Repudiation or restoration?

Today was the special election in New York State to fill a Congressional seat vacated when Kirsten Gillibrand was elevated to fill Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. As I write this, the election is too close to call with Democrat Scott Murphy leading by 65 votes through the unofficial count – this doesn’t factor in absentee or military votes, though. (h/t Suitably Flip).

While the registration advantage is to the GOP, Barack Obama won the district in 2008 so this election was seen as a referendum of sorts on the Obama economic policies. Perhaps this special election may have been a factor in some recent Obama Administration decisions on the economy; however it’s apparent that BHO’s current high approval numbers may have helped the Murphy cause.

In any case, this seat is likely not going to have an occupant for several weeks as the closeness of the election will dictate a recount – unless of course there’s some ballots “found” in a safely Democrat area of the district (like that which happened in Minnesota).

If Tedisco manages to pull off the win though, it will make the GOP streak three in a row following post-November wins in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff – where Saxby Chambliss won handily – and Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District, where the first Vietnamese-American Congressman was elected (Joseph Cao). These Republican triumphs weren’t mentioned much in the pre-inaugural hoopla over Obama but may be noticed now – needless to say if Murphy wins the spin from inside the Beltway will be that Obama’s populist economic policies have the stamp of approval from the public.

I can tell you though that hard times will continue unless and until some sanity is brought back to those who run government. Regardless of who wins in New York’s 20th District, sanity is not likely to happen before next year’s election.

What I want to know is: who’s against this?

I had this passed along to me by Nick Loffer and thought it would be worth noting as the time drew closer:

Friends and Fellow Taxpayers of Maryland,

Americans for Prosperity Maryland invites you to our Official Kick Off Press Conference and Rally April 2nd, 1 p.m. at The Lawyers Mall at the State House in Annapolis. Tell the Governor and General Assembly how you feel about our economic situation and policies in place!

Americans for Prosperity is a national organization that promotes limited government and free market principles at all levels.

The Maryland Chapter was formed to educate and advocate these principles through grassroots movements because we all have had enough of the failed policies that hurt Maryland. We will be an effective force for improving the economic and governmental landscape so that all Maryland Taxpayers can be prosperous.

But we still need everyone’s help and voice! Without concerned citizens like you these events could not take place. It is time to make your mark on behalf of everyone in Maryland!

You can help Maryland by showing up to the Press Conference and signing our petition to Gov. O’Malley and the General Assembly urging them not to accept any Federal money with strings attached.

Tim Phillips, the National President of AFP, will be the keynote speaker and an organizational meeting will follow.

AFP has been involved with the Tea Parties that have been organized and have been successful all over the Country. Please support these events to continue the fight for sane economic policies.

We will meet starting at 12:15 at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium parking lot for free parking and trolley service to the State House.

For questions, comments, or more information please contact State Director Dave Schwartz at dave@afpmaryland.com – (443) 797-5144

Or

Nick Loffer – afpmd@live.com

Let us all make a difference for Maryland and We hope to see you there!

Again, one has to ask who is against prosperity? Until very recent times when Uncle Sam seemed to want to get his mitts into everything, the system we had was working pretty darn well.

I believe in equality of opportunity but there’s no way we can have equality of outcome unless misery is shared equally. Sure, as a kid I wanted to be a pro baseball player but with my lack of talent there no one would pay to watch me play – that is, unless the government decided on affirmative action for skill-challenged players like me and let me in that way. But would I have truly earned it?

Perhaps I use an apples-to-oranges comparison but it’s the job of the market to pick winners and losers, not that of Barack Obama. However, by hook or by crook it appears BHO has usurped the task  – just ask Rick Wagoner about this, or those people unfortunate enough to still be holding Chrysler shares. In either case, prosperity is not forthcoming once the federal government has its way and to me that’s an outcome which should have never happened.

Weekend of local rock volume 22

Can you believe I’ve now done 22 of these? And I’m nowhere near done…as long as I have my camera and the desire to check out local music whenever I can, you’ll keep getting these posts.

