35th Annual Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in pictures and text
As the old saying goes, there are two sides to (almost) every story, and the annual event in Crisfield provides plenty of comparisons.
Take the location for example – a marina filled with boats valued in the tens of thousands of dollars hard by low-income housing. Denizens of the immediate neighborhood look forward to the Clam Bake as it provides an opportunity to sell parking spots to people who don’t wish to walk as far to the event.
In short, they create their own economic development. But bringing 3,500 visitors to Crisfield is an economic boost to the area.
While the event has a reputation as a political stop, there is a business element there too. Some companies look to get or keep their name out in the area.
Others use it as a reward to their customers, hosting elaborate parties within the party.
But the crowd was noticeably smaller than last year’s. Yes, this is not an election year but even the number of businesses which took tent space seemed smaller. How often do you see this?
Maybe it’s something about Area 51? But this is a shot I took around 1:30 or so at the peak of the festivities.
Compare that crowd to this still shot from last year.
Even the mugs weren’t being snatched up as quickly.
As you’ll notice in the panoramic picture, there are two main areas where crowds gather. On one side are the smaller tents set up for businesses and groups. But many people sit in the pavilion and enjoy musical entertainment.
I can’t say I’m a fan of country or bluegrass, but a number of people sat under the pavilion to listen.
I know, I know – you readers are saying, “Michael, you have a political website. What’s the political dirt?” Well, there are two sides to that as well.
One guy who seems to straddle that line is Bruce Bereano, who annually has among the largest tents and his own “corner.” However, with a revised setup this year he was more in the middle.
In a nice touch, Bereano has honored a local leader for the last couple years.
If you don’t believe he works to both sides of the aisle, consider that the following two signs were close together on his tent.
Could this be the gubernatorial matchup for 2014? Peter Franchot could obviously be entrenched as Comptroller for as long as he wants to be but my feeling is he wants something more. Meanwhile, David Craig is term-limited as Harford County Executive but obviously has a run for something in mind three years hence. My guess would be that “something” is a long-term stay in Government House.
A matchup which will occur sooner is a statewide battle for the U.S. Senate seat held by Ben Cardin. Presumably he was a little busy today, but a number of volunteers were sporting his colors and registering voters as they stood in the food lines.
Arriving a little later was a man who’s aiming to be his Republican rival, Dan Bongino. Here he’s talking to Bill Harris of Cecil County.
I also spied Eric Wargotz there with his wife. But he wasn’t openly campaigning at this time.
Like Senator Cardin, Congressman Andy Harris was likely a little busy today but had volunteers and signs with a sharply pointed message about. Eventually a lot of folks were wearing yellow Harris shirts.
By gosh, I think Andy is right. But there was someone quite familiar to him there.
Allow me to pose a question. Why would you spend $200 on tickets and a half tank of gas to come down and eat crabs one can probably get just as readily in Queen Anne’s County? Perhaps it’s a case of best two out of three? For all his talk about time with the family I don’t think, given the power and prestige of a seat in Congress, he can let it go just to be a cheerleader for Ben Cardin.
And there were a few cheerleaders for our state’s junior Senator.
Yet the Democrats had a modest, unassuming presence compared to the GOP.
That’s not to say both parties weren’t represented, to be sure. Here’s two of our best freshman Delegates, Charles Otto and Justin Ready.
They weren’t the only freshmen Republicans there, as I saw Michael Hough, Kathy Szeliga, and of course my Delegate Mike McDermott at the event.
Meanwhile, Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt was reaching across the aisle, greeting old friends in the Somerset County Republican tent.
On the other hand, Norm Conway was holed up around the Democrats’ base.
Even the unaffiliated were there. Yes, last I checked Laura Mitchell of Salisbury City Council doesn’t state a party affiliation. I did catch up to her just outside the Democratic tent, though.
Nor was national politics forgotten. Kevin Waterman (who some may know for the Questing for Atlantis website) came supporting his choice for President, Gary Johnson.
Republican politics must run in that family – his mother Diana (who I cut off in the photo) is First Vice-Chair of the Maryland GOP.
Needless to say, the media was there as well. WBOC-TV was on location shooting footage, and I saw print reporters and fellow bloggers about, too.
But I’m curious if anyone else will report on this tidbit.
Notice the flag placed in the corner of the Democrats’ tent? It’s the Wicomico County flag.
Now I’m not convinced that the official imprimatur of our fair county should be in that tent – granted, Democrats have a plurality of voters here but Republicans hold more elected seats in county government. If it’s an endorsement of Democratic principles (such as they are) for our county, consider me as a conscientious objector.
So while the turnout was smaller than in years past, it was still a good event for the Crisfield community. And the rain, which I noticed on my drive back, stayed away.
Look for an interesting cast of characters for next year’s event, which should fall after the 2012 primary on July 18, 2012.
MTA toll hearing comes to the Eastern Shore
Last night over 250 people came to listen or generally express their opposition to a series of proposed toll hikes at the Bay Bridge and several other structures operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority.
This was a panoramic shot I took just as the event was beginning.
Of course, the MTA had flyers, a video, and a series of presentation boards available in an adjacent room to state their case. As you can see in the first photo below, they had a room full of boards. Below that are a few examples.
The sum of their case was that they needed toll increases to fix their aging infrastructure, while other goals were to standardize their toll structure, incorporate the cost of collection into the toll, and have vehicles pay a “proportionate share” of their costs.
On the other hand, Nick Loffer of AFP-Maryland was outside rallying the troops to sign a petition against the toll increases.
And the media was there as well. For all I know, I was on the news.
The two local Delegates also made their presence known. Norm Conway was being interviewed by the media while Mike McDermott chatted up the crowd; in this case fellow local blogger G.A. Harrison.
