From a public Nextdoor post by "Barbara S." of Wheaton Park:
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| Councilmember Fani-Gonzalez |
I just sent a thank you e-mail to the office of Natalie Fani-Gonzales [sic] via one employee of hers named Hazel for helping us to have a $300.00 school bus camera fine dismissed, so you will know who to contact if something like this happens to you. She is our ward 8 representative. You would have to contact the representative in your ward. [Editor's note: Natali Fani-Gonzelez is actually a Montgomery Council Council member. There are no "wards" in Montgomery County.]
Early in October 2024, my husband stopped behind a school bus without a stop sign out and the bus driver waved him on, but the stop sign popped out as soon as he passed and a week later we got a $300.00 ticket in the mail.
I requested a court date, which was finally scheduled for this coming Wednesday at 1:00 P.M. I waited for the court date so I could try to find out who the bus driver was and subpoena him. I spent an hour and a half in several offices at the court house getting help navigating the automated phone system of the school bus camera company and getting different phone numbers to try to talk to someone.
I then made dozens of phone calls over a period of these last 3 weeks to the school bus camera people, Montgomery County Schools and the police. The school headquarters told me to call their transportation dept. The transportation dept told me to call the police and the police would call them and give them permission to reveal who the bus driver was.
The person at the transportation department had no idea how that process worked and neither did the person at the non-emergency number of the police. The man who answered the non-emergency # transferred me to the records dept and the records dept lady led me to file a request for the record on line. I finally, after several phone calls to a lady there who was trying to help me, received an answer saying they had no record and I had to call the school system.
I went back and forth between the police dept and the school system's transportation department many times as people in both of those places were trying to help me, but could not.
Since I had probably spent about 40 hours of my time being passed from one office to another, to no avail, I contacted Natalie Fani-Gonzales' office and she said she would contact the police and I should hear from them the next day. I had heard nothing after a week, so I contacted Ms Fani-Gonzales' office again and a lady named Hazel apologized that it was taking so long, but said they were having technical problems dismissing the case because a hearing was pending.
I had resigned myself to having to go to court this Wednesday at 1:00 P.M.,but I found a letter in our mailbox this morning dismissing the case. What a relief after having this hanging over our heads for 11 months, because it took that long to get a court date.
I had also alerted Hazel to the fact that my husband was in the middle lane and there was a car on each side of him that also passed the bus driver in the same incident because he waved them on, so they must also have received tickets. I don't know if they had contacted Ms Fani Gonazles' office or not, but maybe it was my telling her about them that got their tickets dismissed too. I doubt that most people would have known what to do or even had the time.
It would have cost anyone who had to take time off work to do what I did more than the $300.00 fine, and they would have just paid it. I am thankful that my husband works and lets me stay home to manage the household and any problem like this that crops up.
There are no lawyers who will accept school bus camera cases because once the bus camera has a picture of your car passing a school bus with it's camera out, you are presumed guilty.
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PCMC analysis
County Councilmembers are supposed to make laws, not decide who wins or loses in court. When a councilmember steps in to get a ticket dismissed, that’s more than bending the rules—it may be illegal.
Maryland’s Constitution (Article 8 of the Declaration of Rights) makes the separation of powers crystal clear: legislative, executive, and judicial powers “ought to be forever separate and distinct.” If a legislator interferes in a pending case, they’re crossing into judicial territory.
There’s also the issue of misconduct in office, which Maryland recognizes as a common-law misdemeanor. Courts define it as corrupt or improper behavior by a public officer while using their position. To prove misconduct, the State must show:
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the person is a public officer,
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they acted in their official capacity, and
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they acted corruptly or improperly.
If a councilmember uses their influence to pressure police or prosecutors into dismissing a case that’s already scheduled for court, that could fit the definition. Beyond the legal problem, it undermines fairness. Most people don’t have a politician to call to make their cases disappear. Justice should be based on law and evidence—not political favors.