Last weekend I was at Skip Dixxon’s 7th Annual Spring Luau, which features a total of 17 bands (thus, 17 pictures in the post). Most of them came from the immediate Delmarva area but some made the trek southeast from the Baltimore region. If you’re fortunate enough to use Internet Explorer you’ll get the captions on the pictures; if not the performers will be (in order of appearance) Paul Lewis, Jason Lee, Woodstock Nation, Johnny Suit and the Nice Ties, Aaron Howell Band, Zion Reggae Band, Phantom Limbs, the Improv Fill-In Band, Blake Haley Band, Electric Company, Semiblind, Lower Class Citizens, lower case blues, Skitzo Calypso, Betty Ford Dropouts, Agent 99, and the Niki Barr Band. Why I don’t get the captions on Firefox I don’t know, but I don’t.

The extent of my politics on this post will be that I could have done without Paul Lewis's shirt. Saying that, Paul did a number of songs from his forthcoming CD in an acoustic vein.

This may have been my best shot of the night as far as photography goes. Jason Lee of Crookedfinger played solo as a late addition to the bill, closing with an uptempo version of 'Ring of Fire'.

Don't let the hats fool you - the show hadn't quite gone country. But Woodstock Nation did their tunes in a Southern rock vein, and they probably DO know 'Free Bird'.

Johnny Suit (on the left) only had one Nice Tie but they put together a good set of tunes as band number four.

I always enjoy the Aaron Howell Band, which mixes a few originals in with soulful renditions of classic tunes from the likes of Bill Withers.

While they're a staple at Seacrets, this was the first time I had the chance to see the Zion Reggae Band. They gave the show a different vibe while they were on.

We went from reggae to surf rock and were 'Zombiefied' by the three-piece rock of Phantom Limbs. They're fast becoming a crowd favorite around the area.

In most multi-band shows you have lineup changes. Jason Lee put this band together in a matter of hours because of a late cancellation and Skip dubbed it the 'Magnificent Improv Luau Fill-In Band'. They did pretty well for themselves because almost everyone knows a few cover songs.

Blake Haley and his band changed the sound once again. I'm not sure what the status of Pirate Radio is but Blake revamped a few of their songs along with performing some others he'd more recently written.

Nate Clendenen fronts this group called the Electric Company. You'll notice Johnny Suit handles bass duties on this set as well. This seems to be typical among many local musicians who have more than one musical outlet.

Are you kidding me? Of course Michele, the Jims, and Asher were there. It seems like it's not a Skip Dixxon event without Semiblind and it's great to see my friends back after a fairly long hiatus. I was pleased to be treated to a couple originals too!

Lower Class Citizens took the stage by storm with a hard-rocking set. It was mostly originals except for the Spinal Tap tune 'Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight'.

It was more like a jam band than strictly blues as lower case blues played a set that seemed longer than the allotted 25 minutes.

Baltimore's Skitzo Calypso, another veteran Skip Dixxon show performer, cranked the energy level back up with songs off their most recent CD ('Burning Down an Empire') and a familiar cover of 'Welcome to the Jungle'.

I'd not seen the Betty Ford Dropouts but oddly enough these folks are a cover band. (It's not what I would have guessed; then again you can't judge a book by its cover can you?) They played a number of songs from the '80's but have an eclectic set list for their longer shows which spans punk, metal, and hair band staples. I have no idea why the young lady was sitting there like that.

It seems like when I'd seen Agent 99 a couple months back Marla did most of the singing but now Casey seems to be doing the lion's share. They're still playing a heaping helping of classic rock covers though.

I thought it was a shame that about half the crowd was gone by the time the Niki Barr Band made its appearance. These folks played some high-energy stuff and hopefully will make the trek back down this way more often. Let's hope they don't have the sound issues the gentleman in the red-trimmed shirt was taking care of.

So there you have it. 17 bands in about 10 hours, which made for a very restful Sunday because I needed it.

