New Carrollton council to vote on removal of mayor over allegations she violated hiring freeze
New Carrollton Mayor Phelecia Nembhard
NEW CARROLLTON, Md. - The New Carrollton City Council will vote Wednesday on whether to remove its mayor from office over allegations that she hired staff during a hiring freeze.
What we know:
Mayor Phelecia Nembhard is the city's first African American, first Caribbean American and first female mayor.
She served as the council chair from 2018 to 2020 and was elected as mayor in 2020 and re-elected in 2025.
Nembhard is accused of hiring two former employees back to the city in different roles.
According to councilmember Braina Urbina, the city was under a hiring freeze at the time of the alleged hirings. Anyone who wanted to hire someone during that time was directed to ask the council for permission; something the mayor did not do.
"The allegation is that she hired people despite that," said Urbina. "It's alleged she attempted to intimidate the staff and the only reason these people weren't given any keys is because the city manager chose to resign, and the city manager resigned because she believed this action was unlawful and tried to warn the mayor."
FOX 5 reached out to the mayor's office for comment, but has not heard back.
What's next:
Mayor Nembhard is expected to speak Wednesday night and defend herself ahead of the council vote. She will have 10 minutes to address the council, and each member will have five minutes to talk before public comment begins.
One councilmember said if the mayor is voted out of power, the mayor pro tem would take over and there would be a special election within 60 days.
The Source: Information in this article is from New Carrollton City Council members.