Delegates Charles Otto of Somerset County and Jay Jacobs of Kent County were also there and testified in opposition.
The hearing itself started a short time after those in the room had assembled. We watched the short MTA video stating its side, and their members pled the case that “Maryland has some of the lowest tolls in the country.” But Board Chairwoman Beverley Swaim-Staley also wanted to point out the toll increases were intended to “generate enough revenue…to maintain (our) bond rating.” It was also pointed out that EZPass patrons (except communters) would get a break.
Interestingly enough, the Board sat silent through the testimony, as one ground rule laid out was that they wouldn’t respond to questions or comments.
Elected officials were allowed to pull rank and testify first. It began with Wicomico County Republican Central Committee member Dave Goslee noting, “people’s wages are not going up…government should live within its budget.”
It set the tone for remarks by Pocomoke City Mayor Bruce Morrison, who stated he and the three members of his City Council all came to show their opposition to the proposal. “Think of us on the Shore, too,” he pleaded.
But Mike McDermott got the crowd on its feet.
McDermott thundered, “The Bay Bridge is a cash cow for the state of Maryland!” He also wondered how the MTA came up with an $8 toll figure, feeling that was “arbitrary.” “No one would be here for (an increase of) 50 cents,” said McDermott.
Then he asked what the need was. Answering his own question, Mike claimed that I-95 improvements and the Inter-County Connector are going to be financed by “you and me” on the Eastern Shore.
While he went way over the allotted five minutes, the patrons didn’t mind and gave McDermott a standing ovation once he was through.
“I want (the Bay Bridge) to be as strong and dependable as it can be,” remarked Norm Conway. But the audience booed Conway when he said “most people would consider” a $5 toll to cross the bridge. He asked the MTA board to listen to people across the state and perhaps readjust the toll structure for SUVs.
Speaking on behalf of State Senator Jim Mathias, Linda Donaldson stated the Senator’s suggestions to proceed were:
- A “significant discount” for EZPass
- A “significant” commuter discount
- Be mindful of the overall cost of operating vehicles
- The fundamental need for public safety on the structures
Delegate Jay Jacobs, who was on his third hearing for the toll increase, believed that “a 300 percent increase in tolls, I guarantee, will send people to Delaware shopping.”
And while Delegate Charles Otto called the Bay Bridge a “godsend” for the Shore, he pointed out it may cost trucks an extra $1 per mile to go from the Bay Bridge to Salisbury when the tolls are factored in. “I hate to get political, but all I heard this time last year was that a fee was a tax,” concluded Charles.
I testified at the event as well. This is how I wrote the draft of my remarks; it wasn’t quite the Gettysburg Address but it got applause:
Good evening.
My name is Michael Swartz and I’m proud to be an elected member of Wicomico County’s Republican Central Committee.
First of all, I’d like to thank the MTA for bowing to demand and having a hearing on the Eastern Shore. By my count, the closest MTA facility is about 90 miles from here so one might think we’re not affected by a toll increase.
But we are. It’s going to affect tourism, it’s going to affect commuters, and most importantly I see a negative impact on our agricultural industry.
After all, $8 to cross a bridge isn’t a large part of someone’s vacation budget. But increasing the rates on commuters could hamper growth and progress on the Eastern Shore. Over here we already feel shellacked as victims of the “War on Rural Maryland.” They couldn’t take away our septic systems, but they can throttle development in other ways like making the Eastern Shore a more expensive place to live.
More importantly, one should consider the impact a toll increase would have on commerce. Because we have little in the way of railroads or port facilities on the Eastern Shore, over-the-road trucking is truly our one option for both delivering and providing goods and commodities, as Mr. Goslee and Delegate Jacobs pointed out before. A large toll increase would be detrimental, and basically amounts to a redistribution of our wealth to other parts of the state.
A smarter plan would be to keep the tolls where they are, but if an increase is necessary it needs to be smaller and phased in over a longer period. It’s not our fault you didn’t raise tolls earlier, so don’t make us bite the bullet now.
Thank you.
From the AFP perspective, Nick Loffer made the overall suggestion of running the toll facilities as a business and regionalizing the operation. He chided the MTA for a lack of forethought and felt that created the anger in the audience.
Other speakers from the audience termed the toll increase a “soft tyranny,” believed the decision is already made, and called the increases an “assault on the middle class.”
There were also several business leaders who spoke up. The toll increase would be “a wedge…that turns the Bay into a barrier,” claimed Brad Bellacicco of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce. One business owner, who runs a turf farm in both Anne Arundel and Queen Anne’s counties, believed the increase would add a $150 per acre cost to his business, tripling the tax on his four-truck fleet from $16,000 to $48,000.
Needless to say, tourism and Ocean City officials chimed in, too. Tourism creates 134,000 Maryland jobs and $1.6 billion in revenue, according to the Maryland Tourism Council. Their official warned of “unintended consequences” from the hikes. ”Without tourism, we have no jobs in Ocean City,” added the director of their hotel and motel association.
Closing the testimony, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, who stated that his town attracts 8 million visitors a year and creates $150 million in state revenues, pleaded with the board to “moderate your position (and) discount EZPass.”
I look at this more as a development issue, however. If fewer people come to the Shore as tourists, fewer jobs are created and fewer people have an incentive to locate here. And while that may suit a lot of Shore natives just fine, the corollary effect of increasing business costs will be to drive jobs out of the area. We already lose a lot of our local college graduates who can’t find good-paying jobs in the area.
Not one person last night said $8 was a great idea. Yes, there was one crank who considered this part of the war on the middle class promoted by greedy corporations and rich Republicans like Andy Harris, but we can ignore his screed. Some on the conservative side also strayed well off the topic at hand, which was a problem.