I believe the next multi-band show is April 18, the delmarvanightlife.com 42-0 party. Problem is there’s also a Battle of the Bands scheduled at Pork in the Park that night (hosted by 96 Rock) and I can’t be two places at once! Because all or part of both shows are slated to be outdoors, that may be a memorable weekend of local rock – we’ll have to see.

The party’s not over

So I’m not going to turn off my lights tomorrow night for “Earth Hour”.

You may recall I blogged about this last year. Unfortunately, this year’s edition of the Spring Luau was last week but I may just take that hour to do the upcoming “Weekend of local rock volume 22” post in commemoration of that enjoyable use of thousands of watts of amplification from 17 (!) bands.

Needless to say, a number of people have poked fun at this including the fine folks at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. They put out a press release for the “Human Achievement Hour” noting in part that:

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a leading free-market think tank, plans to recognize “Human Achievement Hour” between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on March 28, 2009. The new one-hour holiday coincides with Earth Hour, a period of time during which governments, individuals, and corporations have agreed to dim or shut off lights in an effort to draw attention to climate change.

(snip)

The new one-hour holiday, unknown prior to this press release, has already received overwhelming support from many of Washington, D.C.’s leading institutions. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, for example, tells CEI that it does not plan to shut down all of the city’s bus and rail lines for the “Earth Hour.” The Kennedy Center, likewise, has scheduled a performance of the long-running play Sheer Madness, a jazz concert, and a dance performance to coincide with the Human Achievement Hour. Washington, D.C.’s Target store, furthermore, will remain open until 10:00pm on the evening of the 28th. The Smithsonian Institution also plans a film showing that will extend into Human Achievement Hour.

(snip)

Other organizations around the world and the nation have planned events in support of the new holiday. For example, The United State Marine Corps will continue its combat and humanitarian operations around the world during Human Achievement Hour. The New York Times confirms that it intends to put out a paper on March 29th, 2009 (preparation and printing for that issue will take place during Human Achievement Hour). At least 30,000 movies will also be screened in celebration of Human Achievement Hour. Hospital emergency and operating rooms, likewise, will remain open in Washington and in the rest of the country. Nearly all of the nation’s Wal-Mart locations will also be open during Human Achievement Hour.

Those wishing to celebrate Earth Hour, however, do not need to take part in Human Achievement Hour. “Earth Hour is a viable alternative to human achievement hour,” says CEI Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer. “Those who wish to celebrate Earth Hour should sit in the dark, turn off the heat, and breathe as little as possible.”

It goes without saying that, except for CEI itself, the institutions listed above have not actually endorsed “Human Achievement Hour.” (All the quotes and facts, however, are real and may/should be used.)

It goes without saying that this time around I’ll likely be home for that hour so I may have to turn on a few extra lights. This will assure the power grid doesn’t have an abnormal drop in usage and malfunction.

Do you get the idea that I see this Earth Hour as patently ridiculous? This may be one of the ultimate expressions of symbolism over substance. Besides, thanks to global cooling (created by the sun) there may be a number of people who won’t have a choice about whether their house is heated and the lights are on because they’ll either be flooded out (North Dakota/Minnesota), enduring a power outage thanks to a blizzard (Oklahoma/Texas), or not have a habitable home at all (various locations in the Deep South have been hit by tornadoes in the last couple days.)

So if you want to sit in the dark feel free, but I’ll be doing something productive because I know that my contributions to society require me to use at least some energy. We have no need to retreat to a 19th century lifestyle regardless of what the doomsday prophets say.

Budget troubles to the north, too

I wrote last night about what Rick Pollitt is doing about Wicomico County’s budget, and elements of that approach are also being taken about 60 miles to the north in Dover.

But Governor Jack Markell is really laying the hammer down on state employees. This comes from an e-mail sent by Markell’s office:

My proposal is for all state employees to take a temporary 8 percent pay cut. Delaware’s state employees are hard-working and underpaid.  Over a period of many weeks, they told me over and over again that they preferred that the sacrifice be shared by all rather than have some employees suffer layoffs. The only alternative to laying off workers is to temporarily cut the pay of all state employees, and I believe that is a better path to take.  The proposed 8% pay cut will save us from laying off 1,500 people and $91M in the 2010 fiscal year. This decision, while difficult, keeps our public servants employed and our core commitments met without adding to our unemployment rolls.  Of course, I cut my own pay by 10% the day I took office.

