On Monday, a Prince George's County judge upheld the suspension of Forest Heights' mayor after determining the Forest Heights Town Council provided ample notice before relieving Andrea McCutcheon of her duties.

In a civil suit McCutcheon filed Jan. 31 against the town, she alleged her Jan. 19 suspension was not carried out with due process and also violated Maryland's Open Meetings Act because it came during a closed session that evening.

Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Nicholas E. Rattal ruled Monday that the Open Meetings Act allows councils to discuss personnel issues, such as the mayor's suspension, in a closed session and that the mayor had enough time to mount a defense: there were two weeks between her Jan. 19 preliminary suspension and a Feb. 2 evidentiary hearing.

McCutcheon declined comment after Monday's hearing. She is seeking a second term in the town's March 10 elections, when her suspension will end.

The council suspended McCutcheon after she and the town treasurer submitted a quarterly budget report three days late. The town charter requires the mayor to submit budget reports within 15 days of the end of each financial quarter. The suspension triggered a council-run investigation into the town's financial records that revealed the mayor allegedly signed employee bonus checks without the council's approval, among other charter violations.

Town attorney Kevin Best said he could "neither confirm nor deny" whether any criminal charges against McCutcheon are forthcoming, and none were listed against her Monday in Prince George's County District Court. Best declined additional comment Monday.

At a Feb. 7 court hearing, the mayor said her suspension is politically motivated and accused Councilwoman Jacqueline E. Goodall (Ward 1), who also is running for mayor, of conjuring up a controversy in order to influence the town's elections.

"The bottom line is, this was not to show what I did wrong but to smear my name," McCutcheon said Feb. 7.

Although the council unanimously approved McCutcheon's suspension, Goodall, who declined comment Monday, largely pioneered the suspension effort and served as the town's key witness. Goodall denied the mayor's accusation at the Feb. 7 court hearing.

Former mayors Myles Spires Jr. and his successor, Larry Stoner, also are running for mayor against Goodall and McCutcheon.

A debate is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 2 in the Forest Heights Municipal Building.

Spires was suspended of his mayoral duties in 2006 in a closed session amid allegations he misused and mishandled funds from the town, prompting the council to change its charter to limit the mayoral term to two years. He was cleared of the charges in March 2009.

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