As I’ve said, a modest toll increase may be required but not a giant jump as is planned. A suggestion I didn’t hear last night but will toss into the hopper: perhaps they can bring construction costs down by eliminating “prevailing wage.”
Alas, I think the die has been cast. All we opponents did was have our say, but the state needs the money. Think of it as a prelude to this fall when the General Assembly really loots our wallets.
A new face leads a perennial movement
It’s been tried at least twice before in the previous two sessions, but a new leader has emerged in the fight to repeal the 2007 O’Malley sales tax increase.
With the ascension of J.B. Jennings to the Maryland Senate, a similar bill to the one he introduced in 2009 and 2010 is now being spearheaded by freshman Delegate Justin Ready of Carroll County. (Introduced today, the bill is HB465.) A good sign of progress is that Ready has gathered 32 other sponsors to the bill, a group made bipartisan by the inclusion of Democratic Delegate John F. Wood, Jr.
In a statement, Ready pointed out that Maryland is a state with relatively close borders. Thanks to the increased sales tax, “businesses in Carroll County are really taking it on the chin because of our close proximity to Pennsylvania,” said Ready.
However, Pennsylvania’s sales tax is 6 percent like Maryland’s – the key difference is in the services covered. In fact, three of the five states (or districts) surrounding Maryland match the state’s 6% rate – Virginia has a 5% rate and, of course, as we all know Delaware has no sales tax. So that portion of Ready’s argument vis-a-vis Pennsylvania may not hold water, but any advantage we can get here on the Eastern Shore means something to us.
A somewhat moderating feature of Ready’s plan is that we’d have to wait two years for tax relief, as the rate wouldn’t go into effect until 2013 – presumably the economy will be on more solid ground.
Passing sales tax relief will let Maryland families know that help is on the way while also giving the state three budget years to get our fiscal house in order. Taxpayers have sacrificed repeatedly over the past few years with higher taxes and fees. The sales tax hits poor and lower middle class people hardest of all. Now is the time for government to sacrifice some spending and provide relief for our families and businesses.
(Yeesh…”help is on the way” – where have we heard this before? Obviously Justin doesn’t make the trip down here much or he’d know to avoid that phrase.)
Obviously I’m for the tax decrease, although the same idea didn’t do much to help Bob Ehrlich out. Still, I’m dismayed to see that two local representatives aren’t yet onboard as cosponsors. While Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio has lent her name to 32 bills thus far this session and cohort Delegate Charles Otto ten, neither have lent their backing to this common-sense bill as a cosponsor. One would assume they’d vote for the bill if it ever proceeds past the hearing stage (unlike the two predecessor bills) but I think that the party leadership – including the Minority Leader, Delegate Tony O’Donnell - needs to get behind this. So far he, too, is conspicuous in his absence.
If past history is any indication, the bill will get a hearing toward the end of the session in March and then be locked in the desk drawer of Ways and Means Committee head Sheila Hixson. It’s time to change that formula and give real tax relief to working Maryland families.
WCRC meeting – November 2010
For a meeting which didn’t feature a speaker, we heard an earful from one person.
But as usual, we began with the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Then we departed from tradition a little bit because there were several candidates present who wanted to say their thanks, just in time for Thanksgiving. (We didn’t get to the Treasurer’s report until about midway through the meeting and the minutes from the October meeting were inadvertantly left at home by our secretary.)
We began with newly-elected Councilman at-large Bob Culver, who thanked us for the financial and moral support and told us the new Council members had their orientation today in preparation for their swearing in the evening of December 7th. They’ll elect new officers that night and chances are we’ll have a new Council vice-president.
“I’m pretty confident this will stand.” Bob Caldwell was talking about his razor-thin two vote margin of victory. He figured David MacLeod would request the recount he’s entitled to due to the closeness of the race but it’s not likely to change the results. Bob’s a living reminder that every vote does count – if just one person had changed their mind and voted for MacLeod, we’d be awaiting a coin flip.
Charles Otto said the support the club gave “was a blessing to us” and thanked us for it. He pointed out that the budget took a turn for the worse (conveniently after the election, of course) and told us these were the “most challenging times I’ve seen in my lifetime.” But tax increases were not the answer.
Even though she didn’t win, Marty Pusey had some of the most interesting remarks.
She told us that she didn’t decide to run until a townhall meeting held by the Worcester County Americans for Prosperity and featuring Delegates Jim Mathias and Norm Conway. Marty recalled how she asked herself, especially about Conway, “is this the best we can do?” She decided running would be a “win-win” – either she would win or she’d at least make Norm Conway fight for the seat. (Perhaps she was successful since Conway didn’t have enough coattails to pull Gee Williams in.) Marty was also amazed how our message became their message at election time, as suddenly liberal-voting Democrats had a conservative message.
(And you wonder why I told her I’m starting the ‘Draft Pusey for 2014′ movement.)
Marc Kilmer chimed back in that “2010 was a lot better than 2006,” considering our record of local successes. Then he turned the floor over to newly elected WCRCC Chair Dave Parker for the Central Committee report.
First of all, those of us present received our certificates for being elected. (Unfortunately, they are signed by Martin O’Malley.)
But he may have surprised a few people by saying, “I view my job as training a younger leader (for the local party).” And if that wasn’t enough, Dave then told us, “You now have two TEA Party activists on the top of your Central Committee.”
Wait until Audrey Scott, Mary Kane, and the other establishment Republicans read that; in fact, let me repeat it:
“You now have two TEA Party activists on the top of your Central Committee.”
Dave continued by saying the TEA Party and the GOP are “working hand-in-hand” in Wicomico County. Ain’t that a beautiful thing?
The job for the rest of us was pretty simple: “we gotta educate the voters” and “hold people to the fire.”
