Category: All politics is local

The local political scene.

Ten questions for…Michael James

I’m going to borrow the normal U.S. Senate day (Friday) to pretty much wrap up the Ten Questions series for awhile. There might be a couple more floating around out there but those will be posted as time and space become available, and later today (assuming I have electricity with what’s left of Ernesto hitting us) I’ll begin posting my “debates” with the candidates I have.

But yesterday I got Michael James’s answers to the Ten Questions, so I’ve ended up with 3 of the 5 District 38B Republicans answering these prior to the “debates”. I also saw him and the family last night at the Shorebirds finale although I didn’t speak to him, I was upstairs watching from a different perch than I normally do.

So here are Michael James’s answers to the Ten Questions.

Question #1:

Some of you participated in the recent special session to modify the large rate hikes that were to be enacted by Baltimore Gas & Electric. However, our electrical rates from the local Eastern Shore suppliers went unchanged. With that in mind, would you be more in favor of a total repeal of the 1999 deregulation laws, or do you believe the concept is sound and only needs a few guardrails and rate safeguards?

I am in favor of deregulation as long as there is an adequate climate for competition. Obviously the utilities are essential to our society, so if there was a catastrophe or an accumulation of issues that forced costs to rise to the levels that harm the economy or create an unusual burden on our citizens, the Government would need to intervene until the market stabilized. The 1999 deregulation was odd in that it was accompanied by 1993 level price caps. The General Assembly should have known there would be unusually high increases once the caps expired. Instead, they ignored the issue until it could be called a “crisis”. They then used the PSE and its chairman Eastern Shoreman Ken Schisler as a scapegoat to divert attention away from their own mistakes.

Question #2:

In the last two sessions of the General Assembly, the issue of health insurance and who pays for it has taken center stage. (Examples: the Fair Share Health Care Act and its proposed expansion with last year’s HB1510, which was sponsored by Delegate Hubbard and defeated in committee.) Recently the state of Massachusetts adopted legislation effective in 2007 mandating all residents secure coverage under some public or private health insurance plan or face a financial penalty. Do you see this concept as an idea Maryland should adopt?

NO. That would be too close to a nanny state.

Question #3:

Within our area, Somerset County traditionally has among the highest unemployment rates in the state of Maryland. In every election, well-paying jobs and how to secure them is an issue. If you are elected to the General Assembly, what policies would you favor commencing or retaining in an attempt to create or lure good-paying jobs for the Eastern Shore?

We need to work independently on the shore as well as work with The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development to attract businesses to our area. I support tax incentives, tax credits for training and state grants for the county economic development efforts. I believe all three counties in District 38 have a lot to offer potential employers. I believe by working jointly the three counties have a story to tell and resources to market to future employers. The reason so many people want to relocate here are the same reasons this region would be attractive to growing companies.

Question #4:

This year a state takeover of several failing Baltimore City Schools was thwarted by the General Assembly overriding an earlier veto of a bill Governor Ehrlich rejected. A few states, though, are attempting to remove themselves from the federal “No Child Left Behind” regulations for various reasons, even at the risk of losing federal dollars. Do you support the federal NCLB mandates or do you feel the state could and should go without the additional restrictions (and funding)?

I support NCLB

Question #5:

In the 2006 General Assembly, the Blackwater development in Cambridge became a contentious issue which led to legislation that was eventually defeated. However, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has continued to apply pressure to legislators and encouraged voters to speak out on what they perceive as a threat to bay water quality. On the other hand, the city of Cambridge sees Blackwater as a needed shot in the arm for its economy and tax base. Where do you see yourself on this issue and related development matters?

From my view, the Blackwater Developers played by the rules, followed the permit process, and communicated with state and local officials from the beginning. It may have helped their cause to do more in the beginning to reach out early to their future opponents, but that is just speculation.

I feel the state government plays a needed role in protecting our environment and should monitor development to ensure that the benefits are not outweighed by problems, current or future. The state should stay active in development matters, however I feel it is unfair to legislate retroactively.

Question #6:

The last two sessions of the General Assembly have seen an inordinate amount of time spent dealing with personnel matters and political appointments. Some have claimed this as a usurpation of power properly belonging to the executive branch (governor’s office) but others see this as a proper extension of the duties of the General Assembly. In your opinion, has the General Assembly gone too far or does the Governor still wield too much power when it comes to personnel decisions?

The General Assembly has gone too far. They have now spent over $1,000,000.00 on their politically motivated hearings.

Question #7:

For the Eastern Shore, transportation can sometimes be tricky because of Bay Bridge traffic and traveling to and from the beach on a summer weekend can be a real headache. Solutions advocated range from another Bay Bridge to a ferry service to a light rail system, and as always people want the existing highways improved. What transportation improvements do you feel are a priority for the Eastern Shore, and how would you pay for them?

With the growth we have seen in recent years, there are several needed road projects. Dualization of 113 and 589 are very important, as are many other projects. As a state delegate from 38B, I will fight for our fair share of transportation funding. This will be important due to the large sums of money the metropolitan counties will be looking for to fund the ICC and mass transit.

Question #8:

Drugs and gangs are a growing problem on the Eastern Shore. The local authorities do their best but we’re a long way from fighting the problem successfully. In what ways do you think the General Assembly can best address this crime issue, and what tools do you see working best?

Working to stop the flow of drugs is the most important part of reducing gang related crime. The drugs are the financial lifeline that keeps the most violent criminals in business. I am in favor of increasing funding for undercover agents and officers as well as increasing money for training to ensure our law enforcement agencies stay current and have the most capable personnel as possible, and technology that is superior to that of the criminals.

Question #9:

This year, you will be the first in the history of the General Assembly to be nominated and elected through the use of early voting. Proponents have stated that early voting is beneficial for turnout, but others claim the new regulations will encourage fraud and have petitioned to place the issue on the ballot as a referendum. In addition, these same laws have made absentee ballots available upon request with no reason needed. With that in mind, are you in favor of repealing the early voting laws, and why?

As of this writing, the early voting has been struck down by the courts. I was always opposed due to the potential for widespread fraud.

Question #10:

It is almost a certainty at this early date that either Governor Ehrlich will be reelected or Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley will take over the governor’s chair early next year. If you are elected to the General Assembly and the representative of the opposite party (i.e. a Democrat would be working with Governor Ehrlich, a Republican would be working with Mayor O’Malley) wins election, with what issues do you see being able to find common ground with the governor?

I believe regardless of who is Governor, I will find common ground on issues related to economic development. This would include making sure farming is profitable, job creation is important and tourism is promoted. I have said from the beginning, to have a strong community for our families, we need to have a healthy business community. That is just common sense. For the record, I believe Governor Ehrlich will be re-elected by a margin of at least 4 points.

******************************

Michael got the advantage of answering my questions later, so Question #9 has sort of become irrelevant. But I wrote them in July, well before the court case began. At that time, we were still arguing about the petition drive that supposedly fell short by 138 signatures on one issue so I assumed the vote would go on. But I’m going to leave the question in the debate because the answers are telling.

And yes, I’m beating Duvafiles this morning. For whatever reason, I had a hard time sleeping last night so I decided at 4:30 that I may as well get up and do something useful since there’s the possibility I may not be able to do so later. Now I’m going to finish compiling my “debates”.

Election Calendar update

Thanks to Bill Reddish…here’s his upcoming WICO-AM interview schedule.

August 31: Kirk Daugherty (Sheriff)
September 1: Chris South (Sheriff)

County executive candidates:

September 5: Ron Alessi
September 6: B. J. Corbin
September 7: Tom Taylor
September 8: Rick Pollitt

September 11: Bob Culver will get the last word.

Each day’s interview runs in the 7:40 to 8:00 a.m. slot.

I also got an e-mail from the O’Malley camp that they will be doing a sign wave along Route 50 on Friday from 4:00 p.m. until dark with wavers needed at the Bay Bridge, Easton, Cambridge, and Salisbury. Contacts for our area are:

Cambridge: Cheryl Everman at ceverman@comcast.net
Salisbury: John Coggin at jcoggin@martinomalley.com

I suppose if you really want to get wet and blown about you can do this – it’s one way to see just who the most die-hard Democrats are, isn’t it?

Having done my duty to inform the voters, let me say that if I see O’Malley out there I’ll make sure to wave something at him too.

WCRC meeting – August 2006

Once again, I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of about 65 or so other Republicans and some really good food (I believe the provider was a company called “Catering by Melissa” and Melissa herself tended the wonderful stuff) as we had another month’s meeting of the Wicomico County Republican Club. I tell you, it’s going to be hard to top our food this summer. But the club DOES have a Crab Feast next month….ok, in my view they won’t top this summer’s meeting fare but I’m not a big crab eater. Must be because my idea of seafood is good Lake Erie walleye.

Anyway, we did the usual inhouse business of the Pledge of Allegiance, recital of minutes, and treasurer’s report. We are still over twice as prosperous as we were this time last year.

Woody Willing of the Board of Elections had a few comments regarding the demise of early voting and the removal of Tom Perez from the ballot as unqualified. Having the sample ballots reprinted to delete the statement about early voting would cost Wicomico County over $11,000 so the ballots will go out with a sticker over the incorrect portion. However, it’s uncertain what the disposition of Perez will be since I’m certain some Democratic primary voters have already made their choice with him on the ballot. And I learned something tonight, in Maryland the absentee ballot form is available online. I’m not planning on using it but that may be valuable information for others to ponder.

Generally John Bartkovich, chair of the Central Committee, speaks toward the end of the program but he was close to the beginning tonight. We found out that Michael Steele will be appearing at two upcoming local events. One will be the Crab Derby down in Crisfield this weekend and the other will the the annual J. Lowell Stoltzfus (my State Senator from District 38) picnic on September 23rd. But can one call it a picnic when it’s held indoors? Regardless, Steele is slated to be at both events. John also talked about making sure signs were located appropriately but not to take matters into your own hands if they’re not. Of course, we also got a call for volunteers (from him and others) and most importantly a call to run clean and positive campaigns. He cited a letter in yesterday’s Daily Times as an example not to follow (it’s the first letter posted.)

We then had a few brief remarks from Governor Ehrlich’s Wicomico County chair, Ellen Andrews. Her main point was that we can’t get Ehrlich to appear at the Crab Feast because of a scheduling conflict (methinks it’s Rep. Gilchrest’s Bull Roast, held the same day up the Shore) but we are slated to get running mate Kristen Cox. Certainly we get the better looking of the duo.

With that, we turned the meeting over to Wicomico County Sheriff candidate Chris South, who noted that George Washington never gave a speech over ten minutes long and he was going to follow a good example. I didn’t time the speech but South was relatively brief.

