WCRC meeting – October 2010

For the Wicomico County Republican Club, the 2007-2010 election cycle came to an end tonight; it was the final scheduled meeting before the all-important local and state elections.

As always we led off with the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. It was then announced that two of our three featured speakers could not attend due to a conflict of one sort or another – among the two at-large County Council hopefuls Bob Culver was booked for another event and for Matt Holloway his farming had to take precedence. This left our candidate for County Executive Joe Ollinger as the lone scheduled speaker.

So we heard our treasurer’s report, which brought up a few questions about the club’s expenditures – you may have heard some of them if you listen to local radio. Much of the rest went to various candidates.

Once we reviewed the minutes from September’s meeting it was time to hear from Joe.

After joking that he really didn’t need to speak because he had the votes in the room sewn up, Joe wanted to make sure everyone checked out his video. He even had cards made which simply repeated the website his video could be found at. But rather than pass out a number of cards, I’ll just go a step further.

So far Joe’s had “great feedback” on the video and he’s been out campaigning “where the most people are.” Dustin Mills noted later that he sees Joe everywhere he goes on the campaign trail here in Wicomico County. Another video Joe pointed to was one done by the Daily Times, a 30-minute show where he answered a number of questions from the editorial staff.

However, aside from the “very positive” feedback he gets, Joe isn’t sure how the campaign is going. Ollinger mentioned the point-counterpoint featured in Sunday’s Daily Times, and blasted opponent Rick Pollitt for “lack(ing) any vision whatsoever…(he) can’t see the possibilities.” Yet Joe’s radio advertisements are quite positive, encouraging everyone to get out and vote. Joe also related that a debate between him and Pollitt is all but ruled out.

Some of the questions Joe answered regarded changes in procedure at the county’s landfill. The questioner wanted to know about converting the large amount of cellulose brought there into alcohol and allowing people to claim usable items tossed out via a licensing system of some sort. Ollinger said they sounded like good ideas which could merit further study.

He also answered a question about the county’s public information officer – “Jim Fineran won’t be there” in January should Joe win. In addition, Ollinger is considering searching for a new county administrator once the FY2012 budgetary process is complete.

Other observations Joe made were that the campaign was a “very enjoyable experience,” and that he’s “become a far bigger fan of the firemen” since he’s spoken with so many in the county and learned about their jobs. He also opined that County Council could learn a lot from some of the smaller municipalities.

Turning back to club business and reports, it was announced that the “Fire Pelosi” bus tour would be in Salisbury Friday morning at 9:30 at the Victory Center (the former Hollywood Video adjacent to SU.) Not only will it feature RNC Chair Michael Steele but also Bob Ehrlich and Andy Harris as well.

Dustin Mills gave the Lower Shore Young Republican report, which was simple: phone banking each Wednesday night and “doing everything we can” for candidates.

A poll watching report was given by Greg Belcher, who reported “a couple mild successes” in keeping poll workers in line. Mainly they get in the habit of asking leading questions when they’re not supposed to. “The Democrats are pretty desperate,” he added.

Giving his final Central Committee report, the outgoing Chair John Bartkovich thanked the WCRC for the support they’ve given over his 12 year tenure. He predicted the campaigns will get dirtier, and candidates should respond immediately.

Bartkovich also announced the Central Committee would be airing radio ads this week, and chided Jim Mathias in particular for his ads – “he sounds more conservative than I am.” (Just look at the record and you’ll see the real truth.) He also advised us to vote for the county issues and against the state ones, and concluded, “we’ve had a good cycle (and) good candidates who work hard.”

“I’m going out on top,” said John.

Speaking on his campaign, Dustin Mills also thanked those in attendance and said as well that “it’s been a fantastic ride.” Hinting that Rudy Cane would be a lame duck if he wins because he’s considering this his last term, Dustin said of the incumbent “he’s not good enough” for the district. (I say we should retire Cane now – why wait?)

Gail Bartkovich thanked us for our support as well, and noted the comprehensive plan and zoning were two key upcoming issues.

Bill Smith of the Orphan’s Court again plugged his two Democratic cohorts, they “deserve to be reelected.” (He can do that as the lone Republican standing for the three spots.)

We also received thanks via letter from Matt Holloway, Addie Eckardt, Andy Harris, Bob Caldwell, and Rich Colburn for the club’s contribution to their efforts.

Some final reports came from Daryl Ann Dunigan, who reminded the group about phone banking and door-to-door efforts from headquarters; Dave Parker regarding Wednesday’s AFP meeting, and Woody Willing, who wondered why more GOP candidates weren’t campaigning at the early voting site.

Finally, the next meeting will be November 22. Most likely it will be a fairly short meeting to help plan the Christmas Party and analyze how the election went. It will also feature a new presenter of the Central Committee report.

WCRC meeting – September 2010

On the note that it was a “sign of enthusiasm that so many were running,” in the words of club president Marc Kilmer, we began our September meeting. Certainly it was much more orderly than the August edition I missed.

We did have a brief departure from normal as two people who wanted to be heard spoke before our normal business was concluded, for they had other pressing obligations. Charles Otto, winner of the District 38A nod, said that “we can’t take this election for granted” while his District 37A counterpart Dustin Mills spoke of the “great response” his effort was receiving and pushed his upcoming small business fundraiser October 4th.