Parker also shared his “concern” about the Victory Centers, where local candidates and supporters were disappointed to find that their intent seemed to be pushing Bob Ehrlich and Andy Harris moreso than getting local hopefuls elected. He also recounted the Rule 11 controversy for those not in the know.
Turning to the state party, Dave argued “the Chair (of the state party) has to be a fundraiser.” Unfortunately to that end, “we still can be totally ignored in Annapolis.”
Yet, with our local success of getting 6 of the 7 County Council seats (thus, holding veto power over anything Rick Pollitt does) the onus is on the GOP to do things right – if things are screwed up, “it’s our fault.”
Finally, Dave reminded us that the Lincoln Day Dinner is actually slated for Abe’s birthday, February 12, 2011 at Salisbury University.
Yes, it was a much longer Central Committee report than usual, but there was a lot to say. It more than made up for the lack of a Lower Shore Young Republican report or the many candidate campaign reports we heard in months past.
To close the affair, Marc reminded us about our Christmas Party on December 12th and Ann Suthowski brought up the Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Meeting upcoming on December 16th.
As usual, the WCRC won’t have a regular December meeting; their next gathering will be January 24, 2o11.
It’s now or never, Maryland
That was the message put forth today by a number of speakers at the Salisbury stop of the “Now or Never Maryland” bus tour.
Well, I use the term ‘bus’ loosely. This looked more like an extended straight truck.
The person posing with the bus is former Senate candidate Jim Rutledge. In part he was responsible for bringing this crowd, but more on him later.
A total of eight speakers orated at the hour-long event, with AFP Maryland head Dave Schwartz acting as master of ceremonies. In his opening remarks, he reminded us that AFP has 26,000 members in Maryland among 17 chapters and stated his reason for doing this as “I want to protect the American Dream.”
Dave rattled off a laundry list of offenses by government, saying that the federal government overreached on doing the stimulus bill and bailing out Wall Street while the state government enacted the largest tax increase and worst deficits in our state’s history, not to mention creating a poor business climate.
As AFP supporters we needed to get involved – two suggestions Schwartz had were to enlist in the group’s “Freedom Phone” project or to walk your neighborhoods with door hangers (provided by AFP) and engage neighbors in political discussion.
Tim Phillips is the head of the national AFP, and here’s what he had to say.
And you thought I skipped Friday Night Videos? Nope, I just cleverly made them the story!
Local AFP head Joe Collins also said his piece, telling us that as a budding activist “I chose AFP for the voters” and that this election was time to “rebalance the scales.”
I stole Andrew Langer’s joke as he came up since there wasn’t a chicken suit in sight. (Maybe they went to the wrong location – I was a bit confused at first too.) He recalled the town hall meeting where Frank Kratovil gave his reasoning for voting for cap-and-trade as keeping the EPA from regulating it. When it was pointed out that Frank was a Congressman and could pass a law, Langer quoted him as asking, “I can do that?”
The head of the Institute for Liberty warned us to be vigilant of what the executive branch will try to do over the next two years as they face the prospect of an unfriendly Congress.
Also speaking to an AFP rally here for the second time in a month was WGMD-FM host Duke Brooks, who remarked that his liberal callers claimed they didn’t hate this country, but…there was always a “but.” They “think the country is flawed.”
It was only up to the government to provide equality of opportunity, continued Brooks, but not equality of outcome. He quoted Tony Blair’s line that the measure of a nation is how many want to get in vs. how many want to leave, and part of the reason for our success was that we had no elite ruling class.
Of the three candidates for the First District Congressional seat who were invited to speak, it’s not surprising only one showed. This is what Andy Harris had to say.
But the person I wanted to hear from came next. I actually recorded this because his biggest fan (Kim) wasn’t there to enjoy it, but it turned out so good I decided to share. Here’s Jim Rutledge.
And you wonder why there’s a push by some to write him in for the Attorney General slot thoughtlessly left unfilled by the Maryland GOP. He’s got my vote.
One elected official who spoke was Joey Gardner, who was elected earlier this year as one of Princess Anne’s Town Commissioners.
His message was simple – when he saw a need “I got involved.” We shouldn’t put any limitations on our involvement when it comes to helping the community.
While Gardner was the last speaker he wasn’t the only candidate for office people could get face time with. The entire statewide ticket of Maryland’s Constitution Party was there.
Gubernatorial candidate Eric Knowles is in the dark suit, with his running mate Michael Hargadon giving me the thumbs up next to him and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Shawver in the blue coat on the right.
Also looking on was Republican District 38A hopeful Charles Otto.
The Libertarian candidate for District 2 County Council was there as well. If you don’t know who he is, read the sign.
So it was at least a tri-partisan event, with a touch of good old-fashioned capitalism thrown in.
Something tells me this rig was at all the stops, but it didn’t look like he did a lot of business.
Believe it or not, there is yet another bus rally scheduled that I found out about last night. The RNC’s Fire Pelosi Bus Tour will stop at the Salisbury Victory Center (the old Hollywood Video at 1016 South Salisbury Boulevard) at 9:30 a.m. next Friday – featured speaker is some guy who used to be our Lieutenant Governor, Michael Steele. To RSVP, contact Patrick at (443) 736-8042 or via phefflinger (at) mdgop.org.
Words to the wise
Just a little something before bed, from Dick Morris:
The danger, here, is not overconfidence, but under-confidence, and that Democratic incumbents who could be defeated will skate to victories. Despite a massive victory in the offing for Republicans, there could be great gnashing of teeth when they see how narrowly some of the icons of the Democratic Party are reelected.
I take this to a local level as well, because I tell people I’m greedy: I want the Eastern Shore of Maryland red from the Susquehanna to the beaches of Assateague. That means we keep the General Assembly seats we have and wave goodbye to Rudy Cane, Jim Mathias, and Norm Conway – men who talk conservative when they are here but vote like good, docile little liberals once they’re back up Route 50 about 100 miles. Democrats should be an endangered species here because what have they done for us?