He touched on his five platform elements: community relationships, reaching our youth, comunication between law enforcement agencies, enhancing professionalism in the WCSD, and looking into the future. As part of the community relationships, he advocated that the deputies stick to the county areas and leave the highway patrolling to the Maryland State Police, and also plugged a proactive approach to crime prevention rather than a reactive one.

Continuing, Chris stated that “deputies are looked upon as leaders by our youth” and as role models. He would encourage his deputies to interact with kids as young as preschool and would be certain to retain the deputies in our schools. Communication between agencies under his watch would be fostered by daily conference calls between himself and the local police departments.

Whether this was a problem wasn’t clear, but South said he’d work for higher morale and better training among the WCSD deputies and work to diversify the department to “mirror the community”. As the first new Sheriff in 20 years he wanted to work closely with whoever was chosen as County Executive. I thought of it as South stating he’d be happy these offices could start afresh and usher in a new era on both sides.

In his current position with US Air at the Wicomico County Airport, South asserted that he was responsible for passenger safety and is the liason for the TSA there. He also noted that he’s been selected as an “Officer of the Year” twice in two different police departments, so he’s had lengthy law enforcement experience.

To sum up South’s remarks, he wanted to implement his skills for a safer community by working together.

We then heard from House of Delegates District 38B hopeful Bonnie Luna. Luna came across as a quite humorous speaker to start, quipping that she’s spent more time with the four men opposing her than her husband. And while stating her admiration for President Bush, she did allude in a gentle jibe at the President that because he’s spent his day in the areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina a year ago “if I don’t do well (here tonight), it’s his fault.”

With that good beginning, Bonnie launched into a little bit of biographical information and stuff I didn’t know about her. Like me, Bonnie is a “come-here” but of much older vintage (early 1970’s) who was (and remains) a licensed Realtor. She also claimed that she was likely the first woman on the Shore to own a construction company while she lived in Ocean Pines. But Bonnie came to politics much later, beginning with the campaign of George H.W. Bush for President. She also worked early on campaigning for an obscure Congressional candidate named Luis Luna – obviously that made the biggest change in her life. As she joked, Luis lost the election but got the prize.

While Luna’s also worked on several other campaigns (Ellen Sauerbray for Governor, Senator Stoltzfus as campaign manager, and local coordinator for President Bush twice) what convinced her to run for this seat was a stint as an intern in the office of Delegate Dick Sossi back in 2005. Describing the atmosphere in Annapolis as “disheartening” and “partisan”, she related the three themes she’s built her campaign on: common sense, putting people before politics, and doing the right thing for the people – not solely for reelection.

Bonnie contended that, rather than the General Assembly taking all of its effort to pass an early voting bill that was a “waste of time” because it was ruled as nonconforming to the Maryland Constitution, the energy should have been exerted on passing items like, as one example, tort reform. Health care was in a “near crisis” state according to Luna, warning that the lack of sensible tort reform was forcing doctors to retire early or cut services. She called this a “quality of life” issue. In a related matter, she saw getting more help to small businesses attempting to buy employees health insurance as a priority, seeking for them a way to more easily attain “umbrella” coverage and allowing small businesses to combine their efforts and dollars.

Another thing Bonnie chided the recent editions of the General Assembly for was not passing any safeguards against the misuse of eminent domain. (Wonder if she knows about the Castle Coalition?) And of course, she did have some unkind words about her Democrat opponent’s support of the Wal-Mart bill.

One item that blew my mind was her contention that Governor Ehrlich stopped in one way or another taxes proposed by Democrats in Annapolis that would have amounted to $1,500 for each and every resident of the (not so) Free State. Describing her district as a “battleground” because of the effort by Democrats to maintain their stranglehold on the General Assembly and also due to the fact this essentially is an open seat due to the April death of longtime Delegate Bennett Bozman, Luna concluded by asking us for our vote and our help in gaining a seat for the Republicans in Annapolis.

Finally, M.J. Caldwell was called upon to introduce all of the candidates in attendance. If my count was correct there were 30 candidates there, including myself. He said something that I didn’t know as part of his overall remarks – apparently the Democrats have already selected a replacement should the late Tony Bruce “win” the Democrat primary in District 38A. I guess they don’t see the young man (Patrick Armstrong) who paid his fee and got his name on the ballot as a credible candidate they can get behind. Who has the “good old boy” network?

Our next meeting will have far fewer candidates in attendance, as it will be after the primary. That date to remember is September 25th, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

For County Council – at-large

As promised yesterday here are my endorsements for the two at-large ballot spots for each party in their September 12 primary. Because all four Democrats who are on the current County Council decided not to run for re-election for whatever reasons, both of these seats are open. In fact, a “perfect storm” scenario for the County Council could have District 2 representative Stevie Prettyman being the sole holdover from the current council’s makeup, and the split in that situation could vary anywhere from a 6-1 Democrat majority to a 5-2 Republican one. All three Republicans who are on Council now (Prettyman, District 3’s Gail Bartkovich, and Larry Dodd from District 5) are seeking another term.

I’ll start with the Democrat side. Here are their four contenders for the two spots:

Carl Crumbacker, Sr.
Brenda Hughey-Jones
Bill McCain
Gary Tucker Jr.

Unfortunately, I really don’t have a lot of basis to judge Brenda Hughey-Jones from as she missed the NAACP candidate forum due to an emergency. While it’s likely I heard her on WICO because I tried to catch all of the candidate interviews Bill Reddish did, nothing from it sticks out at me. I did get a flyer with some of the items she’s committing to doing as a County Councilperson but they were general concepts rather than specific ideas and issues. In Gary Tucker’s case, I did hear him at the NAACP forum and on the radio, but he didn’t seem as prepared as one would like to see in either instance. I’m certain he has a passion for something but he couldn’t bring it across to me.

So in this case I almost by default have to endorse the other two for the Democratic nominations to the at-large County Council seats. Luckily it doesn’t work that way because both men have ideas and principles that are worth further exploration as the campaign unfolds.

Most intriguing to me in McCain’s case was a call for tax incentives for first-time homebuyers and targeting affordable housing districts. I know his background is in real estate appraisal but these are things that Wicomico County needs. Believe me, I know because I’m in the housing market right now! Fortunately I do have some means to get a decent house in a good area but not all working families do. I had one opportunity to turn a house that was being rented into an owner-occupied dwelling but alas, it fell through. It would be great to see others manage to achieve this feat and I’d like McCain to further elaborate on this platform plank as the weeks elapse toward the November election.

Meanwhile, Crumbacker impresses me as a fiscal conservative who’s running because Wicomico County needs a vision and a plan to be run properly. Noting that “citizens are sick of bad service” got my attention as well. Of course, bad service now should fall under the eye of the County Executive but having someone on the Council who’s keeping that in mind is no bad thing. Both of these men seem, at least at first glance, to shade their views toward those of so-called “Reagan Democrats.”

Because of this, I believe Carl Crumbacker and Bill McCain are the wisest choices to advance to the general election on the Democrat side.

Switching back to my GOP home, vying for their two slots are:

M.J. Caldwell
John Cannon
Lucy Graf
John Herweh
Sheryl Peters

Much like the case of Hughey-Jones on the Democrat side, I know next to nothing about John Herweh and thus have no basis to have an informed opinion. Now I do know a little more about Graf and Peters because the two women are related to each other and publicly announced they’re running as a tandem. In particular, the feisty Graf was a hit at the NAACP forum. But my impression of both was that they are quite firmly in the moderate camp of the GOP. I know that Peters is a solid Republican (president of the Lower Shore Republican Women’s Club) and I admire both of them for seeking the seats; however, advocating a “revisit” to the revenue cap is worrisome when I feel the citizens have spoken on the means they feel government should live within.

Aside from what I thought was a misstep by M.J. Caldwell in talking about “holding the budget hostage” to promote hiring diversity (my idea of diversity is hiring every one of the best people for the job regardless of pigmentation, presence of Y chromosomes, and choices of bed partner and faith), I think both Cannon and Caldwell represent solid conservative choices for County Council. They both have the added benefit of advocating growth while wishing to keep it in the core areas most suited for expansion.

Thus I’m urging local Republicans to advance John Cannon and M.J. Caldwell to the November election.

Election Calendar – August 28 thru September 12

This will be the final Election Calendar until after the primary. Unfortunately, many campaigns are going to be in the mode where they schedule by the seat of their pants so I don’t get the benefit of seeing it on their website calendars. So the pickings are pretty slim.

Here’s items that carry over from last week:

…the regular meeting of the Wicomico County Republican Club occurs on Monday, August 28 at the Chamber of Commerce building (144 E. Main in Salisbury.) We’ll begin the schmoozing at 7:00 p.m. and get to hear from District 38B hopeful Bonnie Luna and Wicomico County Sheriff candidate Chris South about 7:30 or so. I’m sure almost every Republican that’s on the Wicomico County ballot will be there.

Also upcoming is a fundraiser for County Executive candidate BJ Corbin on August 31st, 6-9 p.m. This $50 event will be held at the Old Mill Crab House along Route 54 at Waller Road just west of Delmar.

I saw in my perusal of websites today that District 38B contender Jack Lord is planning on being at a Block Party in Pocomoke on September 9th and fellow 38B candidate Michael James has a “meet and greet” here in Salisbury on August 30th. (I know his campaign manager Dustin Mills reads monoblogue, perhaps he’ll share further details.) Yet another District 38B candidate, Bonnie Luna, has many events on her excellent calendar, I’ll just go ahead and link here to it to save myself a bunch of typing.

Finally, I found that District 37B incumbent Addie Eckardt (she of the hot pink signage) has a fundraiser on September 11th in Cambridge at American Legion Post 91 (it’s right on Route 50). The festivities run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and admission is $35. To RSVP you may call (410) 228-8048.

That’s pretty much it. I do get e-mail from many campaigns but most of them are looking for money or spreading news about previous events. Whether the Election Calendar is a viable service of monoblogue is going to depend on how much cooperation I get after the primary – of course with the field of candidates narrowed (sometimes drastically like in the U.S. Senate race) that may make things a little easier, I can just verify which e-mail addresses I do have and make sure I can contact the remainder.

Also, I believe Bill Reddish has managed to wade through the entire field of primary candidates for his usual 7:40 a.m. to 8 a.m. interview slot so I’m guessing that he’s also going to take a political hiatus as well. I heard on Friday that Salisbury city councilperson Debbie Campbell is Monday’s guest so that tells me we’re back to normalcy for awhile.

Is this Alessigate?

Last week there was coverage in both Justice for All? and Duvafiles about a possible error, omission, or (as conspiratorially whispered) coverup with campaign contributors to Ron Alessi’s County Executive bid, particularly a large amount of donations from County Council candidate MJ Caldwell.