At that point we went over the minutes and treasurer’s report, with Kilmer alerting the club we had made our candidate donations to a number of quality people throughout the county, as well as state and federal races. Toward that effort, it was revealed that the Crab Feast in particular swelled our coffers as one of the more profitable recently.

Our speaker was State’s Attorney candidate Matt Maciarello.

He detailed an early background of working his way through Wor-Wic Community College and Salisbury University before landing a civilian job with the Navy. There he learned about Organizational Change Management, to which he opined, “I believe my management ability…will serve Wicomico County well.”

After going to law school at the University of Maryland, Matt cut his legal teeth as a law clerk in Worcester County before securing his current employment at the local law firm of Hearne and Bailey. The partners there were examples of integrity, honor, and diligence, according to Maciarello – to him, law is “an honorable profession…I love the law.”

Describing himself further as “a very competitive person,” Matt began to spell out his vision for the State’s Attorney office; one he said could be more efficient and more effective given increased communication and collaboration. Matt spoke of being a “proactive community prosecutor…I’m a ‘broken windows’ kind of guy.” He also wanted to adopt the High Point Initiative to combat the drug problem, and spoke of combatting a surge in white-collar crime by educating businesses on what to look out for.

Matt also claimed that he had the support of the law enforcement community and considered himself, “goal oriented…I’m gonna get the job done.”

Regarding his recent decision to ask current SA Davis Ruark to remain for the Sarah Foxwell case, as the Foxwell family desires, Matt termed it his “Plan A” but also had plans B and C in mind if Ruark turned down the request. But Matt related that people who work on a case from start to finish develop a “sixth sense” about it and he thought this would assist the prosecution of Thomas Leggs. As for naysayers about the decision, Matt’s broadside was, “the minute I start doing things for Matt Maciarello is the minute I fail the community.”

A question asked by a club member about recidivism elicited this statement from Matt. “I want that fear (of punishment) to be out there in the criminal’s mind.”

“I’m in favor of ‘one strike and you’re out’, depending on what the crime is,” continued Maciarello.

But another question about the nolle pros and stet docket turned Matt into an educator. He has to be both an advocate for and administrator of justice, and there’s a difference between the “probable cause” required to bring charges and the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard for conviction. By doing a constant triage on cases based on the progress of the investigation and whether the best punishment is conviction or the conditions usually associated with a nolle pros or probation before judgement, the amount of time wasted for law enforcement officers to wait around in court or testify on losing cases can be reduced. Matt sympathized with officers who come off overnight road duty only to find themselves stuck in court for hours on end. These outcomes would be used “when it’s in the interest of justice.”

We then heard a number of brief reports.

Addie Eckardt spoke about some confusion regarding “agency” of absentee ballots that may need to be clarified in next year’s General Assembly. A few races have turned when an extraordinarily high number of absentee ballots are returned favoring one candidate. We should be mindful of both that and the early voting process.

Both Patrick Hefflinger of the local GOP Victory Center and Mark McIver, representing the local Ehrlich campaign, spoke about particular GOTV efforts and volunteering – each Saturday morning we were invited to walk local neighborhoods. Mark Biehl of the Lower Shore Young Republicans told us they were doing their part each Wednesday at the Victory Center and they had “a good turnout…we made a profit” at their Hog Roast.

Speaking for the Republican Central Committee, John Bartkovich bemoaned the 26 percent turnout locally and said, “we have a lot of work to do…don’t rely on the Republican wave” spoken of in the national media. We need to have all Republican hands on deck to carry our local candidates to victory.

Delegate Carolyn Elmore piped up to remind us that we need to support the primary winners – “we cannot circle the wagons and fire inward.”

Joe Ollinger announced he’d had a “great” fundraiser and promoted future campaign efforts in his bid to replace Rick Pollitt.

Judge Bill Smith allowed us to vote for two Democrats; “I’d like to keep the two I have” as fellow members of the Orphan’s Court. Those two would be Norma Lee Barkley and Melissa Bright Pollitt.

Matt Holloway chimed in that he was “blown away” by the support he had in his County Council at-large primary.

Bob Caldwell, Sean Jester (representing Mike McDermott), Ann Suthowski (who is coordinating the Eric Wargotz for Senate campaign here in Wicomico County), and Mark McIver (for the Ehrlich campaign) all updated us briefly on progress.

Joe Holloway is unopposed for his District 5 seat but opined, “we need new management in this county (and) a good, conservative County Council.”

Notably absent was a report on the Andy Harris campaign.

The last word belonged to Marc Kilmer, who told us the October meeting would feature Joe Ollinger, Bob Culver, and Joe Holloway, and our Christmas Party will be held Sunday, December 12.

That October meeting is slated for October 25.

WCRC meeting – July 2010

Yes, you get pictures with this one!

First of all, can you tell it’s election season?

Supporters of John Cannon and John Phoebus made sure to have their hopeful's signage up before the event. Phoebus was a speaker while Cannon did not attend the meeting because he was at another event.

District 37A challenger Dustin Mills also was ready for the event.

After the Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, minutes, and treasurer’s report was read it was time for the main attraction of the evening – candidate for Governor Brian Murphy. It was before a packed house.

It was a crowded room for Brian Murphy, probably the best turnout since we did a Presidential straw poll back in late 2007.

Candidate for Governor Brian Murphy speaks before the July 2010 meeting of the Wicomico County Republican Club.