And before you answer that question, consider what genuflections they’ve had to do to the rest of the state to get our crumbs.
I moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004 convinced it could be a boom area; a place where the rural character could be maintained but the enjoyment of a resort area was easily within reach. We have most of the tools we need to succeed, with the possible exception of a highway or rail system more conducive for moving goods to the markets of the Northeast.
Yet in the time I’ve been here it seems we have gone backwards, and for that I blame the state’s leadership. The concept of ‘One Maryland’ seems to be that of coddling the I-95 corridor at the expense of our more rural areas. Sure, we are a fairly small percentage of the state’s population and probably always will be unless we strike gold under this peninsula we call home. Still, we seem to be stuck in what I call ‘flythrough country’ – the Baltimore and DC slickers fly through on their way to their beachfront condos.
I believe in walking the conservative, limited-government walk as well as talking the talk, and most Democrats I know (there are exceptions, but none of them are running for these offices) can’t do both.
So let me return to that quote. In Dustin Mills, Charles Otto, Marty Pusey, Mike McDermott, and Michael James we have a great team who would stand up for our part of Maryland. It’s sort of amazing that all of them have the potential to learn and grow as state legislators simultaneously under the tutelage of our area stalwarts Rich Colburn, Addie Eckardt, and Jeannie Haddaway, leaving us the potential of a decade or two of solid representation.
Beginning Friday, those of us who claim to be conservative can’t be lured by the siren song of ‘oh, Jim Mathias is such a nice guy’ or ‘Norm Conway is head of the Appropriations Committee.’ As I see it, that and five bucks will get you a sub at Subway. (If those two raised it, chances are it was raised at a big-bucks fundraiser coordinated by someone across the bay anyway.) It’s time for our representation to reflect who we really are, and we are not so easily seduced by the power games being played in Annapolis. Instead, we stand up for principles like limiting government, creating jobs, and allowing us to give each other a helping hand without the nanny state stepping in.
People have had enough, and I want to see the Eastern Shore come home to its conservative roots. It’s time to finish the job Rich Colburn said he began about three decades ago and paint the Eastern Shore all red. We can do better, and given the chance, we will.
CAR/Chamber forum part 2 (District 38)
By far this was the more interesting of the debates; perhaps it’s because it covered my personal district. But just as a review from my other part:
The group asking was relatively diverse and included local businesswoman Dawn Tilghman, Terrence Lee of WMDT-TV, and Jennifer Cropper-Rines, president of the Coastal Association of Relators (CAR). Susan Parker of the Daily Times served as moderator. After an opening statement, candidates had to answer one question from each panel member and, with six to eight candidates on stage and two minutes allotted, there was really little need to get questions from the audience (hence my first post on the forum last night.)
Because of how the forum was set up, I’m going to evalute each question and answer in turn rather than summarize what each candidate said as a whole. I run the risk of writing this in a more dry fashion via this method but I think it would be more informative. This begins with the opening statements.
Opening statements:
Marty Pusey talked about limiting government and her respect for the other candidates in the race. “I believe strongly in protecting the public dollars,” she stated. Calling the election a “critical point for our country,” she further claimed “our state has an addiction, they raise taxes…we need to send our state to rehab.”
Michael James told the crowd “we need good representation now” and the “budget is in peril.” You raise revenue by creating jobs, and the worst thing the state did was raising taxes. We need a private sector person in office.
Recounting how as a child he built a paper route into a lucrative business, Norm Conway talked about his “work ethic” and how he set a goal to become a member of the House of Delegates.
Adding just a little humor to the proceedings, Mike McDermott talked about how he wasn’t cut out to be a chicken farmer. Instead, he went back into law enforcement and was happy there until he “saw a need” to get involved politically at the local level.
Since he served as Ocean City mayor, Jim Mathias claimed the “stable economic environment” he created helped the town grow. He would “strongly, proudly” represent the lower Shore in the Senate and “make one become 24″, referring to getting a majority in the Senate.
My faith “defines who I am,” said Mike McCready. He also spoke of his work ethic, his agricultural background and experience with MAFOs and CAFOs, and promised regular meetings with stakeholder groups like watermen and farmers.
Gee Williams stated the obvious: “We’re living in extraordinarily challenging times.” Recounting his business experience in the publishing industry and with nonprofits, he ticked off four bullet point items he’d like to accomplish: creating jobs, reducing fees, targeting tax cuts, and streamlining regulations. As a “principled, pragmatic” leader, he tried to paint himself as a centrist: “I reject extremism.”
Charles Otto went over his background and experience with the Maryland Farm Bureau and Farmers and Planters. In a nod to his predecessor, he praised the late Page Elmore by saying “he made a difference” for Somerset residents.
The first question, from Jennifer Cropper-Rines, asked about the possibility of alternate sources of funding for municipalities like a piggyback tax.
Mike McCready stated, “I wouldn’t be in favor of raising it any” and talked about the surplus they had in Somerset.
Similarly, Charles Otto was in favor of “limited” taxes, but the state does play a role.
Michael James would allow it if the voters wanted it, but personally would oppose this. Municipalities needed to watch their spending.
Norm Conway thought municipalities “should have options” through enabling legislation.
To Marty Pusey, “a tax is a tax is a tax.” She would try to have state funding restored first, in order to create as much of a positive business environment as possible and would vote against such measures.
Gee Williams wouldn’t support new revenue streams, since government should live within its means.
Jim Mathias wouldn’t initiate new tax mechanisms, but we needed to build a consensus on taxes with the business community. He also talked about the concept of “local courtesy” and how it would apply to this situation.