I’d be curious to know what the difference is between what Markell made as state treasurer and the reduced rate as governor (maybe taking 90% of the governor’s salary was still a hefty raise for him); nonetheless it makes for good press and the appearance of shared sacrifice.

He also brings a small amount of detail into what he plans on doing to correct the budget deficit:

Guided by our principles (of fiscal responsibility, compassion by keeping our core commitments, and shared sacrifice), our solution to the $750 million shortfall would:

  • Reduce spending by $331M
  • Reallocate special funds by $40M
  • Leverage $155M in federal stimulus funding
  • Raise $55M by re-authorizing a sports lottery and getting a fair deal for Delawareans
  • Increase our revenues by $166M
  • And raise fees and fines by $12M

Notice I said “small” amount of detail. It’s not spelled out where the $331 million in cuts would be made (assuming the $91 million he saves by cutting state pay is part of the number, that still leaves $240 million of cuts) nor does he show where the $166 million in revenue comes from.

He’s also putting a lot of trust in that stimulus funding, perhaps hoping we conveniently forget that the federal spigot can (and should) be turned off at any time.

I will give Jack Markell credit for one thing, however. When our governor faced a similar situation in 2007, he raised taxes by over $1 billion and then compounded the problem by getting $500 million in additional spending for health insurance for a small portion of those in Maryland who have no health insurance. At least on the surface it doesn’t appear that Governor Markell is planning any sort of ambitious spending programs with Delaware’s financial situation the way it is.

One other thought that comes to me is what the payback will be for the state employees. You can bet your bottom dollar that someplace that 8 percent cut will be restored to them, particularly if the state workforce is unionized. My guess is that restoring that lost income will be job one for Markell whenever the extra money is found to do so.

And even at 92% of their pay, the full complement of state workers makes for a potent political force. There’s strength in numbers and if Markell’s budgetary gamble pays off it’s a sure bet that those workers will be easily led back into his corner just in time for his re-election campaign in 2012.

No shortage of gray area

Earlier today I received a release from Wicomico County PIO Jim Fineran regarding a Daily Times article by Greg Latshaw on the county’s FY2010 budget; a piece County Executive Rick Pollitt claimed was rife with “important” errors. Here’s a portion of what Pollitt noted:

First, the headline implies that the county has “come up short.” In the release, I said, “I expect county revenues to be down by about $12 Million. That equals an operating budget of approximately $117 Million.” In fact, the county budget will be balanced as is required by the Charter. The budget may be less but it won’t be short. We’ll be meeting payroll and paying our bills as always.

Second, I have unveiled nothing despite what the newspaper story states. The news release clearly states that I shall present my Fiscal Year 2010 budget to the public on April 2nd. I said, “I expect county revenues to be down by about $12 Million.” While this will probably be the case, at this point it is a prediction since I point out in the news release that I am “preparing this year’s budget.” I still have several budget hearings left with county departments, so there is much work left to be done before the public meeting on April 2nd.

Third, at no point in the news release do I state that the projections constitute the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. All of the language I used indicates what is going to happen…such as “submit budget proposal to the County Council by April 15th” or “details of my proposed budget.”

I anticipate working on the FY 2010 budget “right down to the wire,” so to speak. I am not having the public meeting on April 2nd for fun. I sincerely want to hear what my constituents have to say about my budget and act upon it if appropriate. Also, the financial situation with the State of Maryland is in constant flux and the Legislature is still in session. Decisions may still be made in Annapolis that could impact the FY 2010 budget.

(The emphasis is underlined in the original and bold in my version.)