Murphy described a childhood spent being both rich and poor, with a public school education and much of the time spent on the Eastern Shore (in fact, Brian graduated from Easton High School.) After going to the University of Maryland in College Park and spending one summer working in the World Trade Center as an intern, Brian went to work for Constellation Energy.

“I love talking about deregulation,” he said. But noting that the system was set up by lawyers and politicians, he asked, “why am I the only one surprised when it failed?”

After his stint at Constellation, Brian went into business for himself and started the Smith Island Cake Company. Now boasting 21 employees, Murphy claimed, “we created jobs where there were no jobs,” and made the point that, “no government can create a job.” (Sadly, he did not bring samples.) Right now, we don’t compete with Delaware, Brian continued, and there are “no answers” coming from either Annapolis or Washington, D.C.

Turning to a criticism of the budget, Brian recounted that his GOP opponent, Bob Ehrlich, raised the budget 28 percent during his term while Martin O’Malley tried the opposite tactic of raising taxes. “Our budget is broken,” said Brian, “We can’t afford more taxes.” Yet, “no one thought (the budget) was important enough to fix,” Murphy noted. And why is government “invincible?”

And while Ehrlich, “didn’t keep a lot of promises to the base,” Brian said that we can and should easily be able to compete with other states. Being Governor of Maryland “is like cheating…the deck is stacked in our favor” because of the natural and cultural advantages we enjoy.

Brian called running mate Mike Ryman “Kojak without a lollipop” and touted Mike’s experiences as a Marine officer and for the FBI as an asset in rooting out waste.

I also didn’t know that Brian was once a Democrat but like many others “I got evicted” when the party turned radically leftward.

He concluded his remarks by saying, “I’m not here for a career. I’m here for my kids.”

Brian Murphy answers a question at the Wicomico County Republican Club meeting as club members Dave Parker and Tom Hughes take notes.

Murphy was kind enough to take questions. Asked about the Arizona SB1070 law, Brian stated his support for the law and touted his endorsement from Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins, but also warned, “I will not tolerate racism.”

I asked him how he could work around the vast amount of our budget tied up in various funds. “Democrats don’t control the purse (if I’m elected),” Brian fired back, and “unfunded mandates are an excuse.” True, Maryland has an executive budget and we’ve already seen a, “duct tape and baling wire” budget as Murphy termed it. One thing I didn’t know is that Maryland has the largest Gross State Product in the country.

On stopping frivolous lawsuits, Brian conceded that, “I can’t make bills” but would promise to use his veto pen on bad ones. (Actually, bills can be introduced on the Governor’s behalf.)

The final question he took was on eliminating the state’s Department of Education. Brian stopped short of advocating its elimination but also opined, “money is not the problem, so money isn’t the solution.” Under his administration, “bad programs don’t get dollars.” He finished by taking a swipe at his two opponents, saying that because they’re lawyers, “I wouldn’t trust those two to run my bakery.”

Before he left, though, he stopped for a quick picture with District 38A hopeful Julie Brewington.

Brian Murphy, Republican candidate for Governor, poses with Julie Brewington, Republican candidate for District 38A. Whether this is an endorsement or not remains to be seen.

Ironically enough, our next speaker was a lawyer and will have Kendel Ehrlich speak at an upcoming fundraiser. John Phoebus took pains to proclaim he was a “Republican lawyer” who made sure to study the local small businesses he represented. His experience as a small-town attorney would “carry over well in Annapolis.”

While he was excited to be in the District 38A race, he was sorry that it was under the circumstances of Page Elmore’s illness and eventual death. Phoebus called Elmore a “great example” and a “strong voice” for Somerset County.

In some respects, though, Phoebus echoed the statements of Murphy, claiming Maryland was in a “bad position” to compete due to our tax structure. John would work to repeal the O’Malley sales tax increase and eliminate both the corporate tax and “millionaire’s tax.” “(The) anti-business climate needs to change” in Maryland, said Phoebus.

He concluded by touting his, “true conservative values…(that) government should be limited.”

Like Murphy, John answered a few questions.

But the first one, which asked about term limits, may have betrayed those conservative values. Speaking of the need to establish seniority, Phoebus said term limits could be enforced at the ballot box so they were not needed.

He did better on the issue of tort reform, where he thought laws should be set up to encourage mediation and perhaps a modified form of “loser pays” based on Canadian legal rules.

But when asked about a state exclusion from Obamacare, John said “I don’t know enough” about the proposal for a yes or no answer.

A question about the assessment process revealed John’s thought that the assessment process was “out of touch” with the real estate market, with rates, “going up like a rocket but down like a feather.” He thought he could support a cap on assessments but not a revenue cap.

Naturally, the follow-up question was posed about a revenue cap repeal, to which Phoebus responded would be best left up to local voters and not dictated from Annapolis.

Even after two somewhat lengthy speakers, we weren’t done yet. District 38A Delegate Carolyn Elmore, Page’s widow, rose to thank us for the outpouring of well wishes and support. She also proclaimed that, “maybe I’m a lame duck (since she’s not running for a full term) but I can quack loudly.”

Woody Willing repeated his call for silent auction items for the August 28 Crab Feast.

Mark Biehl gave the Lower Shore Young Republican report. The state candidate forum held earlier this month was plagued by low attendance but they would try again anyway August 11 with county candidates. They also have a hog roast coming up September 11 at Leonard Mill Park.