More bluntly, Mike McDermott said the power to tax was the power to destroy. Our legislature “understands destruction” but needed instead create a better environment for business.
Terrence Lee used an audience question asking about the education background each candidate had in economics.
In truth, only Marty Pusey and Charles Otto had taken college-level classes in economics, so most candidates cited their real-life experiences.
Mike McDermott talked about balancing his checkbook each month and how Maryland was living outside its means. We had gotten “off track.”
Jim Mathias told us “my degree in economics is the real world” and explained that he vetoed two Ocean City municipal budgets which included tax increases.
Again, Gee Williams spoke of his life experiences running 12 newspapers, working for the State Highway Administration, and various nonprofits. “Life is too complicated” right now and we should lower our expectations until we rebuild the economy.
Besides the college course, Marty Pusey cited her experience with creating budgets and working with the state’s accounting system for doing so.
Norm Conway said that as a youth, “my goal was to make money” – it was real-life economic training. He claimed the state had reduced spending $5.5 billion this term and that his goal was fiscal prudence with social responsibility.
“Maryland’s economics will not work long-term,” countered Michael James. We need to have business profits to create the revenue from businesses that the state needs.
Charles Otto put it simply and eloquently: “You learn to balance a budget when you get a 60 bushel crop and you expected 180.” His more formal economic training came from his agribusiness studies at Virginia Tech.
Mike McCready said that in his life, he set aside 10 percent as a tithe and 10 percent for a rainy day before he even considered which bills to pay. This is “not a time for a weak mind or inexperience” and referred again to lowering Somerset’s tax rate. He also claimed that, “we’re in better shape than the other Lower Shore counties, dollar for dollar” and how tax credits they could afford created or saved jobs at Rubberset and other companies.
Dawn Tilghman asked about the aggressive regulatory climate in the state.
Again talking about quarterly meetings with stakeholders, Mike McCready decried “one size fits all” solutions but supported a concept of the state picking up part of the salaries of people hired off the unemployment rolls. He would work across party lines to find solutions.
Charles Otto believed it was “time to restructure government” and these fines were “extortion.” It was a symptom of a “state government that knows best,” in the meantime “we have problems to solve.”
Michael James warned us we shouldn’t lose local control and needed to eliminate the perception that government is out to get businesses.
It was an “out of line, out of control” situation that needed to be modified, according to Norm Conway. He also blasted as “totally unreasonable” the University of Maryland law school for getting involved in the Hudson farm lawsuit on the environmentalists’ side.
We take away choices every time we pass regulations, said Marty Pusey. Environmental regulations should be “based on real science” and the assault on the poultry industry was “unacceptable.” But my favorite line of the night was when she said for every new law we create two old ones should be removed. That brought a “hell yeah” from me!
Gee Williams agreed with the tenor of the group, saying “they don’t give towns breaks.” While the goals of the Maryland Department of the Environment were noble, the application was unreasonable. “Litigating first and asking questions later is setting back our community,” concluded Williams.
A more educated regulator would help, argued Jim Mathias, yet we need to communicate our strengths and advocated for what we have. Agriculture was a “tremendous asset” to the state, and when we talk about it the governor and his staff listen.
Mike McDermott disagreed strongly, rebutting to Jim that the talk goes in one ear and out the other. Because of one-party rule in Maryland, “we are myopic.” He thought it was funny to hear liberals talk about conservative values. “Don’t tolerate that nonsense,” he said.
Closing statement:
Charles Otto believed part of our problem was the federal government - we are living in a “broke country…it’s time to change.” On the environmental front it was a question of compliance vs. stewardship, and he believed that some of the most recent and draconian regulations needed to be rolled back.
Gee Williams wanted our representative to “sit at the table and not at the back bench.” We needed to elect people who can make government work and disagree respectfully.
“Experience counts,” said Mike McCready, “and being County Commissioner counts for something.” He pointed out that his county was the only local county whose board of education didn’t request a maintenance of effort waiver from the state.
Jim Mathias rested on his “proven record” in securing capital projects and again promised to make one Senator into 24 by working with like-minded Senators.
“This is the election of our lifetime,” Mike McDermott said. “If we don’t see a change (we’ll get) bigger government and more taxes.” It’s not about edifices, but wholesale change from liberal values to conservative values.
Norm Conway “doesn’t consider himself a liberal or a conservative.” He was proud of the credibility he’d earned and believed in One Maryland.
Michael James accused the two incumbent Democrats of “reinventing their records” and asked where they were on sex offender laws before Sarah Foxwell. He promised to follow in the footsteps of outgoing Senator Lowell Stoltzfus.
Marty Pusey expounded on her “unique combination” of experiences and skills, though ”we do need a change of culture in Annapolis. She pointed out the low marks business groups gave Conway based on his voting record, and promised to do right by the Maryland Constitution, which she waved a copy of during her close.
One item not used during the first session was the rebuttal. But both Mathias and Conway wanted to rebut Michael James’s assertion they’d voted for tax increases.
Mathias claimed that he’d voted for the House version of one package but it was changed in the Senate before the final vote, when he voted against it. (See below.) Norm Conway added that he voted for the one-cent increase of the sales tax, but half of that was supposed to go to the Transportation Trust Fund – without it, U.S. 113 would not have been dualized nor would future work on Maryland Route 589 (once Ocean Downs is renovated for slots) be on the radar.
Mike McDermott pithily rebutted Conway, noting that over the 40 years dualization of U.S. 113 was discussed they’d done one mile per year, it would already be done.
Michael James wanted to rebut Conway and Mathias, but moderator Susan Parker of the Daily Times denied his request, saying he’d made the original point. Fellow blogger G.A. Harrison commented from the crowd on the unfairness of that ruling but it stood. It ended a forum that became heated and contentious at the end.
