As most of my faithful readers know, last weekend marked the occurrence of our most recent state convention. During that convention, the state party adopted a “compromise” voting system solely for this convention and elected a new state chairman, Audrey Scott. Oddly enough, Wicomico County’s delegation had the distinction of being the only county to vote against both proposals, which otherwise carried by huge margins.
I’m not going to say that I speak for the entire local body because I don’t – we all have our reasons for making the decisions we do. Perhaps we have seven people who simply don’t “go along to get along” but I happen to think there’s underlying reasons for our stance as the establishment’s thorn in the side.
It seems to me that Wicomico County looks upon itself as the guardian of the interests of smaller counties, especially those on the Eastern Shore, and their role in the Maryland Republican Party. For the entire term I’ve been on, our county’s delegation has been in the forefront of trying to bring about change in the party by replacing the three Vice Chairs with regional chairs (including one reserved for the Eastern Shore) and scrapping the LCD voting system which marginalized small counties and propped up larger counties, enabling one such county to practically outvote the entire Shore delegation by itself. Having a “one man, one vote” system would at least enable the Shore to have more of a voice and a role in determining the direction of affairs.
With the old system, we had little say in what went on. It was revealed to us by one office-seeker that Eastern Shore delegations needed little more than a cursory visit during a recent convention with a contested officer race because that person needed to secure votes from the larger counties to win. Our tiny share of the vote wasn’t going to make a difference.
As currently constituted, the nine Eastern Shore county delegations would make up 71 of a possible 267 votes at the next convention, assuming all voters are present or represented by proxy. (Cecil and Talbot are at nine apiece; Dorchester, Somerset, Caroline, and Kent have seven members; and Wicomico and Worcester will expand from seven to nine prior to next spring – an action voted on as part of this most recent convention.) Thus, we have 26.6% of the voting strength. But the so-called “compromise” measure diluted our strength to 20.4% of voting power.
Perhaps what irked us the most about the events which transpired is that we had put up similar proposals in previous conventions only to be shouted down and ridiculed by larger counties who liked the status quo. Only when it was determined by careful reading of the rules that we need not use the old LCD voting method did the I-95 corridor counties suddenly come begging for the “compromise” solution.
But the compromise didn’t really accrue to the benefit of small counties and I suspect after careful consideration they may find they were snookered by the larger counties. And, since “one man one vote” is the default voting method, perhaps it’s time to get a little bit better deal next time around! Maybe an agreement to install that regional chairs thing is worth the price paid in giving up a slice of our power – since 226 people were represented by vote or by proxy this time around, getting the Eastern Shore and any one Western Maryland county to vote as a bloc effectively kills any compromise because a rule change requires a 2/3 majority. Any number of horse trades become possible once we figure out that we can have our say! Of course, that would also take vigilance from those on the Rules Committee to make sure the “compromise” voting method is indeed not carried over but reconsidered next time, as promised.
Just grist for the mill.
Now, on to Audrey Scott. My take on her is that she didn’t poll well with us because of a perception she’s part of the establishment, and it was that faction which ousted Jim Pelura – a chairman we liked and admired – from the party’s top position. It’s possible she can win us over, but in mending fences it seems to me that she should come down and meet with us at the first opportunity (Audrey, if you’re reading this we meet the first Monday each month.)
I was personally called by both Audrey Scott and opponent Daniel Vovak, so I got to listen to both pitches. Scott also called into our Central Committee meeting last Monday, although the Skype and local computer only allowed an audio connection which faded in and out.
Obviously Audrey Scott has a lot of work to do with raising money, and the parade started by Mike Collins of Anne Arundel County was a good start. But some high rollers seemingly weren’t playing ball with Jim Pelura yet are happy to help out Audrey Scott, which to me raises a red flag whether they are contributing because they agree with our philosophy or simply to buy a little bit of influence. I’m certainly not naive enough to believe that money plays no part in political decisions but, unless there’s been a change in philosophy eminating from the top, we Republicans are standing for the same principles under Audrey Scott as we did under Jim Pelura – I know my mind hasn’t been changed, I’m still conservative. So are we selling out for the almighty buck? I certainly hope not!
Maybe the county I help to represent has a little bit of Missouri in it – we need to be shown that things will be made better for our interests before we jump on board the bandwagon. It will be interesting to see who offers their services as part of the expanded Central Committee and who decides to stay on after next year’s election. The crop I came in with made up over half the Central Committee and the expansion brings even more turnover unless one of those I helped to replace decides to come back.
There’s a lot we can do to help the state party as a whole, yet the perception we small counties exist as the red-headed stepchildren of the Maryland Republican Party leads to actions like skipping conventions or not sending money into the state party coffers. Obviously it’s detrimental to our cause as a whole but we have to be assured we can get out of the party all that we put into it. We don’t ask for much, just as fair of a shake from the new Chair as we received from the last.
