The Montgomery County Planning Board voted to remove Gwen Wright as Planning Director, an unglorified but essential position to local commercial and residential development, on Friday afternoon during a closed meeting. The removal, which came just three months before Wright was poised to retire, is the latest controversy disrupting the board and Planning Department writ large.

Wright told the Washington Post and Bethesda Beat that the board fired her without cause. The board also voted to name Deputy Planning Director Tanya Stern acting director, after unanimously dismissing Wright. Chairperson, Casey Anderson, recused himself from the vote to dismiss Wright.

“I believe their main reason for dismissing me was that I supported Casey Anderson in a number of the difficulties that he’s recently been in,” Wright told the Post. Wright also said she sent an email to the Montgomery County Council to express her support for Anderson, who’s been involved in two recent scandals. Wright could not be reached for further comment.

The vote came one day after Wright defended Anderson amid a workplace scandal that made local headlines. WJLA obtained a confidential email accusing Anderson of inappropriate behavior that creates a “toxic misogynistic and hostile workplace.” Anderson denied the accusations, including raising his voice and using sexist language during a heated discussion. The email author’s name is redacted but government sources told WJLA the individual is Anderson’s number two, vice-chair Partap Verma. Wright told WJLA that she supports Anderson and that many of her 150 workers do too.

Wright’s termination appears to be related. Anderson tells DCist/WAMU via email: “I recused myself because the subject was whether to discipline Gwen Wright for defending me, so I felt that I had a conflict of interest that prevented me from participating in the meeting.”

DCist/WAMU reached out to Verma to learn why the board called for a vote to oust Wright, who has served as Planning Director since 2013 and had been with Alexandria’s Planning Department as well as the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission the two decades prior. Verma declined to explain the reason for the vote or the board members’ ultimate decision, telling DCist/WAMU over email: “Due to the ongoing investigation and the nature of the personnel action taken, the Board – including Chairman Anderson – have been advised by legal counsel to not comment on this matter. Any substantive comment to the media could result in further disruptions to the investigation and affect the integrity of the process.”

Anderson has also come under fire recently after a news investigation and report by the the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s Inspector General found he had drank and shared alcohol in his government office. One employee told the IG that they drank because they felt “self-pressure to participate to fit in.” There was no further evidence that people were coerced into drinking or that alcohol was consumed during working hours.

“Until recently I kept alcohol in the office and from time to time shared a drink with colleagues — at the end of the workday, after regular business hours,” Anderson said in a statement following the reports.

Montgomery County Council responded by docking four weeks of Anderson’s pay, and also docked one day of pay from any board member that accepted a drink.

Wright’s dismissal also comes at a time when the council considers Thrive Montgomery 2050, a framework that maps out land use for housing and economic development. Wright and Anderson have become partners in defending the plan against scrutiny from lawmakers. A preliminary racial equity analysis by the Office of Legislative Oversight said the initial plan may not address the county’s housing affordability crisis and could be to the detriment of residents of color. The plan is still under review from the council.