My take:
First, as a service to readers, Mathias is correct that he voted against the tax bill (SB2) that became law in 2007. (The fiscal note explains the provisions which changed pretty well.) However, many of the same provisions were present in the House bill (HB2) that Mathias voted in favor of. (It also has a fiscal note.) Conway voted for both versions (along with the sales tax increase of HB5 that Mathias voted against), so his objection came from the substance of the legislative package as a whole.
It’s obvious that we may have a good cop-bad cop scenario here among the Republicans. McDermott and James are very forceful in painting their Democratic opponents as liberals, and here’s why – they are liberals! Just look at their voting records.
But Marty Pusey avoided being as confrontational and that may score her some points. In many respects she’s the most conservative of the bunch and her two-for-one line was my favorite.
Again, the Democrats who aren’t in office did their best to talk about crossing the aisle and bipartisanship, but I liked how Mike McDermott slapped that argument down. There are very few Democrats in Annapolis who give Republicans the time of day, and the limited number of instances where local Democrats are right is akin to a stopped clock being right twice a day – any other time it’s far from reliable and perhaps even detrimental.
There’s a reason that I get day after day of mailings from Jim Mathias explaining how, despite his Baltimore roots, he’s an Eastern Shore conservative at heart (today it’s being against “liberals” and for the death penalty.) Annapolis Democrats wouldn’t be backing him if he weren’t useful to them – they know the score and the fact they need Republicans to have fewer than 19 Senate seats to keep them meaningless. He will be no such thing as a loose cannon.
And Gee Williams will have to be happy with his back bench even if he wins – the real Democratic power in Annapolis represents the urban areas. We all know this.
Indeed, we can do better and last night’s forum showed why we need conservative leadership from the Eastern Shore.
Thank you for your support!
Update 9/16: I picked up another 46 votes today in the absentee count and increased my margin to 27.
It looks like I may have made it…just barely, but I may have made it.
With a few hundred absentee ballots out, I’m holding on to ninth place for the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee by a 25 vote margin. It’s a damn good thing my suggestion of a couple years ago (to expand the WCRCC from 7 to 9 members) was finally adopted by the committee or I’d be out in the cold!
Obviously I’m bummed that both of my statewide candidates I supported lost. It’s not a surprise that Brian Murphy lost, but I am heartened that he picked up 29% of the vote here – it means that Bob Ehrlich can’t take us conservatives for granted over the next seven weeks. (Murphy got over 30% of the vote in a handful of counties, peaking so far at 33 percent.)
But I guess Eric Wargotz may have bought himself a nomination, since he doesn’t seem to anywhere near the grassroots support that Jim Rutledge did. My friends who are Rutledge backers should be proud that the top two counties in the state to back Jim were (in order) Wicomico (#1) and Worcester (#2.) Shows we have some common sense, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see Wargotz skedaddle to the center now.
I did better on the homefront – wasn’t sure Marty Pusey would pull it off but she did! Congrats and way to go Marty!
More shocking was the ease in which Charles Otto won his primary. And people will be talking for awhile about the upset of Davis Ruark by Seth Mitchell.
Looks like later today I can condense my righthand column and prepare for November. But again, thanks to the 2,036 people who had faith in me and my efforts on the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee!
Just don’t tell me I’m a shoo-in next time!
AFP meeting features seven candidates
It was a crowded agenda and pair of banquet areas at Brew River last night. Over 100 people jammed in to hear District 38 Senate hopeful Michael James, House of Delegates District 37A challenger Dustin Mills, and the five candidates who are seeking to take over the Elmore seat in the House of Delegates (District 38A.)
There were a few items of local club business to take care of first, though, and chair Joe Collins bemoaned the loss of his former cohort Julie Brewington, saying ”I lost my right arm.” (Brewington was present, though, as a candidate for Delegate in District 38A.) Missing was the usual PowerPoint presentation club members were treated to as Collins said, “learning time is over.” It was time to put what we’d learned in about a year into action.
Barry Oehl of the Worcester County AFP filled us in on a proposed television commercial, which would be produced for free – donations were being solicited to secure airtime locally. T-shirts were also available, with proceeds going toward the effort. (The Eastern Shore TEA Party Patriots also have shirts for sale.)
Dave Schwartz of the state AFP opined that early voting is “really going to be helpful for the conservative cause.” (I beg to differ, but…) He stated his case by asking how many of us would vote in the next hour if the option were there – most raised their hands, including me. Dave continued by pointing out that early voting allows conservatives to get the word out, frees up campaigns to reach out to other voters, and would reveal in rough numbers how turnout was going – for example, it would be big news if Republicans and Democrats had similar total turnout given the GOP’s 2:1 registration disadvantage.
Daryl Ann Dunigan introduced herself as a representative of Conservatives for Maryland and will be working with college students and other youth in the region.
While a large number of candidates were in attendance (for example, all four GOP candidates from House of Delegates District 38B and County Executive hopeful Joe Ollinger were there along with a sprinkling of other local hopefuls) the bulk of the time was spent listening to District 38 Senate candidate Michael James.
To James, the “race really is about experience,” but his experiences were different than his opponent’s. Key issues for him were to reduce our state’s debt, cut spending and taxes, and create jobs. He blasted the millionaire’s tax as “a complete failure” and suggested that “incumbents tend to be reactive.” As examples he used the fight to get Jessica’s Law passed and the lack of effort toward job creation in 2006 through 2009. Once this election year rolled around these and other items suddenly became priorities.
Since the meeting was billed as a “job interview” there were plenty of questions.
Michael took a question on deregulation of utilities and turned it into a treatise on overregulation itself, which he claimed “is trying to drive out jobs.”
But on a Second Amendment question, he stumbled slightly when he claimed he was for the right to carry with the proper license but the questioner followed with the point that any such restriction could be construed as an infringement. Michael conceded that was a valid point.
