocum omitted mention of a violation of county policy – referring to Commissioner Myers kissing Sprecher – even after Cline notified Slocum before the release was made public.

Sources inside county government also told A Miner Detail that Slocum is actively targeting Cline and former Washington County Administrator Greg Murray both in private and among county staffers.

Slocum, accompanied by Commissioners President Terry Baker and Commissioner Wayne Keefer, met recently for a private, off-the-record meeting with Herald-Mail Media’s editorial board.

Slocum, Baker and Keefer refuse to provide comment to A Miner Detail.

About the Author

Ryan Miner
Ryan R. Miner, MBA is the founder, editor in chief, and senior reporter of A Miner Detail, the Maryland investigative journalism publication he launched in April 2015. He hosts the A Miner Detail Podcast, distributed across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and seven other platforms. A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Miner holds a B.A. in political science from Duquesne University (2008) and an MBA from Mount St. Mary's University (2020). He teaches at Frederick Community College. He is also the founder of Sentinel Silver, LLC, Maryland's first older adult technology institute, and the publisher of The Senior Soup, a Maryland senior advocacy platform. His longer story is at ryanrminer.com. Reach him at Ryan@AMinerDetail.com or (240) 244-7075.