Perhaps the headline writer sensationalized the story in order to grab the reader’s attention; nevertheless the point remains that, barring a sudden reversal of fortune, Pollitt concedes Wicomico County’s budget will be much leaner in FY2010 than it was in FY2009. The Daily Times also states clearly that the April 2nd budget presentation will fill in the details on how Pollitt plans on trimming the budget.

Rick also doesn’t deny the Daily Times assertion regarding 10 percent cuts in each department, which would lead the reader to assume that the $12 million figure isn’t vastly far off.

Continue reading “No shortage of gray area”

WCRC meeting – March 2009

With no speaker this time, business was the rule of the evening at our monthly affair.

Pleasingly there was no real drop in attendance though and once we dispensed with the usual business of the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, club president Marc Kilmer took a moment to thank the two officers who chose not to seek re-election this year (George Ossman and Helen Shockley), then joined his fellow officers in being sworn in for a new term by Wicomico County GOP Chair Dr. John Bartkovich.

We then heard the minutes and received the treasurer’s report.

Because we had no guest speaker a number of reports and items of business were placed on the agenda. First up was Mark Biehl giving the Lower Shore Young Republicans report and clarifying the purpose of an upcoming fundraiser. The May 23rd affair will be for the benefit of the LSYR club but the hope is that State Senator and Congressional hopeful Andy Harris will be the keynote speaker. Prior to that their next meeting will be on April 9th at the Flavors of Italy on East Main Street in Salisbury.

Bartkovich then moved to the podium to give a Central Committee report. Referring to a decision last month to help fund a local student’ s trip to the Teenage Republican convention, he called it money well spent on the possible future growth of the party.

Another upcoming event John alluded to was the annual Tawes Clam Bake in Crisfield July 15th. As always we’ll assist in sponsoring a tent with other local Republican entities. We’ll also begin a new effort to communicate with new Republican registrants with more details to be ironed out at the April WCRC meeting. It was part of a bid to “think of terms of 2010” and about getting a message out which reflects Republican principles.

Continue reading “WCRC meeting – March 2009”

Salary drive

On Thursday last we found out that our newly-minted Congressman, who’s sworn to uphold the law, isn’t above shaping it to punish those he deems unworthy of the money they’ve legally become entitled to.

With this vote on H.R. 1586 Frank Kratovil (along with 87 Republicans who should be hanging their heads in shame) decided that contractual obligations completed long before the TARP money was given to AIG (who in turn laundered it to dozens of other recipients) – and which comprised less than 1% of the total payout – mean nothing when the federal government takes over a large chunk of the company.

Certainly the bonuses seem excessive and one can argue that the legislation is an incentive not to take the federal bailout money in the first place. Truthfully the federal government should not have bailed out AIG in the first place but unfortunately they already cast that die some time ago.

But Thursday’s vote also signified another step in the continuing attitude change among Congress that they’re just damn well entitled to make decisions for the rest of us when it comes to how a business should be run; never mind that their sole expertise seems to come from accepting campaign contributions from many of these same outfits.

Moreover, the hypocricy of screaming about this less than 1 percent of the AIG money devoted to bonuses intended to insure an employee stays put as long as the company needs him yet forgiving the pork-laden stimulus bill because the earmarks “only” comprised 1 percent of the total is nearly beyond belief until you look at who’s in charge of the place.

It’s more unfortunate that Congress is becoming interested in selecting the winners and losers in American business. Those in the financial sector being counted on at one time to save the venerable AIG ship were instead tossed overboard in a fit of rage because what Congress and both the Obama and Bush administrations have attempted as a fix hasn’t worked very well if at all. On the other hand, Congress received its annual raise and they’re not moving swiftly to enact a 90% tax on that which they were legally entitled to (because of legislation written in such a manner to make raises automatic without a recorded vote for them) but didn’t earn based on lousy performance.

Given the results of what has come to pass in recent days Congress shouldn’t have earned a penny over the last two sessions and it’s dubious that much in the two to three previous ones is worthy of compensation either.

DCWC/WCRC candidate forum – March 18, 2009 (part 2)

Last night I went over the Mayoral portion of the forum; today I look at the City Council races. These seemed to go much more quickly than the Mayoral part did but perhaps that was because of going over the introductions and ground rules.