It so happens that I’m placed in an interesting position because I tread on both sides of this issue. On the one hand, obviously I’m a local blogger and I read the other local blogs like Duvafiles, Justice For All?, National Joe-A-Graphic, etc. on a regular (if not daily) basis. For example, last night they were the ones who alerted me to the Maryland Court of Appeals decision on early voting so I expanded my line of inquiry on the topic and posted my thoughts on it. Knowing that they have a history in Salisbury and Wicomico County whereas I don’t I see these three gentlemen as a good background resource and hopefully they appreciate my reporting and perspective on events as well.

Now in regards to the e-mail that I also got from Dave Parker, I regularly receive e-mail from him that regards WCRC business since I’m on that mailing list. What makes things interesting on the other end is that I’m running for the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee with six other men, three of whom will be newcomers like myself. One of them is the aforementioned Dave Parker, and another is the original author of the note, Ed Heath. Further still, MJ Caldwell is on the ballot twice as he’s also seeking to retain his Central Committee seat. And all of us will be elected as there’s only seven people running for the seven spots.

So I’m going to give the Alessi campaign and its treasurer Robert Walton Sr. the benefit of the doubt that someone has made an honest mistake. I’m not sure why MJ Caldwell would not want to admit he gave $2500 to the Alessi campaign, I seem to think he’s allowed to do so (unless he’s reached his limit in this election cycle which is a possible oversight, hard to keep track of all these things for four years) but if he didn’t it’s also possible the state records are messed up. (“Chesapeake Dogs” brought the possibility up and it’s a good point.)

However, I agree with Hadley that the donation snafu is a matter that still should be investigated by the State Board of Elections because $2500 is a lot of money in a campaign like this and if there’s a coverup I want that out regardless of the fallout. Republicans are much better at policing their own than Democrats are, one can use Tom DeLay and William Jefferson as examples of how each party treats those accused of wrongdoing. While DeLay was drummed out of Congress based on a partisan and questionable indictment, Jefferson remains in the good graces of Congressional Democrats despite being caught with $90,000 of possibly tainted cash.

And it would be much better to have this ironed out before the primary so, if by chance something doesn’t clear the legal smell test, the Republican voters can judge accordingly and elect another candidate rather than have a nasty “October surprise” hand the County Executive job to a Democrat almost by default and possibly jeopardize the chances of other GOP members in close races.

If this puts me at odds with Parker, Heath, Caldwell, et. al. as we become the next edition of the Republican Central Committee so be it – I can live with that. I’ve spent a lot of time this election cycle trying to inform the voters so they can make a good choice and one reason why is I’m betting that, with all the facts in hand, the people in our neck of the woods will decide to vote for conservative, common sense candidates who do things on the up-and-up. The Republican Party on a national scale is having a hard time getting through the shenanigans associated with Jack Abramoff, so we don’t need problems on a local scale to taint us even more.

For County Council – Districts

Today it’s time to make my primary endorsements in some of the County Council races. Probably the best place to begin is to identify the players. Here’s the roster for both “teams”, the Democrats and Republicans. (At this time, I know of no other minor party or independent candidates for these seats.)

Democrats:

District 1: Mac Hayward, Sheree Sample-Hughes
District 2: none
District 3: Mike Pretl
District 4: Neil Bayne, David MacLeod
District 5: Ed Werkheiser

Republicans:

District 1: none
District 2: Stevie Prettyman
District 3: Gail Bartkovich
District 4: Bryan Brushmiller
District 5: Larry Dodd, Joe Holloway, Dorothy White

As you can read, I have just 3 contested races to deal with here, and two districts will be decided in September as just one party has candidates. As far as my personal vote, it’s still up in the air where I’ll be living let alone which candidate I’ll support. Currently I live on the fringes of District 3 (so obviously my primary vote goes to Gail Bartkovich) but I’m looking at houses in both District 4 and District 5, and there could be a scenario where I live in a house on a district border so I might just get TWO signs.

In District 1, the winner of the September 12 primary will be assured of a County Council seat because there is no candidate on the Republican side. I believe there’s some personal reasons involved with Mac Hayward getting a later start on his campaign, but really I haven’t seen or heard much from him – granted I’m not often in District 1 in my travels but you’d think I’d see him at some of the other events I attend. Hayward stressed his interest in education in the times I’ve seen or heard him.

On the other hand, I’ve seen Sheree Sample-Hughes almost everywhere – not to the Jim Gillespie level but she is a Democrat after all and I don’t make too many of their events. While she has some positions on issues that trouble me (reintegrating felons into the community and the county’s revenue cap are two examples), I think there’s a place at the table for some of her ideas and she certainly has made the extra effort to get herself seen whenever the opportunity arises. With the energy and passion she’s shown, I think youth should be served and the voters in District 1 should elect Sheree Sample-Hughes on September 12. I’ll take the chance that she uses the seat as a springboard to becoming a formidable state candidate because she’s worked harder to gain election in this race.

Turning to another Democrat race, District 4’s race features two men with interesting backgrounds – Neil Bayne, who has worked in the television and journalistic fields; and David MacLeod, onetime CIA employee who served in Africa and southeast Asia for nearly a decade. Both men share concerns about growth in Wicomico County as a campaign issue.

The impression I’ve had from what I heard and read about MacLeod is that he’s more focused on the impact of growth on the environment and may push a bit too far into the realm of restricting growth to a point where we regress instead of progress. He’s also interested in “(d)eveloping a neighborly relationship with Salisbury University administration and students.” That’s all well and good; however, one must remember (particularly SU students) that they are guests in our community, not the other way around. SU should be reaching out to us and students act more like those of manners and taste would if they were invited into our home.

But what sold me on Neil Bayne was one remark he made at the NAACP candidate forum. It wasn’t the one that drew the most applause regarding the county council’s meeting times, it was where he related to the assembled that one man and one vote were not going to solve the county’s problems. He also correctly noted that Wicomico County is always going to have to compete with the allure of the “big city” and its higher wages. (It’s possible Bayne could be on the County Council when Wicomico County becomes a “big city”, I believe we’re close to the borderline where the feds can declare Salisbury to be an urban area.) Because of his no-nonsense tone and realistic understanding of what the County Council can and can’t do to solve issues, I’m endorsing Neil Bayne for the District 4 Democratic nomination.

This brings us to the lone contested Republican race, where incumbent County Councilman Larry Dodd faces two challengers in Joe Holloway and Dorothy White. I’m very glad Holloway and White got into the race, not that I harbor any dislike for Larry Dodd, but because there’s two people who said that “yes, we have a Republican in the seat, but I think I can do the job better for (x) reason.” As is (hopefully) apparent, I like contested primaries and do not believe in automatic “incumbent protection.”

Of the two challengers, I know a little bit more about Dorothy White because I’ve had occasion to sit with her working the GOP booth at the Farm and Home Show. She was very much driven by the idea of “unity” on the County Council. But to me, I’m not sure unity is possible when you could have people who are dead set against the revenue cap (for example) at loggerheads with those who say the taxpayers voted to give themselves a break and we should respect their wishes. Some politicians misuse the concept of leadership against the will of the people as a bid to place more power in the hands of the governors rather than the governed. Joe Holloway has also made some good points in his campaign, but not enough to convince me that he would be worth a change on the County Council.

Thus, Larry Dodd is getting my endorsement for re-election, but it’s sort of a probationary one. Perhaps it’s the intimidation of being a rookie on County Council (and in the minority) or just in his personality and manner as he seems to be an easygoing sort, but I’m looking for him to take more of a leadership role this time around, while also remembering Republican principles he’s posted on his website.

And while I’m endorsing Dodd that’s not to say either alternative would be bad. We actually have three pretty good candidates in that district, certainly Dorothy White has been dogged and tenacious in her campaigning (she filed in July 2005) and Holloway apparently has some business background that would be helpful with assisting in county affairs. So I hope Larry Dodd isn’t counting just on his website and number of yard signs scattered about District 5 to assure him re-election, he has two spirited folks who want his job now and a third biding his time from the Democrat side. Tell us that you’re going to lead and give us specfics on what you want to accomplish.

At the risk of being accused of a quid pro quo, I should also thank Larry because in looking up something for this post I found out he links to my website from his. However, he needs to fix the link! There’s one too many “http” ‘s there, and I think it’s true on some of the other links as well.

Tomorrow I’m planning on tackling the County Council at-large races.

Ten questions for…Addie Eckardt

Today I get a much shorter set of answers to my Ten Questions as I turn back to the Maryland General Assembly races. If you see a hot pink political sign in certain parts of the Eastern Shore, there’s a good chance the person supports District 37B incumbent Addie Eckardt. Addie’s been at it for a number of years now and judging from the little bit I read on her answers prior to starting this post, she’s leaning heavily on her experience to maintain the seat. As for the rest we’ll find out together as I start another chapter in this TQ saga.

Question #1:

Some of you participated in the recent special session to modify the large rate hikes that were to be enacted by Baltimore Gas & Electric. However, our electrical rates from the local Eastern Shore suppliers went unchanged.. With that in mind, would you be more in favor of a total repeal of the 1999 deregulation laws, or do you believe the concept is sound and only needs a few guardrails and rate safeguards?

I did participate in the special session and did not vote for the bill that was presented and ultimately passed. During my tenure as Delegate I have closely followed the deregulation process. My understanding of the issue is that since the market in which Maryland is a player is mostly deregulated and the cost of power was increasing, deregulation in Maryland would bring the cost to consumers down and offer choices in the market place. Some legislators were not in favor of deregulation from the beginning and put many roadblocks to the plan. One was to put caps in place so that constituents would be guaranteed a stable low rate and the caps would come off in a defined period of time in a phased-in process according to the geographic areas of the state. In the meantime, costs across the county continued to rise due to increased usage. Other influencing factors contributing to the consumption of global resources were 9/11, the War, Katrina, Rita, and China. Maryland’s rates have remained artificially low because of the cap and I do believe lawmakers never anticipated the situation to turn out the way it did given the multiple catastrophes in play. I did not support the caps because I was concerned that the longer we delayed implementation of deregulation, the greater the possibility of interference would delay competition in the market place. In other words, the Maryland legislature in 1999 gave the marketplace a double message- come to Maryland and do business but wait 6 years to do it. At the time companies were ready to do business but when legislators began to intervene, the interest waned. The new legislation has increased the cost of doing business in Maryland. The Governor and the industry were developing a phase-in of the rates which I believe could have worked. Since then I am very concerned because citizens have again a fixed rate which may help for now but the cost over time will be greater than if completion had been encouraged and choices given.

Question #2:

In the last two sessions of the General Assembly, the issue of health insurance and who pays for it has taken center stage. (Examples: the Fair Share Health Care Act and its proposed expansion with last year’s HB1510, which was sponsored by Delegate Hubbard and defeated in committee.) Recently the state of Massachusetts adopted legislation effective in 2007 mandating all residents secure coverage under some public or private health insurance plan or face a financial penalty. Do you see this concept as an idea Maryland should adopt?

