Editor’s Note: This story was originally published at 10:43 a.m. on Jan. 19. It was updated at 12:08 p.m. on Jan. 19 to include a quote from Reardon Sullivan.
The Montgomery County government was not involved in a decision to charge vendors of color lower rates than white vendors at a “comic con” style event this weekend at the Germantown Library, according to a county spokesperson.
The county Republican party had decried the pricing scheme as “discriminatory.” Asked about the MoComCon pricing at a news conference this week, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) registered surprise and called the rate structure “illegal.”
MoComCon is an “all day, all ages event celebrating all things comics, graphic novels, and fandoms,” according to its website. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library Montgomery County and programming will be held Saturday at both the Germantown branch of the Montgomery County Public Library system and the BlackRock Arts center.
The Washington Times first reported on Jan. 11 that the event was charging different rates for minority and non-minority vendors. The standard, listed as “regular” rate for a vendor to receive a table, tablecloth and two chair was listed at $275, or $325 with electricity access. But BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) owned businesses were eligible for a discount, at a rate of $225, or $250 with electricity access.
The vendor application is no longer available on the website.
“The disparate pricing on vendors that has occurred between the Friends of the Library Montgomery County, Inc. (FOLMC) and BlackRock Center for the Arts is not permitted. The County did not approve nor condoned this decision,” Scott Peterson, manager of media relations and communication strategies for Montgomery County, wrote in a statement to MoCo360 Thursday. “FOLMC corrected the situation as soon as they were made aware by the Montgomery County Public Libraries.”
Montgomery County officials, including Elrich promoted the event in a news release, which is being held at a county public library. But, Peterson said, it is not a government sponsored event. Friends of the Library Montgomery County is considered a private entity.
Dennis Melby, chairman of the Montgomery County GOP central committee, told MoCo360 in an email that he was glad the rates had been changed back to one standard rate.
“Of course treating different races differently is wrong. Perhaps MoCo resident and great Republican Chief Justice John Roberts said it best – The best way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race,” Melby wrote. “I’m glad that because of Press attention these folks have come to their senses. It’s not the way most MoCo residents expect to be treated.”
Ari Brooks, executive director of the library group, told MoCo360 that the practice was initially intended to promote inclusivity at the event, and that the MCPL director later informed her it was not permitted.
“Our efforts to support MCPL’s goals for promoting inclusivity inspired our initial pricing and, under updated county advisement, the vendor pricing has been adjusted,” Brooks wrote in an email to MoCo360.
At a press briefing Wednesday, Elrich said he was not familiar with the vendor pricing discrepancy.
“If they’re doing it, I can’t see how that’s not illegal. We’re pretty clear that we don’t have different rates for different races,” Elrich said.
Reardon Sullivan, former Montgomery County GOP chairman and 2022 Republican nominee for county executive, told MoCo360 he felt the county government, specifically Elrich, should still take responsibility for what happened since the county promoted the event.
“I ask you what would happen if this situation were reversed … if the pricing had Blacks and minorities paying more, the media would be up in arms,” Sullivan wrote in an email to MoCo360. “Pricing by race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation is just plain wrong. Marc Elrich and his administration need to step up, admit their mistake and change the policy.”
The Montgomery County GOP was one of the first to decry the disparate prices, taking out a sponsored Facebook post to promote The Washington Times article and writing about it in the party’s Jan. 15 newsletter.
“Recently, Montgomery County has taken DEI to the extreme and is charging vendors different prices based on race and gender, with the highest prices reserved for White men. Clearly the pendulum has swung to the other side,” the Facebook post says. “It is truly insulting to assume that a person that is black or a woman is automatically disadvantaged … Any event or activity featuring gender or race-based pricing is discriminatory and potentially illegal.”