More palatable to the gathering was his answer on an immigration question – James does not support amnesty and believes Arizona Governor Jan Brewer “has done a great job” fighting for SB1070. “Maryland needs a similar…or tougher law,” said Michael.
Other questions dealt with bread and butter economic issues like taxation (“I will work my butt off to lower tax rates,”) free market principles, and government waste (there is “tons of room for consolidation” in the state budget.)
In short, he stated, “My campaign is about making Maryland more friendly to business (and we need to) elect people who have actually created jobs.” Under his leadership, the Carousel Hotel in Ocean City has gone from receivership and 8 employees to a thriving enterprise with over 300 workers.
A shorter session was held for Dustin Mills, who told those attending that “I’ve had enough…sick of being taken for granted.”
Among his key points was having a state government which was too laden with state employees; the large number of unfunded positions in the budget is a slush fund that’s “criminal” and “wrong.” Our sales tax was “killing” the Eastern Shore because of the large differential between Maryland and sales tax-free Delaware. And the state was taking too much from local government for their own needs – 95% of the gas tax which was supposed to revert to county government was instead confiscated by the state and a funding mechanism from fire insurance policies to local volunteer fire departments was almost all taken to help the balance the budget.
Since he currently works in the education field, Mills had sharp criticism for the school system – “what’s going on is outright criminal.” Mills would work to establish more local control and eliminate maintenance of effort requirements. Dustin also equated agriculture with small business, and questioned the amount of impact environmental regulations on Maryland farmers would have when just 15% of the Chesapeake watershed lay in Maryland.
“My faith lies in you” and not government, Dustin concluded.
I had the first question out of the chute, asking Dustin what issues were resonating with the large minority community in his district. He cited education and taxation as the two key issues, as minority-owned small businesses are also affected by the poor business climate. Also, Dustin is a “strong supporter” of the Second Amendment with “limited licensure.”
But the best question came from a constituent who asked how he’d be better than incumbent Delegate Rudy Cane? Mills cited his bad voting record and no dialogue with the voters in the district as areas Dustin would improve upon.
The five candidates from District 38A took the spotlight next. But since the hour was growing late, the format was limited to an opening statement and one question on how the candidates would work with being part of a minority. (Most likely, this wouldn’t apply to Mike McCready, but he is portraying himself as a conservative Democrat so would presumably vote often with Republicans.)
Julie Brewington got into the race at the last minute because, “what I saw wasn’t anything I could vote for.” As the former AFP co-chair, she called the group “my inspiration” and played up her outsider status by noting the House of Delegates was, “supposed to be for the common working person.” We could “take back our government,” said Brewington, and there are “too many ‘go along to get along’ people” in Annapolis. As for working in the minority, Julie believed “in my heart we are sitting on an abyss of change” and asked citizens to “work with me.”
Touting his experience, John Cannon was concerned “this (Eastern Shore) livelihood will be threatened” and called Annapolis leadership “cavalier” as they continued “ripping the guts out of local government.” To him, we were dealing with an issue of “taxation without compensation.” Among his attributes, he called himself conservative, pragmatic, and results-oriented – “I am a representative.”
Answering the question about working with the majority, Cannon suggested he had “no problem working across party lines” but wouldn’t compromise on principles. He would think out of the box and take initiatives where needed, and model his approach on the successes of the Eastern Shore delegation already there.
A born-again Christian and NRA member, Mike McCready also spoke about his experience in agriculture as a member of Delmarva Poultry Industry and operator of eight chicken houses. He’s also served two terms on the Somerset County Commission and touted that body’s financial success – in eight years the property tax rate had declined from $1.01 per $100 to 88.3 cents. “That is fiscal responsibility,” said Mike. Part of the belt-tightening was instituting a hiring freeze; on the other hand, they didn’t need a maintenance of effort waiver for county schools.
But he didn’t forget from where he came, stating “farmers are the backbone of the Eastern Shore,” and that “we cannot afford to put the watermen out of business.” McCready thought the best way to work with his fellow Democrats on certain issues was to “have a proposal in your own mind, too” and seek out allies to a rural point of view.
Charles Otto is also a farmer; in fact he has served as the president of the Somerset and Wicomico Farm Bureaus. That experience working on the outside of the political process to “create things we can live with” fueled his desire to get on the inside and become an advocate for land use issues and respecting private property rights. Otto answered the question about being in the minority by citing the need for finding allies in the General Assembly which hail from rural areas. But “the biggest issue we’ll face is monetary,” concluded Otto.
John Phoebus is “very happy AFP is playing a role in politics.” He “never imagined” he’d run for the House of Delegates but the loss of Delegate Page Elmore “left a huge void.”
Yet John also said he was “fed up” with what he saw coming from Annapolis, describing it as a “wholesale assault on Eastern Shore values.” The General Assembly is “out of touch,” Phoebus said, and 2010 was a “great opportunity to make a change.” Referring to the 2005 Fair Share bill that affected Walmart and may have cost Somerset County a distribution center, that “red-headed Eskimo” measure was proof we “need people who believe government isn’t the answer” in the General Assembly. Since it’s “not likely the GOP will take over” in the General Assembly, we need to work with like-minded members from other rural areas. (Otto cited Phoebus’s previous answer in his own, as the panelists answered in reverse alphabetical order.)
Michael James and Dustin Mills were also allowed to answer the question posed to District 38A hopefuls, with James stating the need to be proactive and “intelligently bring people to our side,” while Mills echoed Brewington’s earlier statement to not “go along to get along.” Instead, he would be a vocal advocate even if it means being a minority of one.
Needless to say, it was a lengthy meeting, taking over two hours to wrap. But those who stayed became much more informed about their alternatives in this election.
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