Health Care for all citizens has always been an important issue and one that I have worked on while a legislator. Having been a participant in the discussion of health care reform for the last 20 years, I find ourselves in a similar situation to the utility one – that in spite of all the effort to make health insurance available, affordable and accessible, more citizens find it increasingly harder to get access and the costs increase. Last year I put in a bill that was a modification of the Massachusetts plan but it didn’t get much attention because the Health care Commission didn’t think smart cards would work and did not want to provide incentives to small businesses to offer the coverage to employees. The Massachusetts plan has some excellent possibilities, for example, a central clearinghouse for the plan, but I do not think mandatory insurance with penalties is the way to go. Most citizens could afford a catastrophic plan, coupled with a health savings account in the consumer driven model. Make the premiums tax deductible. There is another proposal on the table from last session (HB1412) and I will be working on the introduction of it for the 07 session. Yes we will have this discussion and I am sure bills will be introduced (HB1412) that model the Massachusetts plan.

Question #3:

Within our area, Somerset County traditionally has among the highest unemployment rates in the state of Maryland. In every election, well-paying jobs and how to secure them is an issue. If you are elected to the General Assembly, what policies would you favor commencing or retaining in an attempt to create or lure good-paying jobs for the Eastern Shore?

Economic Development and good paying jobs have been and are an important of my platform since my election in 1994. I have been pleased with the progress but it is slow because retention of jobs is also important. When businesses are not domiciled in Maryland or on the Shore it is easy for them to pull out and move to where the cost of doing business is less. At least 85% of business in Maryland is small business and working with citizens to build small businesses is in a continual focus of the Department of Business and Economic Development – Small Business Administration, the regional economic councils, local economic development offices, and Minority business offices. The recruitment of business also means that our educational system is responsive to the need of the community and workforce preparedness is in place. Right now the Eastern Shore faces a severe shortage of health care professionals – nurses, dental hygienists, pharmacists, radiology technicians and others. I have been working with the Administration to provide resources for nursing education as well as clinical sites and experiences for the health care providers. In addition, there are many projects for agricultural based/resource based job opportunities and many high-tech business proposals being discussed. For example, I serve on a board that is recruiting some very exciting potential business that uses feathers for product. Venture capital is necessary and a greater focus on research and development through our local universities will facilitate the business development.

Question #4:

This year a state takeover of several failing Baltimore City Schools was thwarted by the General Assembly overriding an earlier veto of a bill Governor Ehrlich rejected. A few states, though, are attempting to remove themselves from the federal “No Child Left Behind” regulations for various reasons, even at the risk of losing federal dollars. Do you support the federal NCLB mandates or do you feel the state could and should go without the additional restrictions (and funding)?

With regard to” No Child Left Behind” there are some very good aspects, especially the focus on every child receiving a quality education and meeting reading and math standards. Yes, there are some parts that need modification and there has been much discussion with the federal government about this. I would not reject the opportunity to continue with the program. What is more important to me is that we have put over 1 billion dollars into education over the past five years and we put a plan in place to assist schools in the event that students and schools were not making progress. What will happen to those students in the Baltimore city schools who are not reading and doing math? Will they graduate? I think not. Will they be able to get jobs and find meaningful work without the skills necessary to succeed? Or will they not graduate and wind up unemployed, on the streets, or in jail? I have visited an elementary school (an Edison School) that is doing well – students are achieving. I favored the intervention from the State Board to help those failing schools.

Question #5:

In the 2006 General Assembly, the Blackwater development in Cambridge became a contentious issue which led to legislation that was eventually defeated. However, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has continued to apply pressure to legislators and encourage voters to speak out on what they perceive as a threat to bay water quality. On the other hand, the city of Cambridge sees Blackwater as a needed shot in the arm for its economy and tax base. Where do you see yourself on this issue and related development matters?

There was a bill in Annapolis that would interrupt the local planning process regarding land development. In regards to the Blackwater legislation, the bill was introduced by western shore legislators without any conversation with the local delegation, which is the customary way of bill introduction. I did not support the bill as it did not come through the local delegation and would usurp the local process prematurely. Dorchester County is often the last frontier for development and since the development of Sailwinds Park, the subsequent focus on the Hyatt, and downtown redevelopment, I believe the process put in place through smart growth and the critical areas needed to be honored. The entire community needed the conversation about growth and the impact on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. As I have traveled across the country, I have been impressed with development that has been managed with sensitivity to the local culture as well as the environmental assets. I have always believed that growth will come to Dorchester and it is important that it be managed carefully with as many citizens involved in the discussion and subsequently the decisions. Cambridge cannot expand services for citizens without some growth. Most of the county is not available for development due to the tidal and nontidal wetlands and the amount of farmland necessary to maintain farming as one of the major businesses. I co-sponsored HB114, which makes several changes regarding local planning and requires local jurisdictions to plan for potential annexation and include in planning documents. It also requires cities and counties to work together. I believe this legislation will address the concerns raised by the Blackwater situation.

Question #6:

The last two sessions of the General Assembly have seen an inordinate amount of time spent dealing with personnel matters and political appointments. Some have claimed this as a usurpation of power properly belonging to the executive branch (governor’s office) but others see this as a proper extension of the duties of the General Assembly. In your opinion, has the General Assembly gone too far or does the Governor still wield too much power when it comes to personnel decisions?

I believe the General Assembly has gone too far to block the Governor’s prerogative that has been the practice for the past 40 or more years. In the previous administration the changes were frequent but I don’t remember anyone questioning the Governor at that time. Government can get pretty entrenched over the years and if agencies are not functioning well, the Governor is held responsible whether he was responsible for the problems or not. The Governor answers to the citizens and if there was one message that rang true during the 2004 campaign it was that government was growing too fast and was not as efficient as it could be. The current Governor put together a transition team to review state government and to recommend changes, which they did. Outcome performance measures were established and managing for results became the expected practice. I did learn this past session that the Legislature does wield a lot of power as well and action became overreaching as bills were introduced and passed that exceeded Constitutional authority.

Question #7:

For the Eastern Shore, transportation can sometimes be tricky because of Bay Bridge traffic and traveling to and from the beach on a summer weekend can be a real headache. Solutions advocated range from another Bay Bridge to a ferry service to a light rail system, and as always people want the existing highways improved. What transportation improvements do you feel are a priority for the Eastern Shore, and how would you pay for them?

Transportation is always an area of concern for the Shore as the numbers of cars on the roads increase each year. There was an opportunity to address the issue of traffic and the Bay Bridge this year and the results was simply “Yes we need a bridge but not in my back yard”, so actually not much happened. Now is the time to plan if in fact a bridge is necessary and it probably will be. A monorail has been suggested but determined to be cost prohibitive. I think one reasonable option that I have worked on is to expand small business from homes as an option and this is occurring. With the expansion of broadband and other technology, the possibilities are tremendous. If we are serious on the Shore about diversifying our economic bases we can offer more opportunity to stay on the Shore to work. The counties will have these decisions so that the Shore does not become just a bedroom community. In the meantime, I think that toll roads with certain access for local users are a possibility – at least we could cover the increasing cost of our roads and bridges. If we adopt a policy of all who use contribute and initiate a conversation on how to improve and maintain our highway system I think we can establish a plan.

Question #8:

Drugs and gangs are a growing problem on the Eastern Shore. The local authorities do their best but we’re a long way from fighting the problem successfully. In what ways do you think the General Assembly can best address this crime issue, and what tools do you see working best?

Much crime is driven by substance use, and that has been an ongoing concern of mine. About 80-85 % of the jail population is fatherless and has substance abuse issues. Treatment is necessary and can work. Maryland has some of the finest diagnostic tools available in the country for determining who can benefit from treatment and who cannot. The issue has been how to implement the programs and how to pay for them. I have been an advocate of employment in recovery models so that individual cannot only benefit from treatment but also from job training. Many who get out of jail have no aftercare and no ongoing support to continue the behavior change over time. The Governor initiated two programs: one for those in jail and who are returning to the community and another for those as an alternate to incarceration. I also have been an advocate of drug courts and while I have been in office we have gone from one or two to almost one in every jurisdiction. What has been necessary is the research to support what interventions work and what doesn’t and we now have that information.

Question #9:

This year, you will be the first in the history of the General Assembly to be nominated and elected through the use of early voting. Proponents have stated that early voting is beneficial for turnout, but others claim the new regulations will encourage fraud and have petitioned to place the issue on the ballot as a referendum. In addition, these same laws have made absentee ballots available upon request with no reason needed. With that in mind, are you in favor of repealing the early voting laws, and why?

I did not support the early voting legislation and I would support legislation to repeal the laws. The Constitution clearly sets out how voting is to be handled and I do not believe the early times will address the issue of access. Those who want to vote and consider it an important right will take the time or make the time to exercise that right. We have a mechanism for early voting and that is by absentee ballot. I think citizens have many reasons for not voting and if we wanted to seriously address the issue we might convene some focus groups at the local level and gather information about the reasons individuals don’t vote. Responsibility is a significant factor.

Question #10:

It is almost a certainty at this early date that either Governor Ehrlich will be reelected or Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley will take over the governor’s chair early next year. If you are elected to the General Assembly and the representative of the opposite party (i.e. a Democrat would be working with Governor Ehrlich, a Republican would be working with Mayor O’Malley) wins election, with what issues do you see being able to find common ground with the governor?

I have had the opportunity to work with Governors from both parties and have been able to work on issues of common ground. For example, Initiatives involving economic development- the Hyatt development and Eastern Shore Hospital Center relocation; the One Maryland program and tax incentives that resulted in the regional councils; Historic tax credits; Cultural Heritage Tourism Areas; Arts and Entertainment Districts; the Children’s Health care program; Senior prescription programs; Small group health insurance reform; Education investments; child care and children coming to school ready to learn; environmental issues- clean air, water and lead paint remediation to name a few

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I don’t know what happened to the period at the end of the last sentence (maybe the prior TQ answerer stole it to sustain all of her commas) but I thought Addie put up some excellent answers and more importantly gave good examples. But I suppose it’s the advantage of incumbency there.

As of this moment I have vacancies on both Friday and Saturday for my Ten Questions. I’ve resent out a couple for the General Assembly so I harbor hope that someone will come through on Saturday, meanwhile I’m hopeful that Jim Corwin gets back to me for Friday. Time’s growing short before the primary.

Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll revise the questions and/or resend them to the primary survivors. It may happen on the Congressional side since only one person assured of being on the November ballot (Green Party candidate Kevin Zeese) has answered the questions – the presumptive frontrunners (Steele, Cardin, Mfume) have not. Now if Allan Lichtman or Dennis Rasmussen can convince enough people to vote for them then I’ll have the Democrat nominee as well. But right now the poll numbers of TQ responders aren’t too good on the U.S. Senate side. Now, on the Maryland General Assembly side it obviously depends on who wins the 4 sets of primaries that carry through to November (House of Delegates District 37A will be decided in September because no Republican filed and Senate District 38 belongs to unopposed State Senator Lowell Stoltzfus.)

