Former St. Mary’s County Commissioner John E. O’Connor pleaded guilty Aug. 11 to two misdemeanor counts of willfully filing false Maryland tax returns, for tax years 2023 and 2024, in a case brought by the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, 2027. O’Connor is the Republican nominee for the District 3 County Commissioner seat, running unopposed in the June 2026 GOP primary.
The plea prompted an open letter from the St. Mary’s County Democratic Central Committee to its Republican counterpart, calling for the party to press O’Connor to withdraw from the race. Committee Chair Mike Bellis confirmed the letter reflects an official Committee position: members reviewed it, provided input and agreed to its release. Asked about the Committee’s standard for such calls, Bellis said the Committee has no blanket rule that any criminal charge or conviction should prompt a withdrawal call, and that circumstances matter.
“There is a meaningful distinction between an allegation and an admission of guilt,” he said, adding that conduct involving intentional financial dishonesty raises questions about public trust for someone seeking county office. Bellis said the Committee is not aware of a comparable case involving a local Democratic candidate and declined to speculate about hypothetical situations, and said whether O’Connor was opposed or unopposed had no bearing on the Committee’s decision to send the letter.
The St. Mary’s County Republican Central Committee, asked for its response to the letter and its position on O’Connor’s candidacy, said through Secretary Jennifer Boyd that “the Republican Central Committee has no comment” at this time, and that it would provide an update if that changes.
St. Mary’s County government referred questions about candidate eligibility to the Maryland State Board of Elections, saying the matter falls outside county government’s role. Deputy County Administrator David Yingling said in a written response that “this is not a matter currently under the purview of the CSMC,” referring to the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, and forwarded a reporter’s contact information to individual commissioners in case any wished to comment in a personal capacity as candidates or officeholders. No individual commissioner had responded as of publication.
Separately, the shape of the District 3 race has changed. Sitting Commissioner Mike Alderson Jr., first elected to the seat in 2022 as a Republican, has qualified for the November general election ballot as an independent candidate for the same seat O’Connor is seeking. Alderson switched his party registration to independent in 2023 after a federal job change — he was hired by the U.S. Government Publishing Office following a reduction in force at his prior position — which the Office of Special Counsel determined required the change under the Hatch Act. To appear on the ballot as an independent, Alderson was required to submit at least 1,000 valid voter signatures; he submitted 1,038 signatures on Aug. 3, and the St. Mary’s County Board of Elections certified 909 of them as valid on Aug. 7, clearing the required threshold. That means O’Connor, while unopposed in his own party’s primary, will face Alderson in the November general election for the District 3 seat.
O’Connor has said in a public statement that he “failed to report certain income properly” and has taken responsibility for it, adding that he has filed amended tax returns that he expects will show he owes no additional tax beyond what he has already paid. He has said he intends to remain in the race.