In his Central Committee report, John Bartkovich talked about all the “great candidates” the local GOP has and exhorted us all to help them. He was “most excited” about District 37A hopeful Dustin Mills, who was one of a dozen or more local officeseekers in attendance.

Marc Kilmer related that we will need volunteer assistance in cleaning out the former Hollywood Video location, which will become our local headquarters early next month. The lease was signed yesterday.

Mark McIver gave the report for Bob Ehrlich’s campaign, which will be hosting a fundraiser on August 1st at Palmer Gillis’s Ocean City home.

Ed Nelson, speaking on behalf of Andy Harris, introduced his youth coordinator Daryl Ann Dunigan. She will be working with Eastern Shore college students.

Joe Collins reminded those gathered the local AFP chapter will meet on July 28. Featured speaker will be District 38 Senate candidate Michael James.

Joe Ollinger asked us to put a fundraiser on the calendar, to be held September 22.

Finally, good news from longtime Republican Blan Harcum, who is on the mend and “will see us soon” after a stint in the hospital and subsequent rehabilitation.

The next meeting will be August 23rd and feature the remaining candidates from District 38A: Julie Brewington, John Cannon, and Charles Otto. We may also have the four hopefuls from District 38B.

WCRC meeting – June 2010

Things were once again a little different at tonight’s meeting due to recent events. Of course we did the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance to start, but after those recitations we heard from John Phoebus.

While Phoebus is in the running for the late Page Elmore’s District 38A Delegate seat, he’s suspended his campaign for a few days due to Elmore’s death. So he came to us not as a candidate looking for votes but a man paying tribute to a former client and man of stature in Somerset County.

John praised Elmore’s work ethic, which he described as one of picking out small bills and using their cumulative effect to bring about change. A “selfless” man and member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the House, Elmore fretted about leaving the House post to pursue a Senate seat once Lowell Stoltzfus announced his retirement because of his House seniority and ability to get things done there. And there wasn’t a waterman Page didn’t know; they were a group who could count on Elmore to advocate for them in Annapolis.

Elmore was described by club president Marc Kilmer as having a manner which wasn’t the manner of a typical politician. After we observed a moment of silence for Page, the May meeting minutes were read and we heard another solid financial report.

Even Dustin Mills, tonight’s featured speaker, noted that “words can’t describe what (Page Elmore) meant to the Shore.”

Dustin Mills is running for Delegate in District 37A. Photo: Mills campaign.

Mills, who’s jumped into the race for Delegate for District 37A, called the incumbent the “quietest, most liberal” member of the General Assembly. While I could argue that point based on voting record, Dustin’s criticism of Rudy Cane avoiding tough votes bears out to be correct more often than not. Out of 96 votes I’ve detailed on the monoblogue Accountability Project from 2007 to 2009, Cane missed 16 votes – including 9 in the 2007 Special Session.

While Mills isn’t a native of the Eastern Shore, he graduated from Salisbury University and didn’t follow many of his classmates off the Eastern Shore – “I intend to stay here and do what I can.” Among his key issues are the wasteful spending in Annapolis, for which he cited an “out of control” state government. There are $140 million worth of unfilled positions in the state budget, continued Dustin, which served as a “slush fund” to move or cut as needed. And why is the state running (and losing money on) two golf courses?

Instead of doing away with unnecessary spending, Democrats in Annapolis may want a tax increase next year – “the wrong approach,” stated Dustin. In the meantime, they raid county coffers to assist the state’s budget crunch. Mills contended the counties are smarter stewards of money than the state and county money should be county money.

On the other hand, Mills would emphasize a more business-friendly approach than his opponent, whose party’s leadership has declined Maryland’s standing in the business community to the third worst in the country by “overregulating and overburdening small business.” His solutions would be to repeal the 2008 sales tax increase, lower corporate taxes, and reduce the unemployment coverage rolls to only include people who are actually unemployed. This, Mills argued, would make the state more business-friendly and (presumably) make up the shortfall a static analysis would assume happens when taxes are decreased. In the real world, lowering taxes leads to greater economic activity.

In addition, Dustin also advocated an automatic “maintenance of effort” waiver for education spending if a county’s unemployment rate was above a certain percentage.

Another effect of the anti-business attitude exhibited by Annapolis was a “brain drain” of college graduates who can’t find work on the Eastern Shore or in Maryland proper. In short, Mills argued that “this (anti-business) attitude has got to stop.”

Turning to another local industry, agriculture, Mills criticized the “ludicrous” treatment of farmers by Annapolis, wondering why Eastern Shore farmers are blamed for the condition of the Bay when a large percentage of the water off Maryland’s shores comes from Pennsylvania.

To conclude his initial remarks, Mills compared his faith in the individual to his opponent’s faith in government. Rudy Cane was “out of touch” with his district, concluded Dustin.

Perhaps the most interesting questions asked of Mills had to do with the immigrant advocacy group CASA de Maryland – a group which Mills remarked “needs to go.” To that end, Dustin would cut its funding and work to disallow “sanctuary cities.” (Good luck with that in Takoma Park – luckily it’s not part of the district.)

But Dustin also told us we “need to aggressively seek out employers” in response to a question on job creation and stop the overaggressive enforcement some truck drivers endure regarding another’s query.