But with fewer candidates to deal with, this won’t need to be such a chore; in fact, I can probably get away with doing TQ part 2 in a total of six “debate-style” posts tailored to the U.S. Congress and Senate races and each district. I’ve sort of hit a backlog of opinions I have to share here and the next several days will be busy (hey, it’s the Shorebirds’ last homestand!) so it will give me an opportunity to get back to that once the primary passes. Any reposting of TQ after the primaries won’t be until mid-October at the earliest.

Hopefully this isn’t it until the “debates” occur in early September but if it is be looking for them.

Ten questions for…Lih Young

Once again, Ten Questions looks at a U.S. Senate candidate, and this time it’s a woman who’s apparently a perennial candidate, Taiwan native Lih Young. In looking at the file I downloaded from her, she has some of the longest answers to the Ten Questions so I’ll be up late reading as I go. Oh well. So without further ado, here are her answers.

Question #1:

There are several schools of thought regarding the problem of illegal immigrants, or as some would call them, “undocumented workers.” Some solutions offered range from complete amnesty to sealing the border with a wall to penalizing employers who hire these workers. Currently there are competing House and Senate measures – in particular the House bill has spawned massive protests around the country. While I have listed some of the possible solutions, it’s no exhaustive list. What solutions do you favor for the issue?

Stop minorities bashing. Support civilian review board. Improve quality officials. race relationships, diversity in good faith, not rhetoric or abuse as often by “fraud-crime- injustice networks”. Clean-up; not relaying/shuffling at the expense of justice, productivity, good workers, minorities, immigrants. Investigate/ prosecute/ eliminate: unjust appropriation, siphoning resources to benefit a few.

All people, including minorities have a lot to contribute; should have opportunities to reach their potential. Support: good-faith diversity, not rhetoric or bad-faith (used for wrong purposes: unjust practices, unlawful acts, falsification, false/misleading testimonies, bad proposals, or for token only etc.), equality (opportunities, education, employment, business, procurement, contracting, promotion; learning, environment); fair election process; people input, open public hearings, town hall meetings (not for formality only); accurate timely information, report, statistics; assistance to needy, disability, elderly, vulnerable, but not to be diverted to benefit a few or “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation. Protect people (rights, resources, reputation, liberties, constitutional, litigation, jury trials, due process, grievance, complaint, records), families, affiliations, social relationships, heritages. Improve: accountability, cost-effectiveness; benefit people, all ethnic groups, (not like current system siphoning public fund/resources (local- federal) mainly to benefit a few); quality of officials. Support affirmative action, smart growth, “proper growth”. Restore principle, function, fairness, non-discrimination. Examine/ eliminate: racial profiling, endless unjust practices, double standards; false arrest, citation, charges, detention, incarceration, bond/bail, unjust sentencing, police brutality, “official misconduct- fraud- crime- injustice networks”; improper accounting, records; abuse/diversion of social benefit programs, distortion of fund; disparity of inmate population, false excuses/disguise of abuse, detention, imprisonment. Many officials (3 branches, past, current) are problems, not solution; unjust manipulation, influence, misleading, deceit; controlled by or be part of “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” = 4th branch which overlap private and public sectors. Eliminate serious problems: public agencies, private businesses (e.g., financial, legal/judicial, accounting, etc.); unjust practices, manipulation, influences; immoral, unethical, unlawful acts, fraud, crime; falsification, false excuses, false arrest, citations, liens, foreclosure, etc; deprive/ damage/ destroy people (individuals, families, business; personal, political, civic, association, social relationship); silencing people down with threats, coercion, discrimination, victimization, retaliation, civil/human rights backwards, socio-political problems, vicious cycles, people-slaves; official violation of laws, unjust schemes; bad-faith; sole sources, secret deals, abandonment of public resources especially without public knowledge; distortion of fair market mechanism in many aspects: planning, construction, land deals; disregarding important factors, justification, priorities, cost-benefits (whether education, school construction, economic development, affordable housing, medium priced dwelling units, traffic, parking…,); heavy burden with taxation, bond/debt, fees.

Issues are interrelated, horizontally, vertically, local-global; e.g., budget, education, public safety, health care, etc. See other issue statements. Problem solving approaches: proactive, diagnostic, cost-effective, preventive; not minorities-bashing. America: founded, grown, because of immigrants. Declaration of Independence, US Constitution: simple, valuable for hundreds of years, result of immigration. Republican candidate Steve Rosen seems to forget that with false excuse of illegal immigrants; disregards real problems of “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”= “EXIS OF EVILS” IN OUR HOMELAND = “super classes of crimes, welfare, parasites” = “cruel tyranny” = “robbery machine” = penetrating, expanding everywhere (inc. non-profit, civic organization) = the most terrifying terrorists on daily basis; worse then World Trade Center 9-11-2001 incidence, pre-emptive wars with Patriot Act, Florida election 2000, President Nixon’s Watergate, Financial/accounting/legal disasters (e.g., Enron bankruptcy), etc; opposite the purposes of education, government function, judicial missions; destroy our society, democracy, justice, peace; with double standards; endless unlawful, criminal acts, unjust schemes, scams, depriving of resources (public, private); fraud, theft, identity theft, hate crime, false arrests, citation, detention, imprisonment, contempt of order, bond/bail; murder, attempt of murder; harassment, victimization, discrimination, retaliation; cause homelessness, poverty, serious socio- political- election- media problems in vicious cycles; civil/human rights backward, people-slave. Scapegoat on minorities: bashing, harassing; false excuses to benefit, facilitate “official misconduct- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation. In a local candidate forum at Jewish Community Center, Steve Rosen arrogantly said that he could influence media. Candidate LIH YOUNG pointed out that Rosen should examine the violation of “rule of law” (Rosen’s own quoted words), problems about media (LIH YOUNG testified on such and other problems frequently), Rosen’s preference treatment from LWV with earlier access to Dnet, uploading more issues, lengthy statements; evidence of unfairness, unjust manipulation, as often by “official misconduct- fraud- crime- networks”. Note: Candidate LIH YOUNG’s repeated requests, including placing Young’s photo on Dnet was denied, when supposed to. LIH YOUNG SUPPORT: measures to promote democracy, productivity, heath, education, public safety; equality, employment, reaching potential to contribute most. Focus: strengthen the implementation, enforcement of Constitutional law, good existing laws; not abuse, misuse. Protect people’s rights (liberties, constitutional rights, litigation, jury trials, due process, resources, properties, reputation, association); not deprived, damaged, destroyed; not secret detention, deprivation, disparity treatment, sentencing. Investigate/ prosecute/ eliminate the false arrests, detention, falsification, false excuses, unjust practices, manipulation, influences, as often by “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”. OPPOSE: anti-immigrants approaches, hate-crime; obstruct, destruct, hinder productivity, employment, job search, purchasing power, family life; deprive, damage liberties, rights, resources; bad legislative bills with hidden agenda (regarding unjust heavy penalties, driving, license, vehicles, etc.) to benefit/ facilitate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation at the expense of the people, especially minorities.

Question #2:

Another top-burner concern is the current spike in the price of gasoline. Again, this is a broad issue with many scenarios that can be played out. Possible solutions that have been bandied about in recent days are a temporary suspension of the federal 18.4 cent a gallon tax on gasoline and easing environmental restrictions on gasoline blends (as happened after Hurricane Katrina). Further down the road but possibly affecting prices on the futures market would be the approval of additional oil drilling in ANWR and the Gulf of Mexico. If you were elected, what solutions to this issue would you pursue and why?

Major transaction or land deal should be rigorously reviewed objectively by academically very well trained, based on merits, priorities, cost- effectiveness, social cost-benefits, etc., through competitive processes, general soliciting, fair market mechanism; not arranged by the developer or inner circle; should be openly discussed with residents, in official meetings, Mayor/Council/ public hearings; not misleading, concealing, unjust manipulation or influence; not rushed through as the consent agenda items as mall purchases of goods and services. Eliminate, prevent: abandonment of public resources, land, properties to benefit a few or “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” including developer, government attorneys, lawyers, law firms, etc.) at the expense of general public and future generations, including other jurisdictions, especially with grants and public debts from the state and federal; sold, leased out (secret hidden agenda, even huge acres, decades-long lease) with zero or no fair compensation, despite citizen’s objection; unnecessarily leased private properties for government use at very high costs even with short lease (a few years or shorter); with extra high costs to construct building, furnish expansive equipments; and when construction is done, lease expires, completed products abandoned or free to a few; often disguised by partnership, economic development, school, education, public safety, etc.; several rounds of unjust abandonment and purchase; misleading public roads, highways, when abandoned to private; unjust projects, appropriation; misuse, abuse, misappropriation; false road construction, maintenance; false records: land, roads, maps; unjust demolition of building even in good condition to initiate new construction, project, purchase, including library or school.

Question #3:

Recently the news has featured ethics scandals involving GOP donor Jack Abramoff and former House member Duke Cunningham of California as well as Democrat House members William Jefferson of Louisiana and Allan Mollohan of West Virginia. If elected, what steps would you take to help eliminate ethical improprieties among our elected representatives?

Rigorous review, analysis: budget, based on merit, principle, priorities, cost-effectiveness, social cost-benefits. Promote quality, peace, justice, fair election processes; televise, disseminate, maintain meaningful information; issue, candidate, debate. Oppose: unjust practices, manipulation, influence; bad legislative proposals, hidden agenda with false excuses (economic development, housing, transportation…whatever) for private gain (officials, developers, lawyers, etc.); nonsense grants, programs, projects: facilitate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”=cruel tyranny= robbery machine; continuing, on-going, expanding, penetrating, threat, coercion, victimization, deprivation, discrimination; endless immoral-unlawful acts, rob/destruct resources (public, private; business, civic, political), frivolous litigation, levies, foreclosures; improper processing of complaints, proceedings, docketing; cause vicious cycles: socio- political- election-media; civil-human rights, people-slave.

Question #4:

Along that same line, many people have seen the vast sums of money that seemingly are required to run for public office and were under the impression that campaign finance reforms such as those enacted with the McCain-Feingold bill were supposed to relieve this inequity. On the whole, however, the money trail has not ceased even with these laws. How do you favor strengthening these laws to make them more effective, or do you agree with some First Amendment advocates who think these laws should be eliminated?