Once again, the rules were for a two-minute opening statement, two-minute responses to questions written by members of the respective groups (two apiece, for a total of four) and one-minute answers to audience questions (up to two). The closing statements were timed for two minutes.

Continue reading “DCWC/WCRC candidate forum – March 18, 2009 (part 2)”

DCWC/WCRC candidate forum – March 18, 2009 (part 1)

Part One will cover the ground rules and Mayoral portion of the forum; Part Two will deal with the City Council races.

It makes for an unwieldy post title, but tonight’s candidate forum was a joint effort between the Democratic Club of Wicomico County and the organization I belong to, the Wicomico County Republican Club. As far as how the show was performed, the two bodies split questions down the middle (two from each group for each race, plus two from the audience) and moderating duties were shared between the DCWC’s Michael Farlow and WCRC’s Dustin Mills. Perhaps the only mild complaint was registered by District 2 Council candidate Muir Boda, who is a card-carrying member of the Libertarian Party here in Maryland.

Tonight’s forum involved all six remaining candidates in Salisbury’s upcoming election, but a former candidate made news prior to the event by endorsing one of his opponents.

In stating that District 1 challenger Cynthia Polk “offers the people of District 1 the attention and the change they hunger for”, Tim Chaney claimed that the change was made clear by the fact that over 2/3 of the primary votes went against the challenger. (It’s worthy of noting though that each voter was allowed to select two choices in the March 3 primary election.) Chaney also charged that incumbent Shanie Shields has allowed “Taj Mahal” buildings to go up “while District 1 neighborhoods are left to crumble” and endorsed Polk “with both my head and my heart.”

The format of the forum itself was quite simple: each set of candidates was to have a two-minute opening statement, two minutes apiece to answer the four questions selected from the respective clubs, and one minute apiece to answer the two audience questions prior to a two-minute closing statement. It made for a briskly-paced evening; all told the forum lasted just 70 minutes.

Continue reading “DCWC/WCRC candidate forum – March 18, 2009 (part 1)”

The cancer revisited

It was a few days ago that remarks by Salisbury mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman were splashed across national news. Well, perhaps splashed may not be the proper word but word has trickled out slowly about the comments she made regarding local bloggers. Yeah, I’m sure she was referring to one in particular but we all get tarred by the same brush.

In fact, my blogger friend Bob McCarty wrote to me regarding this incident and asked:

Are you the object of the mayor’s scorn?  Seems like an opportunity to write as if you are.  Have fun!

To be perfectly honest I doubt that I am the subject of her wrath simply because I’m not writing this website to create controversy but instead to provoke thought and hopefully change minds to a more correct style of thinking.

I indeed have fun writing this website, unfortunately I don’t always have the time I’d like to devote to it with my new line of work. Sometimes in life one has tradeoffs and this is mine. In this case that fact is neither here nor there; what matters is the impression made of our small town and its blogosphere. You could call us muckrakers or mudslingers, depending on how you see what we aim to accomplish.

For me, Tilghman’s comments harken back to those made about 2 1/2 years ago when the local blogging roster was somewhat different. Then-County Executive hopeful Ron Alessi called Salisbury-area bloggers a “cancer” in the local media and perhaps made local media stars out of one or two. But I took great offense to that statement (as I do with Tilghman’s) because, deserved or not, we all are lumped together regardless of whose side we’re on.

Far from attempting to bring down the community, my job is to improve it. Tomorrow night I’m going to take my notebook and pen and transcribe the happenings at the candidate forum jointly sponsored by the Wicomico County Republican Club and the Democratic Club of Wicomico County. That’s not to say I’m not going to sprinkle my opinion on what’s said there into the retelling, and I’m certainly going to think about good questions to ask each candidate pairing. Some may find my questions biased but I don’t have any dogs in these fights – unfortunately the two best candidates in my estimation go up against each other in a City Council race while it’s Tweedledee against Tweedledum in the other two slots insofar as I’m concerned.