According to Mark Biehl of the Lower Shore Young Republicans, the recent state YR convention “turned out really well.” Their chapter was picked as the state’s best for the second time in three years and the aforementioned Dustin Mills was given a lifetime achievement award for his work so far. (Good thing he doesn’t rest on his laurels.)

Their next meeting, July 14th at the Chamber of Commerce Building (where the WCRC meets) will be a political roundtable and the public is invited.

A simple Central Committee report from John Bartkovich stressed there were still open positions on the GOP primary ballot and we would need volunteers for the Farm and Home Show on August 19-21.

Woody Willing added that we should get silent auction items for the Crab Feast on August 28th “quickly.” He didn’t want a crush of items August 27th.

Brief candidate updates came from Joe Holloway (County Council District 5), Gail Bartkovich (County Council District 3), William Smith (Orphans’ Court Judge), and Ryan Hohman, who hasn’t had the opportunity to withdraw yet because of a demanding work schedule.

Ed Nelson of Andy Harris’s campaign pointed out that Andy had been visible locally, attending two AFP meetings, the Young Republican convention, and a farmer’s breakfast over the last few weeks. Harris also had an “extremely successful” local fundraiser a couple weeks back.

Comparable fundraising success was related by Sean Jester, who’s assisting with Mike McDermott’s campaign for Delegate in District 38B.

M.J. Caldwell wanted to say a few words about the late Sam Vincent, who was “one of the most honorable men you’d ever meet.” In order to give all local voters a say in the State’s Attorney race, the longtime Democrat had recently switched parties; then again, Caldwell called Vincent, “a Republican who never switched.” M.J. also commended Vincent’s “deep loyalty” to the office, speculating there must be unresolved issues there which convinced Vincent to run against his boss.

The question was asked about our club donating to the charities of choice of Elmore and Vincent, which will be a matter for the club’s executive board to solve at a meeting soon – basically it’s a question of how much we feel is appropriate.

Our next meeting is slated for July 26, when candidate for Governor Brian Murphy is slated to speak and attempt to win converts to his side.

WCRC meeting – May 2010

As the campaign season begins to hit its stride, we’re finding a larger and larger share of our attendance comes from those having something to do with a campaign, and this was the case tonight at the WCRC meeting.

Of course, we kicked things off in the usual way with the Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, reading of the April minutes, and treasurer’s report. That went by rather quickly so we could hear from our featured speaker.

Originally we had arranged to hear from former U.S. Senate and Lieutenant Governor hopeful Carmen Amedori, but she graciously bowed out of her speaking engagement when she exited the race. Fortunately, the speaker we wanted for April was available and Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio gave us the rundown of this year’s General Assembly session.

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio gave us a report on the 2010 General Assembly session.

It’s somewhat depressing to know that over 2,700 bills were introduced in a short 90-day span of time, but that’s how many they had. Obviously the most important ones had to do with the state’s budget, and given the state’s budgetary rules having the House Appropriations Committee cut $11.7 million out of it was a surprise (as was the $9.3 million cut by their Senate counterparts.) Not so shocking was the $12 million supplemental budget taken from federal stimulus funds which actually increased Governor O’Malley’s original budget.

Haddaway-Riccio told us that voted against that whole mess while stating “a reduction in increase is not a cut.” She also warned that a bloated capital budget “almost guarantees an increase in property taxes” because we’re close to our borrowing limits.

Yet the Republicans were not “the party of no” as they proposed alternatives. Some examples of cuts were eliminating Medicaid fraud and abuse (saving $195 million), reducing executive branch salaries to $1 below Governor O’Malley’s ($2.3 million) and eliminating out-of-state travel expenses ($1.9 million.)

But the news wasn’t completely bad. She had helped pass a job creation tax credit (albeit with several strings attached) and also had helped with enhancing Jessica’s Law, working with business interests to grandfather in projects already in progress from onerous (“way overreaching”) stormwater regulations, and expanded the services nurse providers could provide – something which helps areas with a shortage of doctors such as the Lower Shore.

Needless to say, Jeannie did believe the business climate could be improved – otherwise “we’re chasing our tax base out of the state.

As for the future, Haddaway-Riccio thought it was important not just to put a Republican in the governor’s chair but also to increase their numbers in the General Assembly. Having just 1/3 of the seats (47 in the House, 16 in the Senate) would allow GOP legislation to be brought to the floor and not locked in a committee chair’s desk drawer. It also helps at the committee and subcommittee levels where we can best effect necessary changes.

To Jeannie, the next steps for the state would be to put our fiscal house in order, address the poor business climate, and better balance the economy and environment, a balancing act she believed could be achieved.

While many of the questions were clarifications of items she’d gone over before, a couple stuck out. Jeannie brought up the attempt to impeach AG Doug Gansler by Delegate Dwyer as an example of the need for better accountability and more transparency. She also revealed that a clone of Arizona’s SB1070 would be introduced next term by Delegate Pat McDonough.

Mark Biehl gave the Lower Shore Young Republican report – their food drive netted over $100 cash and 200 food items, which is a start. Next year they would challenge other stores to get involved. Also, the Maryland YR convention will be in Salisbury June 18-19 with other states participating in the gathering too. Featured speakers will include Bob Ehrlich, Audrey Scott, and Andy Harris, along with RNC staffers.