The way to eliminate corporate corruption is not by rhetoric legislative bills. Most likely the legislative bills are bad, and often with serious hidden agendas and appropriation to benefit a few. A lot of legislative bills are unnecessary, except to keep legislators busy, without time to think, or to deal with more important bills or other things, e.g., resolving and provide proper remedies against “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks: operation, unjust practices; actually prosecuting and eliminating frauds, crimes or corruption (public or private, corporate or government). There are Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other existing good laws, which need to be enforced, implemented; but are often ignored, violated intentionally, as by the rampant of “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” with endless immoral, unlawful acts, frauds and crimes, which breed more corruption and violence domestically and globally. U.S. Senate, or even three branches of government, law enforcement, government attorneys, prosecutors, local- federal are not doing rights; failed to carry out their responsibilities to enforce the good laws, protecting people, their rights, resources, properties, reputation, due process, etc. Important but often ignored: Prosecute and eliminate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation, unjust practice, manipulation, influence. Stop processing bad or unnecessary legislative bills; proper processing of complaints, files, records, resolution. Based on merits, cost-effectiveness, priorities, socials cost-benefits; stop bad appropriation. Rigorous review, analysis: budget, based on merit, principle, priorities, cost-effectiveness, social cost-benefits. Promote quality, peace, justice, fair election processes; televise, disseminate, maintain meaningful information; issue, candidate, debate. Oppose: unjust practices, manipulation, influence; bad legislative proposals, hidden agenda with false excuses (economic development, housing, transportation, whatever) for private gain (officials, developers, lawyers, etc.); nonsense grants, programs, projects: facilitate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”. Major transaction or land deal should be rigorously reviewed objectively by academically very well trained, based on merits, priorities, cost- effectiveness, social cost-benefits, etc., through competitive processes, general soliciting, fair market mechanism; not arranged by the developer or inner circle; should be openly discussed with residents, in official meetings, Mayor/Council/ public hearings; not misleading, concealing, unjust manipulation or influence; not rushed through as the consent agenda items as mall purchases of goods and services. Eliminate, prevent: abandonment of public resources, land, properties to benefit a few or “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” including developer, government attorneys, lawyers, law firms, etc.) at the expense of general public and future generations, including other jurisdictions, especially with grants and public debts from the state and federal; sold, leased out (secret hidden agenda, even huge acres, decades-long lease) with zero or no fair compensation, despite citizen’s objection; unnecessarily leased private properties for government use at very high costs even with short lease (a few years or shorter); with extra high costs to construct building, furnish expansive equipments; and when construction is done, lease expires, completed products abandoned or free to a few; often disguised by partnership, economic development, school, education, public safety, etc.; several rounds of unjust abandonment and purchase; misleading public roads, highways, when in fact abandoned to private; unjust projects, appropriation; misuse, abuse, misappropriation; false road construction, maintenance; false records: land, roads, maps; unjust demolition of building even in good condition to initiate new construction, project, purchase, including library or school.

Question #5:

While the above issues have captured the headlines, our War on Terror (particularly in Iraq) is never far from our minds. It goes without saying that the vast majority of us support our troops; but the question is whether you favor our current approach or something different in terms of sending additional troops, seeking more multinational support, or a complete pullout. Maybe your thoughts are someplace in between these listed or would be considered “out of the box” thinking. What approach would you favor?

Support humanity, peace, justice. Respect other’s cultures. Cooperate with United Nation, other countries. Oppose: horrible violent force, invasion, occupation, Deprivation/destruction (countries, population, properties, soldiers; resources, reputation; public, private); unjust practices, manipulation, influence, falsification, false excuses; problems (credibility, moral, mental, financial, fiscal), official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks  Government budget to carry out necessary government function; maintain truly quality, honest, integrity employees, appointees, commissioners, volunteers; etc.; eliminate “fraud- crime- injustice networks”, corporate welfare. Define and identify the “terror” or “crime” right; not opposite, falsification, misleading, deceit; false excuses to victimize people (here or overseas), as often by the “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks: Fighting the terror overseas, with UN, alliance of other countries. Pay for damages, restitution, reparation to victims; penalties against those who caused the problems or damages. Reconstruction mainly to benefit the general public of the victimized countries; not to benefit a few; with UN, alliance of countries.

Question #6:

Related to the above question is the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. The oil-rich nation claims that this program is for the peaceful use of generating electrical power for its citizens, yet on the other hand its leadership has threatened the nation of Israel with annihilation hinted as being from a nuclear bomb. While the President has the final decision, what course would you advocate he take (a pre-emptive military strike, diplomacy either through the UN or some other way, or leaving them alone as a sovereign nation) and why?

Support humanity, peace, justice. Respect other’s cultures. Cooperate with United Nation, other countries. Oppose: horrible violent force, invasion, occupation, Deprivation/destruction (countries, population, properties, soldiers; resources, reputation; public, private); unjust practices, manipulation, influence, falsification, false excuses; problems (credibility, moral, mental, financial, fiscal), official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks .

Stop minorities bashing. Improve quality of officials. Support civilian review board.
Improve race relationships, by deeds, not rhetoric; diversity in good faith, not for political reasons; or to benefit/facilitate “fraud-crime- injustice networks” operations; not relaying/shuffling at the expense of justice, productivity against good workers/citizens, especially minorities. Investigate/ prosecute/ eliminate: serious problems: unjust appropriation, siphoning resources to benefit a few, “fraud-crime- networks” Investigate/ prosecute/ eliminate: minorities-bashing, hate crimes; injustice, false excuses, imprisonment, detention, torture, unfair treatment, victimization; deprivation of resources, reputation, families, social relationship; racial profiling, discrimination, victimization, retaliation, official misconduct, falsification; unlawful acts, crimes; tampering of evidence, witnesses, etc.; three branches, local- global, especially by “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice works”, including DOJ, FBI, law enforcement, judicial/ legal/ financial/ accounting personnel, their unjust practices (false excuses, manipulation, influence, destruction) destroy individuals, families, businesses, communities, peace, democracy. Their damages are more serious than 9-11-2001 World Trade Center incidence, President Bush’s wars, President Nixon’s Watergate, Florida election 2000, financial/ accounting/ legal disasters, notorieties (e.g., Enron bankruptcy, Andersen accounting). Illinois Governor issued moratorium, because of DNA tests disapproved the death sentences of some death row inmates. Maryland conducted a study about the disparities in death penalty. Examine inmate/detainee population, true causes of imprisonment, bond; disparate treatment; official misconduct, brutality, frivolous cases (civil, criminal), improper complaint processing, procedures, proceedings; administrative, judicial levels. Thorough investigation, using the complaints/cases, testimonies of this candidate before officials, legislative committees, public hearings, the Office of Court Administration; varieties of issues, including legislative proposals, budgets, etc.; accumulative, never properly resolved. Shame: judicial branch asked lawmaker (Maryland General Assembly) to abolish the record- keeping or accounting.

Question #7:

Back to domestic issues. One pillar or goal of the Bush administration was to enact Social Security reform in the second term, but it has stalled because of claims there’s no problems with the program and privatization reforms are simply a way to enable Wall Street to profit. Do you think the Social Security program is fine as it is, or what changes would you advocate happening with the program?

Clean up government; lack of accountability, unreliable records, accounting, bookkeeping, records, files; improper complaint processing. Prosecute, eliminate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” with unjust deprivation of resources (public, private) by various unlawful, unethical, immoral acts, frauds, crimes; deprived of people’s salaries, benefits (fringe benefits, insurance benefits, retirement, pension, annual/sick leaves), insurance benefits, retirement, pension, annual/sick leaves), unjust manipulation, influence: improper records, bookkeeping; improper shuffling of processing employees’ earnings, benefits, calculation of social security benefits; unjust deprivation of resources (public, private) by various unlawful, unethical, immoral acts, frauds, crimes; unjust manipulation, influence: improper records, bookkeeping; improper shuffling of processing and employees’ earnings, benefits, calculation of social security benefits; unjust denial of benefits; damage/harm supposedly workers, retirees, elderly, beneficiaries, families, socials relations, endless damages/harm (physical, mental, bodily, financial), unjust manipulation and influence: medical services, insurance plans and coverage, rehabilitation services, etc. .The problems are not just in SSA agencies, but also related agencies, e.g., Maryland State Department of Education, Barbara Smith and Susan Page, employees or phony persons, falsification, false records, refuse to provide information, files for inspection, etc.

Clean up government. Support universal national health insurance (all, Medicare, Medicaid, prescription, uninsured, catastrophic); single payer (government); simple, effective, equal, quality, meaningful, merit, accountability, preventive, affordable, low premium, cost containment (goods, services, wholesale, professional review); public funded research should benefit taxpayers not to benefit a few; public education, consumer protection. Eliminate deceit, frauds, “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation, unjust practices.

Prosecute, eliminate abuse, misuse, frauds, crimes, victimize people, deprive resources, capability (public, private), fraudulent charges; unnecessary medical services, drugs, medication, equipments, surgeries, catheters, etc.

Question #8:

Some in Congress have raised the question of “pork” or excessive earmarks because our federal budget always runs in deficit and eliminating these earmarks would be a simple way to help balance the budget. But no Congressman or Senator wants to cut their district’s or state’s project. To balance the budget, would you consider sacrificing some of your district or state’s federally-funded projects or would you prefer measures to enhance federal revenues to meet the gap?