But the idea is to inform whatever voters happen to stop by my site as to what the candidates say and what I think it means for the future of Salisbury. Perhaps I don’t live in the city proper, but a number of my current and prospective clients do and it’s in all of our best interests to make the city the best it can be, regardless of which bloggers may be offended.

A unique way to contribute

Update: Muir Boda took the time to extend his remarks in an e-mail to me this morning – this update is at the end of the article.

This took a lot of in-kind donation to put together:

Come join the FUN at this unique fundraising event!  Salisbury’s own Antique & Attic Treasures Appraisal Day will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2009 from 1pm to 5pm at the Ward Museum on the corner of Beaglin Park Drive  and S. Schumaker Drive in Salisbury.

Appraisers Ann von Forthuber and Howard Simons of Auctioneers Appraisers & Estate Representatives will be there to appraise your furniture, art, jewelry…anything you may be curious about its value.  George Chevallier, an area historian, will also be available if you have treasures of specific local history to be valued.  You may have up to three (3) items appraised with the price of admission.  Please bring a 100 word description of your object(s).

“This will be a fun and unique fundraiser for my campaign.  I love that it will bring the community together in one of the nicest venues that we have to offer”, said Debbie Campbell, City Councilwoman for District 2 in Salisbury.

Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased online at www.campbell4council.net. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

Bill Reddish will be our emcee for the afternoon and food will be available from Chef Stewart’s Catering, best known for his Flannery’s BBQ!

All proceeds benefit the campaign to re-elect Debbie Campbell for Salisbury City Council, Authority, Shawn Thomas, Treasurer.  Sponsorships are also available for this event.  For additional information, visit www.campbell4council.net or call Cynthia Williams at 410-749-8012.

Since I neither have anything that’s worth appraising nor have the free time on my calendar because of a previous commitment, I’ll have to pass.

I also decided to ask Muir Boda if he had any such fundraising plans on his part. Here’s what he said:

Thanks Michael.  I heard she was having this.  I have been having some small meet & greets, nothing really to advertise.

I am actually encouraging people to donate to my Mission Trip to Peru.  Checks made to Oak Ridge Baptist Church are Tax Deductible.  $15 will cover the cost of a medical exam and 1 years’ school supplies for a child.

Any donation to my campaign can be made online.

While this is certainly a worthy cause – and obvious because Muir’s wife is a Peruvian native – the question which springs to mind is when this mission trip would be held and how long would he be gone? Some have questioned Campbell’s commitment to City Council because of her regular absences from work sessions due to her job but scheduling a mission trip is also a legitimate question of timing as well.

In the meantime I’m sure a number of people will be helping Debbie Campbell out in her efforts, and I have to hand it to her for coming up with a fairly unique idea to raise money.

Now here’s how Muir Boda extended his remarks:

I should have been a little more forthcoming on the Peru Mission Trip. Thanks for posting it, I appreciate it.

My reasoning for suggesting people donate to the mission trip is that sometimes we are part of something is bigger than our own little corner of the world. I will certainly accept donations for my campaign, I just feel that helping a child get medical exams and school supplies is more important than me buying more signs or brochures. My thought was if people are are not inclined to donate to a political campaign, maybe they would donate to a cause of more importance.

The Mission Trip is July 29th through August 9th (this coming summer). My wife and I lead one usually every 18 months. The last time we went was to help with the Earthquake in Chincha, Peru.

This time we will be in Jose Galvez, Peru. There will be a large event where over 600 Children will each receive a Medical Exam, any medication they may need, hygiene education and one year of school supplies.

We will have several other smaller events where we will serve a hundred or so. Our goal is to reach 1000 children.

We have about 25 people from ORBC going on the trip.

The Church Address is:

Oak Ridge Baptist Church
321 Tilghman Road
Suite 207
Salisbury, MD 21804

On that count, Muir is correct. Whether he wins or loses on April 7th, I’m certain he’ll go through with the trip because he’s not doing it for political gain but for his faith, which obviously means he has his priorities in order.