As for the Central Committee, John Bartkovich showed off our hardware (the Aris T. Allen Award we received at the state convention) and asked we keep up the momentum of candidate recruitment. Several future events are in the works (Farm and Home Show, Autumn Wine Fest), we need good sign locations, and our newest associate member is a familiar face – Cynthia Williams agreed to come back into the fold (she was a predecessor of mine on the WCRCC.)

We then launched into a series of campaign updates.

Newly minted candidate for Wicomico County Executive Joe Ollinger.

Joe Ollinger began by giving us a brief rundown of his biography as a retired businessman who came here nearly thirty years ago to begin his own company. This gave him the perspective of “an outsider looking in” to the county’s government as opposed to the incumbent’s view from the inside looking out. It was a contrast of having the background in government operations which Rick Pollitt has compared to the leadership Joe pledged to exhibit.

As of now, Ollinger has no events set but the campaign is working on both that and literature to hand out. He will attend the Americans for Prosperity meeting on Wednesday night, though, and his website is up and running.

Mark McIver was “humbled and excited” about being recommended to run Bob Ehrlich’s local campaign; that is, until he was told he needed to win the county with 70% of the vote and help bring more House and Senate candidates in. Yet this was a doable goal, particularly when he’s teaming up with Worcester and Somerset counties and other candidates to help out.

District 37A candidate Bob McCarroll.

One of those candidates surely will be Andy Harris. Ed Nelson represents the Harris forces locally and announced Andy will be the featured speaker at Wednesday’s AFP meeting. Key items for him were a local fundraiser June 16, a meet the candidate breakfat later that month, and getting sign placements along U.S. 50 – Wicomico has its share but Ed would like more before Memorial Day.

The one thing holding back Bob McCarroll’s campaign is the lack of a treasurer since his original choice had to back out, but once he has that locked up he’s going to hit the ground running. The District 37A hopeful can still get to events and press the flesh so I anticipate he’ll be spreading the word using some good old-fashioned shoe leather for the moment.

As for Michael James, State Senate candidate in District 38, “things are going great” according to Dustin Mills. Voters who were longtime Democrats seem to be swinging Michael’s way, and James has been very visible at several recent events.

For firsttime candidate Ryan Hohman, this may have been his initial campaign event.

Ryan Hohman is another first-time candidate getting things started, although he does have the advantage of a campaign treasurer. Ryan is running for one of the two Wicomico County Council at-large seats, presumably to replace departing Councilman Bill McCain, who chose not to seek re-election. He’s ready to start knocking on doors and getting his campaign in full swing.

Speaking on behalf of District 38B Delegate aspirant Mike McDermott, Sean Jester noted that his campaign needs volunteers (naturally, since Sean is the volunteer coordinator.) He also pointed out a curious fact – Worcester County has not been represented by a Republican in the House of Delegates since 1874. Time for a 136 year streak to end!

Don Coffin gave a report on the Jim Rutledge fundraiser last Saturday. There were a few Democrats there who were willing to switch parties just to vote for Jim, and moneywise it was quite a success. Coffin noted that Saturday was his first fundraiser and now he know “the dos and don’ts” of hosting an event. Don also volunteered a number of area sign locations to candidates meeting his standards.

Gail Bartkovich is running for re-election to Wicomico County's Council District 3.

Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio gained back the floor briefly to mention a fundraiser for Bob Ehrlich which will be held June 13 at Sailwinds Park in Cambridge.

Finally, Gail Bartkovich announced that she’d filed to run for re-election and she was ready to campaign. The County Council president represents District 3, which encompasses the eastern and southeastern sections of Wicomico County.

While he’s not a candidate, Woody Willing mentioned that the club’s Crab Feast is coming sooner than we might think – August 28 is the date. He also noted for the benefit of the candidates there that not all polling places allow signs on their property.

With that, the meeting came to an end although most of the candidates stayed around to pick up supporters and volunteers. The next meeting will be June 28 with social time at 6:30 and meeting at 7:00 – speaker is to be determined but we have invited a statewide candidate.

WCRC meeting – April 2010

After some of the craziness of March’s meeting, things returned to a fairly normal pace and routine this month.

We did the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, then the minutes of both February and March were read. Following that, it was revealed that our efforts at the Salisbury Festival only netted a meager profit thanks to the “small crowd,” with the lack of steamed corn on the cob also making an impact.

A series of reports followed, beginning with the Lower Shore Young Republicans presented by Dustin Mills. Several of their members braved the poor weather to help at the Salisbury Festival and they were putting the “final touches” on the state convention, where they expected somewhere between 125 and 150 to attend.

The LSYR food drive will occur May 8th at three of the four Salisbury area Food Lion stores – confirmed are the Nanticoke Road and Snow Hill Road locations, with the other being either Tilghman Road or Fruitland.

Dustin and I split the Central Committee report; he remarked on the upcoming GOP Spring Convention in Ocean City and I on the success of the Lincoln Day Dinner with Bob Ehrlich.

We then had a number of campaign updates.

Ed Nelson commented on the Salisbury stop on Andy’s bus tour on Friday. While 30 people showed up on an early Friday morning, Nelson said the candidate was “satisfied” with the press coverage as his campaign is “gelling together.”

Dustin Mills (again) referenced the Michael James campaign for State Senate, telling us Michael was “extremely active” compared to his 2006 effort and lauding the “positive reception” Michael received at the Salisbury Festival.