For issue of economy and federal deficit:
Focus on principle, merit, fairness, cost-effectiveness; not for the best interest of the people. Redirect priorities, budget, focus. Improve productivities which increase government revenue. Eliminate: waste, abuse, nonsense projects, unnecessary expenditure, abandonment of land, properties, resources, “fraud-crime- networks”; less social problems, less government expenditures; public debt/ bond (burden of taxpayers and future generations; more time, resources for people, families, less traffic congestion; unjust abandonment/ destruction/ lease-out/ sale public land, buildings, schools (free or without fair compensation, even decades long leases); purchase/ lease-in/ construct land, facilities (at outrageous costs, many times market values); improper planning, misleading, deceit; improper reserve fund (not savings for potential capital investment, but by borrowing, public debt, bond); raising taxation, fees, bond/debts mainly to benefit a few; false excuses, unjust practices, manipulation, misleading, deceit, influence; abuse of power, litigation, legal costs; especially by legal/judicial personnel; “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”; false citations (issued by city manager, police, inspection; municipal, traffic, or phoney – refused to give identities or full names), improper/unjust legislative bills, proposals, appropriation, expenditures; ineffective/nonsense projects, programs (e.g., Greater Rockville Partnership, Rockville Housing Enterprise, Annual Night-Out, Rockville University, Citizen Police Academy, CALEA police accreditation, City Attorney Paul Glasgow, related law firms, “fraud- crime- injustice networks”); Rockville City Attorney Paul Glasgow: not salaried employee, highly paid contractor; conflict of interest, ethic rules (more serious than usual employees; county, state, federal); abuse of power, litigation, complaints, files, contracting (arbitrary criteria, selection); improper complaint processing, procedures, proceedings, legal services (disservice); improper land deals, abandonment of public land, resources, properties; improper procurement, not open bid (e.g., Rockville Town Center, goods, services; all stages; design, development, construction, etc.); abuse of public land, resources for private gains; benefit a few: reimburse private expenses; improper or no records, responses, files, pleadings on complaints/cases; resolution, remedies on complaints/requests; false citation, harassment, arrest, intimidation, conspiracies, cover-up numerous serious unlawful acts, fraud- crimes, frivolous cases/litigations, unjust influences, manipulation of televised camera; without proper public hearing; as part of “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation. STOP/ELIMINATE: OFFICIAL FRAUD, SCAM, UNJUST DEVELOPMENT PLAN, e.g., Rockville Town Center Plan (misuse/abuse of power, law, litigation, public resources); public fund $99+millions (upward, city, county, state, federal) mainly to benefit a few, “fraud- crime- injustice networks”, which in turn hurt people and society further; destroy families, communities, businesses, democracy, fair election process, peace; cause serious socio-political- election- media problems; worse than Florida election 2000, World Trade Center 9-11-2001 incidences, President George Bush’s wars, President Richard Nixon’s Watergate, financial/ accounting/legal disasters (e.g., Enron/ WorldCom/ Anderson).
Reduce: the need for people to drive or get on the roads; traffic congestion, stress, accidents; the need to go to courthouses, administrative or judicial hearings/ trials; false citations (traffic, municipal infraction); abuses, unjust manipulation; taxation, fees, burden to residents; the need for more family members to work; need for multiple jobs for each person; need for cars; more trips; more stress, fatigue; abuse, waste; unjustified budget, appropriation; taxation, fees, public debt, people’s burden; improper processing of complaints, assignment of cases/hearing across all jurisdictions; unjust cancellation of hearings/ trials; unjust deprivation and rulings without affidavits, hearings, trials; need for appeals, further complaints. Provide mass transit services, bus schedules, (good, frequent, reliable); proper implementation of laws, and processing of complaints/ cases. See also other issue statements – interrelated.

Question #9:

Now to the question of trade. When I go to a store, many’s the time that I see a product is made in China – hence we run a large trade deficit with that nation. President Bush has advocated a hemisphere-wide free trade zone that would add Central and South American countries to the umbrella originally created by the NAFTA agreement a decade ago. Given these items, and knowing also that the number of manufacturing jobs in this country remains flat to slightly lower even in this era of steadily expanding employment, where do you stand – do you see free trading eventually shifting our economy to one mostly comprised of service and technology jobs, or do you feel we should take more steps to preserve our core manufacturing positions?

Major transaction or land deal, local- global, should be rigorously reviewed objectively by academically very well trained, based on merits, priorities, cost- effectiveness, social cost-benefits, etc., through competitive processes, general soliciting, fair market mechanism; not arranged by the developer or inner circle; should be openly discussed with residents, in official meetings, Mayor/Council/ public hearings; not misleading, concealing, unjust manipulation or influence; not rushed through as the consent agenda items as mall purchases of goods and services. Eliminate, prevent: abandonment of public resources, land, properties to benefit a few or “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” including developer, government attorneys, lawyers, law firms, etc.) at the expense of general public and future generations, including other jurisdictions, especially with grants and public debts from the state and federal; sold, leased out (secret hidden agenda, even huge acres, decades-long lease) with zero or no fair compensation, despite citizen’s objection; unnecessarily leased private properties for government use at very high costs even with short lease (a few years or shorter); with extra high costs to construct building, furnish expansive equipments; and when construction is done, lease expires, completed products abandoned or free to a few; often disguised by partnership, economic development, school, education, public safety, etc.; several rounds of unjust abandonment and purchase; misleading public roads, highways, when abandoned to private; unjust projects, appropriation; misuse, abuse, misappropriation; false road construction, maintenance; false records: land, roads, maps; unjust demolition of building even in good condition to initiate new construction, project, purchase, including library or school.

Question #10:

This question should present you with the shortest answer. Given that in 2008 either you will be seeking re-election to the House and hoping for some coattails at the top of the ticket, or preparing to work with a new President (for the Senators), if you had a short list of 3 to 5 names you’d like to see seek the job, who would they be? Please note that they do not have to be candidates who are considered to be running for the post at this time.

To have someone who will be willing, capable, and able to solve socio-political-election- media problems. Top 3 priorities:
(1). Society is in vicious cycles, as in need of revolution, if we don’t act. First, prosecute, eliminate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”. Oppose: unjust practices, manipulation, influence; bad legislative proposals, hidden agenda with false excuses (economic development, housing, transportation, whatever) for private gain (officials, developers, lawyers, etc.); nonsense grants, programs, projects: facilitate “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”=cruel tyranny= robbery machine; continuing, on-going, expanding, penetrating, threat, coercion, victimization, deprivation, discrimination; endless immoral-unlawful acts, rob/destruct resources (public, private; business, civic, political), frivolous litigation, levies, foreclosures; improper processing of complaints, proceedings, docketing; cause vicious cycles: socio- political- election-media; civil-human rights, people-slave. E.g., Problems (A): OPM, DOJ, IRS, SSA, FBI, law enforcement, National Park Service (Prettyman?), Library of congress (Neil Gladd), financial/brokerage/ accounting/ bill-payment processing/ collection agencies, insurance, car-dealers Lakeforest Oldsmobile; phone/utilities/cable, judges, legal/court personnel, detective/ process server/ impersonators or with phony names; Leslie Gradet, Tamera Jones, William D Roessler; offices of treasury, comptroller, attorney general: Joel Jacob/Jacobson, Gail Malle-Davis, Sylvia J. Brokos, Mary Hawse, Linda Tanton, Gerald Langbaum, John Barry, Pamela Porter, Leo F. Partridge, Mark Vulcan, Jamis Riley, James Britt, Audrey Thomas, Jeanne Lippy, Jesse Rosenburger, Ralph Lepson; transcribers Margaret Bauer, Senators: Walter Baker, Barbara Hoffman, Thomas Middleton, Trooper: Marty Sealey, Vincent Mass, State Election Board Ross Goldstein; Lobbysts/municipal attorneys/lawyers/affiliates, Paul Glasgow, David Venable, Joseph Stoltz, Jr., Barry Gordon, Stephen Perouka, David Steinberg, Wolpoff & Abramson, Richard D. Mirsky, Poppleton, Garrett & Polott, P.C., Marc Sliffman, Samuel White, DOEd Susan Page, Barbara Smith?, accountant Hilda K. Matijevic..more.
(B): The problems are interrelated horizontally and vertically, among all issues, locak0 global. Montgomery County Circuit Court Loretta Knight, Bettie Skelton, District Court Clerk Jeffrey Ward, Administrstive Judge Cornelius Vaughey, Sheriff Elliot Tolbert, etc. government attorney John McCarthy, Kristen Bender are part of the “:fraud- crime- networks: with harassment, false arrest, imprisonment, false citation, false trespass, false testimony, withholding witnesses, etc.
( C). False frivolous levies, liens, garnishment, foreclosure, tenant-hold-over- eviction, etc. Thousands of cases are pending in the court systems for years or even decades; probably filed by “fraud- crime- networks” while continuing to victimize people; without proper services and proceedings; major causes of “homelessness” and poverty; not because of the problems of citizens, but because of unjust judicial/court/legal personnel, and court auditor Robert Romero as part of “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks”. Judges include John Debelius, Durk Thumpson, Ann Harrington, Louise Scriver, Lawrence De Beard, etc.
(D). Further example of violating Constitution or Bills of Rights (U. S. and State), police brutality or sheriff misconduct, attorneys and affiliated law firms and related “fraud- crime- injustice networks” operation are evidenced with official misconduct, e.g., District Court Judge Gary Everngam, Judge Gary Crawford, Sheriff Earnest Turner, other court personnel for improper processing of cases, including failing to docket, concealing of pleadings, falsification, denial of fair trial or jury trial demand, counter-claim, cross-claims, etc.
(E). Problems of privatization, irresponsibility, disabilities of government attorneys and judicial/legal/court personnel. Problems are very serious, expanding, local- out of state- nationwide- global; exporting injustice everywhere, including overseas. In Rockville city, in Montgomery County, in State of Maryland, in New Jersey Monmouth County, Judge Robert McLeod, Judge Patricia Bueno Cleary (?).

(2). Restore: principle, fairness, cost-effectiveness, accountability, reliability, capability; fair election, justice, peace (including civic, non-profit organizations), “check and balance”; Restore: TRUE essence of democracy, fair election process; easy access to government, files, records, transcripts; not unjustly manipulated, influenced, misled by wrong person, information, or “official misconduct- government gang- fraud- crime- injustice networks” = serious causes of socio- political – election –media problems, which destroy people, families, society, peace, justice, democracy. Based on merits, justification; double standards, improper processing of complaints, procedures, proceedings; falsification, false records, tampering of evidence, data; harass, intimidate complainant, witnesses; false charges, citation, bond, imprisonment, disparities, improper treatments, etc., disguised by abuse of laws, power, authorities.

(3). .Promote quality, competition, people input (policies, issues, officials, judges); televise public hearings, citizen/candidate forum/debate; maintain, disseminate meaningful accurate information, records, capability, reasoning, good sense of justice, public interest.

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I read this and I still don’t understand it. All I know is that if I were paid by the comma I would be quite the wealthy guy about now. *shrug*

Anyway, I can promise you that tomorrow I’m doing Addie Eckardt’s Ten Questions for her bid to retain her seat in the General Assembly and I don’t recall seeing 1/5 of the commas when I printed her remarks. And I got a comment for Congressional candidate Jim Corwin asking me to resend TQ to him so I might get his answers back in time to post them before the primary.

For Wicomico County Sheriff

Tonight will be the first of my endorsements for the primary election season. I chose to begin with the Sheriff’s race because it seems to have the highest amount of interest and the largest number of candidates. This means an earlier endorsement may do the most good.

To be honest, in almost all cases I would support the winners of the Republican primary in the general election, although I can think of a couple exceptions off the top of my head if certain scenarios and matchups played out. However, in this case as well as other contested races I’m going to endorse a winner from both parties. If that primary race turns out in a different manner, I’ll revisit the endorsement prior to the November election.

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I’m going to begin with the Democratic primary contenders. All three have longstanding ties with the current Sheriff’s Department, and two of the three have the WCSD as their present employer. In my opinion, all three have strengths but all three also have what I consider glaring weaknesses based on comments they’ve made in the various forums. Kirk Daugherty spoke of acquiring “CSI technology” which is a nice idea but what I’d like to know is how useful that would be in our county where the crimes aren’t generally that convoluted to figure out. Most homicides here stem from the drug trade. Ken Pusey told us that grants to get technology “don’t cost taxpayers a thing” when the reality is that, unless it’s a private institution giving the grant, anything from the government does have a price. It’s just not directly taken out of our pockets, in general it’s diluted to pay for the bureaucrats who have to be sucked up to in order to get a grant. Meanwhile, Robin Roberts spoke glowingly of having a “diverse” department. Can’t we just have the best and brightest officers and not worry about how much pigment they have or whether they carry a “Y” chromosome?

To me, the race on the Democrat side is between the two in the WCSD right now. Kirk Daugherty has ran a good campaign, but I think the two currently in the department are the two who are most qualified to continue on. On balance, though, I believe the Democrat nomination should go to Robin Roberts. While Ken Pusey does have some good ideas regarding manpower and “special ops” units, I think his promise to “clean up” the department could impact morale in the coming months. Roberts wants to focus attention on recruiting by having good role models in the WCSD and soliciting citizen input, which may help somewhat in gathering intelligence about what’s going on down on the streets. He also wants to rework the WCSD to form “interdiction units” and reopen the substations still closed.

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This brings us to the Republican side. Unlike the Democrat side, most of the candidates are currently outside of the WCSD. Only Doris Schonbrunner is inside the department, she’s currently second-in-command under retiring Sheriff Hunter Nelms.

It’s my feeling that Wayne Lowe and Chris South have certainly made good points in this race; South seems to have a good attitude toward making the WCSD more user-friendly, while Lowe makes a very good case for himself based on achieving an end result of prosecuting criminals. Certainly there are elements of both mens’ platforms that would be useful for the next Sheriff to adopt and bring into their term.

Being more involved with the local GOP than with the Democrats, I obviously can get the pulse of those whose business it is to know these things and the conventional wisdom (such that we have) is that it’s become a two-person race between Mike Lewis and Doris Schonbrunner, with Lewis having a slight advantage. Mike Lewis certainly is good at creating enthusiasm for his work whenever he speaks.

Lewis is a wonderful teacher. I sat in last month’s WCRC meeting and was fascinated by Mike’s presentation. I’m not a cop but I learned a lot about traffic stops and drug interdiction from just 20 or 30 minutes listening to him speak. Had Hunter Nelms decided to run for another term, I’m certain Mike Lewis would be starting a second career traveling the country and even internationally as a teacher and expert on drug interdiction. It almost seems like a waste having him as a county sheriff when he could do a great job and touch many more people with a career path like he was contemplating.

But, for reasons unknown to me, Hunter Nelms decided it was time to turn over the badge to another. Now, if there wasn’t another person who was qualified to assume the Sheriff’s duties I’d certainly have no problem with Mike Lewis as our next Sheriff, despite the lost opportunity of having an expert interdictor and outstanding teacher making a difference nationally in combatting the scourge of drugs.

Fortunately we do have just such a qualified person ready and willing to assume the role of our next Sheriff. Her name is Doris Schonbrunner. Just as Lewis worked and studied to become the expert in his field, Doris Schonbrunner has worked and studied to become Sheriff. She’s made her way through the ranks and has mastered the administrative side that the job truly entails. Being Sheriff is akin to being a CEO of a company and degrees in Criminal Justice and Human Resource Management along with Masters’ work in Public Administration hold her in good stead for that side of the job, while graduating from the FBI National Academy works well for the criminal side.

I’m sure some will say, “but Mike Lewis is going to get the criminals off the street.” Mike Lewis isn’t going to do this by himself, it’s going to be those officers out doing the patrol work who are on the front lines. I think Doris has a good idea where she proposes to evaluate the lower echelon officers’ strengths and interests and pair them up with more senior officers in a mentorship program. I’m somewhat familiar with the concept because intern architects now have to participate in a similar style of mentorship in order to qualify for their architectural examination.

In sum, let’s keep the people on the Republican side doing what they can do best. Chris South by all accounts is doing a fine job for US Air, Wayne Lowe is doing wonderful work in the State’s Attorney office, and Mike Lewis is outstanding in his chosen field of drug interdiction and enforcement. With her experience and education, I have no doubt that Doris Schonbrunner is going to make a great Sheriff and a worthy successor to Hunter Nelms, so I endorse her for this post with the strongest enthusiasm.

Election Calendar – August 21 thru September 3

As faithful readers of monoblogue have already discovered, I’m back in town. I actually have some thoughts to share on my trip to Pennsylvania and Ohio, perhaps this week I’ll compile them and the pictures for a post. But for now it’s a return to the Election Calendar, which this goround covers the span of time up to Labor Day weekend.

First and foremost, Tuesday the 22nd is the final day to register to vote for this year’s primary. After that you’re SOL.

I still have no more info on Jim Corwin‘s plans to be at a “Wicomico Crab Feast” on August 27.

Like last time, District 38B contenders Bonnie Luna, Jack Lord, and Sonny Bloxom all have events on their respective calendars. They still tend to conglomerate at a few events:

August 23-26: Great Pocomoke Fair (Lord, Luna).
August 26: Mardel Republican Club Crab Feast (Lord, Bloxom).

Luna also has a candidate forum in Snow Hill on her calendar for August 29th, I’d be reasonably certain that the other 38B contenders would be there too seeing as it’s a Worcester-based event.

Still upcoming as well are two events featuring Sonny Bloxom; the dedication of the Jordan Daycare Center on August 24th at 3:00 p.m. and Wor-Wic’s Annual Steak Out on August 25th. I believe both of these are at the Berlin Wor-Wic campus, hopefully Sonny will read this and correct me if I’m mistaken. And indeed he did, both events are at the Salisbury campus.

And I cannot forget that it’s that time of the month – the regular meeting of the Wicomico County Republican Club occurs on Monday, August 28 at the Chamber of Commerce building (144 E. Main in Salisbury.) We’ll begin the schmoozing at 7:00 p.m. and get to hear from Bonnie Luna (her again) about 7:30 or so. I’m sure almost every Republican that’s on the Wicomico County ballot will be there. (Oh, and the person doing the club’s website needs to see monoblogue for additional links I have that they don’t.)

Also upcoming is a fundraiser for County Executive candidate BJ Corbin on August 31st, 6-9 p.m. This $50 event will be held at the Old Mill Crab House along Route 54 at Waller Road just west of Delmar.

You know, I honestly wish I’d get more input from Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, etc. on what they’re doing. It’s not like I don’t look for their stuff but obviously I get more news from the GOP side. Love to know how the other sides live as well.

Finally, Bill Reddish of WICO came through for me again and submitted his interview schedule for the next few days. All of these take place in the half-hour from 7:30 to 8:00 a.m.

August 21: Mark Bowen (incumbent Democrat Clerk of the Courts)
August 22: Rich Colburn (incumbent Republican District 37 Senator)
August 23: Hilary Spence (Democrat candidate for District 37 Senator)
August 24: James Adkins (Democrat candidate in House of Delegates District 37B)

By the way, Colburn and Adkins have already answered my Ten Questions, Hilary Spence should now have a copy. I think a few candidates may have blocked my original e-mail because I attached the TQ as a file instead of placing it in the body of the e-mail. Lesson learned.

Next week’s Election Calendar will be the final one for the primary season. I’ll take a couple weeks off from it and resume things the Sunday after the primary since we’ll have eliminated the pretenders from the contenders at that time. That’ll be the day after we in the GOP eliminate a few dozen crabs because our WCRC Crab Feast is the 16th at Schumaker Pond. (But any D’s, Greens, Libertarians, etc. are welcome to join in.)

Tossing the bull around

Some of the rejects that will be saved for next year's contest.

All right, they were buffalo chips. Not the nicest thing to hold but held relatively harmless by a squirt of antibacterial soap and a good hand washing. I was one of the participants in this year’s Buffalo Chip Toss at the Wicomico County Farm and Home Show. There were about 30 politicians who participated; mostly local but we did get U.S. Senate hopeful George English as a lone statewide candidate.

The man behind monoblogue with a sample.

I probably should have thrown this one, instead I used a smaller model.

Ready to fling as best I can.

I’d have to say the “average” toss was about 60 feet, mine was a little under that at 55′-5″. By the way, the man clapping behind me is Clerk of the Courts candidate James Gillespie. I point this out because I swear that guy is everywhere I go. I even ran into him coming out of a workout in the fitness room at the apartment complex where I live (for now).

For the record, the winning toss was thrown by incumbent Clerk of the Court Mark Bowen, who threw his about 85 feet. Sheriff candidate Mike Lewis was second and County Executive hopeful BJ Corbin was third, all of them were over 80 feet. So I was well short of the money. But – being the lone Central Committeeman to participate from either party and as far as I’m aware the only candidate blogger to participate (Robin Roberts didn’t attend), I suppose I can claim the title belt in those two divisions. And I need to thank the nice lady (whose name I didn’t get) that took the pictures of me, whoever she is.

After the festivities I went inside to check out our party’s booth at the fair. Most of the signs I helped put up from working the booth Thursday are still there, only a couple additions have been made. I’ll be back over there to take them down shortly!

This year's edition of the Wicomico Republican Party's booth at the Farm and Home Show.

As you can see, several candidates and supporters are there manning the booth after the contest. From left to right, the gentleman that is half cut off with his back to the camera is Central Committeeman Blan Harcum, then it’s Jeremy Schonbrunner, the son of Sheriff candidate Doris Schonbrunner (in the red and white top), her husband Alan, County Council at-large hopeful Sheryl Peters (back to camera, red hair), current Sheriff Hunter Nelms, and on the far right with the cane, County Council at-large aspirant Lucy Graf. I wanted to see her throw a buffalo chip, but she declined to. By the way, the banner in the back is brand new and I helped with creating the tagline (“Preserving Our Values, Building Our Future”) at a recent Central Committee meeting.

Everything you wanted to know (and more) about our Republican slate.

Of course, most of the candidates had items there for public inspection. Certainly among the most eye-catching was Addie Eckardt’s hot pink signs and literature.

County Executive candidate Ron Alessi had his own space.

I found it sort of interesting that Ron Alessi decided he needed his own space. There are only two political entities at the Farm and Home Show, and you’ve now seen both of them. I notice a few other candidates with their items sitting at the Alessi booth, but no volunteers. Alessi was a participant in the chip toss, and I beat him as far as distance goes – of course I think I have about 20 years or so on him so it wasn’t quite a fair fight.

There’s one thing I noticed about this event though – the attendance isn’t what you’d expect for something that’s basically our equivalent to a county fair. It has the judging of the agricultural and artistic entities that one expects to see at a county fair (next year I may mount up and enter some of my photography) but it doesn’t have the midway and games that a typical fair has. Being that the show is held at Winterplace Park, obviously there’s room for it so I wonder why this is.

However, today I had fun out there in the lighthearted event that is the Buffalo Chip Toss, even though I didn’t win and was among the bottom-feeders of the group. There’s always next year!