Don Coffin spoke up and announced he was holding a fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Jim Rutledge on Saturday, May 22 at his farm. A recent fundraiser for Rutledge in Salisbury raised about $3,000 so there’s support here on the Eastern Shore for the candidate.

Bonnie Luna spoke on behalf of Bob Ehrlich’s campaign, recounting his kick off tour which stopped in Parsonsburg and Ocean City.

Bob McCarroll also gave us an update on his bid for office.

In other news, Dustin Mills pointed out some of the numbers behind the recent Rasmussen Poll on Maryland’s race for governor. We know that Ehrlich trails O’Malley 44-47 in his race, but Maryland is a state which gives President Obama more support than the average state and is more supportive of Obamacare. Yet Martin O’Malley has a 22 strongly approve/29 strongly disapprove, or a factor of (-7) compared to a national average for President Obama running in the negative teens. But tellingly, about half of Free Staters have a “throw the bums out” mentality when it comes to their own delegate.

We also learned that the AFP meeting Wednesday may have Delegate candidate Mike McDermott as a speaker but Michael James had to drop out – he’ll have a surrogate for the meeting.

The bulk of the meeting’s discussion centered on the club’s financial plan for the upcoming election, which eventually passed without objection. Once we finalize the slate of candidates come September the WCRC can be a huge help to local Republican candidates.

Our next meeting is May 24 and still on the docket despite her change in office sought is Carmen Amedori.

WCRC meeting – March 2010

Despite the fact there was no flag in the room and our secretary was away on personal business (among other oddities) the Wicomico County Republican Club persevered and gathered once again to celebrate our party – and perhaps lick a few wounds from the health care fight. We did give our customary recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and pledged in the general direction of the courthouse, where certainly a flag would be handy.

Perhaps the recently completed health care fight still left a little bit of acrimony in the crowd, and it began with the treasurer’s report. There was some discussion about changing banks after the group received word of a couple fees we found objectionable, but we will allow the bank to present its case before moving our money.

The contentiousness died down so that our guest speaker could begin his campaign pitch.

Bob McCarroll told us one reason he was running because “no one has stepped up” in District 37A over the last eight years; indeed Delegate Rudy Cane was unopposed by a Republican in 2006. (He did dispatch his Democratic primary opponent with 68.7% of the vote but didn’t carry the small part of the district in Dorchester County.) However, the key reason he was running was his four year old daughter – he was “worried about her future in this area and county.” Areas of particular concern were deficit spending and education, where McCarroll spoke in favor of vouchers (so money could follow the child and allow parental choice) as well as the state “get(ting) off teacher’s backs” and cutting a “top-heavy” administrative system.

In fact, a main theme of Bob’s presentation was the concept of government getting off our backs. For business, that took the form of cutting onerous taxation, including the “millionaire’s tax.” For farmers, it was slicing the amount of environmental regulations, as McCarroll opined that farmers could be better stewards of the land than some Annapolis bureaucrat. The same goes for those making their living on the waterways, like fisherman and watermen. In all, noted Bob, “Maryland has more restrictions than New York,” where he grew up.

On the Obamacare “debacle” McCarroll thought it best that Maryland make an attempt to opt out of the mandates as much as possible.

One question about vouchers asked about the input the state would have in private schools if vouchers were made available, and Bob said that we’d have to trust the legislators – he’d propose a “hands-off” policy. In that same vein, another questioner asked why we couldn’t have a 50-50 split between funding vouchers and public schools, where half the parents’ tax burden would stay with the public schools. But then schools wouldn’t “step up their game.” McCarroll also favors an elected school board.

Another questioner asked about the “minority component” of the district and what would be most appealing to them. Bob saw taxes and educational restructuring as the key issues which would bring in black voters.

On another query, McCarroll saw a line-item veto as “a good idea.”

But perhaps his best answer was on how he could appeal to small businesses. Besides cutting taxes, Bob related his contemplation of starting a small business of his own, but backing off when he “couldn’t get a straight answer” from the state. It was time to “streamline regulations” and exempt Maryland from some of the more onerous federal restrictions.

After McCarroll concluded, we got the Lower Shore Young Republican report from Dustin Mills. The state convention was still in planning stages, but they were looking forward to being hosts. However, the food drive planned for later this month was being pushed back to a date in May. That and the convention also affected planning for another hog roast and fundraiser similar to that they held last year.

But in better news Dustin informed us there would be a meeting in Worcester County for the first time as the LSYR club wished to expand its geographic reach.

Bob Miller again appealed for Salisbury Festival volunteers to both man the WCRC booth and make brownies. The Salisbury Festival is held April 23 and 24 in downtown Salisbury.

Dr. John Bartkovich was pleased that Bob McCarroll was running and commented, “we need more people to step up.” Exciting upcoming events for Wicomico Republicans were the Lincoln Day Dinner April 3rd featuring Bob and Kendal Ehrlich, a town hall meeting with state Chair Audrey Scott on April 5th, and the Spring Republican Convention April 30 and May 1 in Ocean City at the Princess Royale. We also drafted a letter endorsing the idea of an elected school board and asked County Council to consider the idea.

After dealing with a financial question which involved some discussion, we made one other key decision: henceforth our meetings will begin a half-hour earlier, with social time at 6:30 and gavel at 7:00.

This means our first 7 p.m. meeting will be April 26. At this time, we haven’t secured a speaker. Our May meeting has U.S. Senate candidate Carmen Amedori slated, with probably a host of local candidates getting their turn over the summer.

WCRC meeting – February 2010

We had very good turnout for our meeting this month as nearly three dozen members came to see our featured speaker, District 5 County Councilman (and definite fiscal conservative) Joe Holloway.

But as always we put God before country by reciting the Lord’s Prayer prior to the Pledge of Allegiance, and once the minutes were approved and treasurer’s report uttered – including the fact we’ve already paid for reserving Schumaker Park for our Crab Feast August 28th – we heard from our guest speaker.

Since Joe also spoke at last month’s Americans for Prosperity meeting I had already heard many of the points he had made. But some were worth repeating and we now knew how the vote on the Pollitt’s Folly parking lot had turned out. Joe said that he thought the county needed more land for parking, just not at $300,000 per acre – closer to a half-million per acre once construction costs were included. (Works out to about $5,000 per space by my own estimation.) Yet no one had thought to study the existing parking and grounds to see if things could be done more efficiently, said Holloway.

And then there was the prospect of the county buying more land nearby – not just 10 acres for an 8,000 seat stadium which Rick Pollitt apparently wants but possibly for a new main library. Holloway opined that this Old Mall land purchase may affect the price we pay for those pieces of property should the other projects come to pass. He was in the process of asking County Council about drafting a letter to local legislators to find out whether Open Space money could be diverted to take care of the roads.

Turning to another sore subject of his, Joe recounted the lengthy process of getting the school administration to comply with his request for travel expense records – the process took about four months from start to finish. What it revealed was a pattern of expenses which weren’t generally extravagant (for example, none of the money was spent on alcohol and Joe was pleased to find that) but perhaps not necessary – should the morning coffee at Wawa be charged to the taxpayer?

While “a lot” of the expenses were justified, noted Holloway, it was time to adopt a line-item budget for the county board of education. Since they couldn’t truly cut the funding for education because of state maintenance of effort restrictions, the education dollars needed to stretch farther. One observer noted he couldn’t get advanced reading materials for his classroom and another pointed out the situations where teachers needed to go out-of-pocket for supplies while others used the taxpayers’ dime for their dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The problem, one observer said later, was that county employees “feel entitled” to do these things.

One other observation about the board of education fiasco was that it got little coverage in the local media because “the newspaper will not step on the toes” of Wicomico’s BOE. Yet the BOE was “out of control” according to Joe.

Another financial misstep was much smaller but it was one which still upset Joe because of the reaction. In bringing up the perhaps excessive cost of refurnishing some of the county courthouse, Holloway found he got “one of the most disappointing reactions” from County Executive Rick Pollitt. To Joe, his job was oversight and “tell it to the judge” was not what he wanted to hear.

One thing Joe was “proud of” was ending the prospect of those county employees convicted of stealing county property getting their full pension as legislation he helped push through allowed the county to withhold their share of pensions for future scofflaws.

Regarding those he’d worked with over the last three years, Holloway thought “we’ve been a good council” because they work well together even when they disagree.

At this point, the session turned to more of a question-and-answer one, with one club member asking simply, “what can we do?”

One of the most frustrating parts of his job, Joe noted, was the “different money aspect.” I took this to mean that the strings attached to some of the money we get from higher levels of government or county restrictions make it difficult to react when required.

Joe also was critical of how our land deals were negotiated, as someone asked that question of him. Apparently the department heads involved do the negotiation, and Joe pondered whether this shouldn’t be done through the County Executive or a designee with a background in these sorts of negotiations. “Our method of acquiring land is wrong,” said Joe. (Personally, I’d like to see a little bit of divestment rather than acquisition – but that’s just me.)

Holloway also told us the county’s budget had increased 39% despite the revenue cap, but now “every revenue source in Wicomico County is down” and “the state is cutting the devil out of the county(‘s share of revenues.)”

So things may be tough ahead, and there are many (myself included) who think Joe would be a good County Executive. Holloway was “very honored” that people were asking him to run, and if he did it would be an “unorthodox” campaign and tenure in office – “things would change.” But as far as his decision, the “jury is out” on it.

We appreciated Joe’s remarks, and it was tough to cut off the questions. But we had other business to get through, most importantly electing new officers. Since no nominations came from the floor, we had no need for elections and the officer slate remained nearly unchanged – the only substitution was at the Third Vice-President where Carl Kurten, Jr. took the place of Ryan Hohman.

Mark Biehl gave a quick update on the Young Republicans, who had finalized the date and venue for hosting the state convention (June 18 and 19 at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center) and their canned food drive, which is slated for Saturday, March 27.

The only item of business reported by Central Committee Vice-Chair Dave Parker was that we were still in the process of rescheduling our Lincoln Day Dinner based on Bob and Kendal Ehrlichs’ availability.

Matt Teffeau gave an abbreviated College Republican report, noting that state party Chair Audrey Scott would speak at their March 24 meeting, they are working on a fundraiser to be held at Uno’s, and their membership is up to 35 people.

With that, WCRC president Marc Kilmer announced next month’s speaker would be the rescheduled U.S. Senate candidate Corrogan Vaughn and the meeting will be March 22. As always, we enjoyed the get-together and look forward to hearing from Vaughn and any other GOP hopefuls who wish to speak before us. After March we have five meetings left before the primary so secure your speaking slots now.