What Ever Happened to Local Courtesy? Who is the Roadblock to an Elected School Board in Harford County?

The fate of the elected School Board bill goes down to the wire in Annapolis. For the latest updates, check out the comments to this article…

When a majority of delegates from a local jurisdiction sponsor legislation affecting their jurisdiction alone, the custom of the Maryland General Assembly is to approve it as a “local courtesy.” The bill proposing an elected Board of Education in Harford County should be a good example the Annapolis political tradition.

When the bill establishing a fully elected board was amended to create a partially elected, or blended school board, http://mlis.state.md.us/2008rs/billfile/SB0306.htm, it got the support of all three Harford County senators, unanimous approval in the full state senate and unanimous approval by a vote of the Harford County delegation - although Delegate Mary-Dulany James, a staunch opponent of elections, was not present for the delegation vote (remember this for later).

With no recorded votes in opposition to the partially elected Board of Education legislation and overwhelming public support for it, the bill should be well on its way to passage, courtesy of local courtesy. Why, then, are two members of the House of Delegates from outside of Harford County trying so hard to kill it? Continue reading What Ever Happened to Local Courtesy? Who is the Roadblock to an Elected School Board in Harford County?

“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” - Part I

In a self-serving act of eyebrow-raising proportions, the Harford County Board of Education is seeking to thwart school board elections as part of its legislative platform for the upcoming General Assembly session.

Despite the fact that most school board members in Maryland and 95% of boards across the country are elected, the Harford school board is fighting to remain one of the few appointed by the governor and thus insulated from the public it serves. The board contends that elections would inject politics into the process. So elections are political, but political appointments are not political? Please.

Then what do you call it when unknown supporters give a quiet nod to select individuals who are granted power to set public policy and dispense public funds without the approval of the public? Continue reading “A Republic, If You Can Keep It” - Part I

Room fees, Parking charges, Taxing Districts : Solving Problems in Aberdeen

A pair of Aberdeen city councilmen believe the path to the city’s fiscal salvation can be paved through a series of new taxes, fees and charges - and they just might be right.

Appearing Dec. 18 on ‘Aberdeen Happenings,’a local radio talk show hosted by Mark Schlottman on WAMD 970 AM, city councilmen Mike Hiob and Ron Kupferman specifically detailed plans for establishing parking fees at Ironbirds games to stave off accumulating city debt on the stadium, acquiring enabling legislation from the Maryland General Assembly to charge a fee on every night’s stay in every hotel and motel room in Aberdeen and installing a special taxing district along part of Beards Hill Road to help pay for an untangling of traffic congestion in the area.

But before launching their three-pronged (tax, fee, charge) approach to righting the city’s finances, the councilmen first spoke about the future of Aberdeen given its new leader - Mayor Mike Bennett, who defeated former mayor Fred Simmons in the November election.

“Do you see a new direction for the city with a new man at the forefront?” Schlottman asked. Continue reading Room fees, Parking charges, Taxing Districts : Solving Problems in Aberdeen

Calling All Candidates: 8 Vie for Harford’s District 35A Seat in House of Delegates

So a bar owner, an attorney, a couple of real estate developers, a farmer, a firefighter and the politically-active wife of a prominent elected official all want the same job - it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but the real joke is that one of these people will be handed an enormous amount of power and control over the northern end of Harford County.

The Harford County Republican Central Committee released Friday the list of eight candidates who are vying to fill the District 35A seat in the House of Delegates, which is set to be vacated Dec. 31 when Del. Barry Glassman moves into the seat held by the resigning state senator Bob Hooper.

Hooper, who is resigning for health reasons, handpicked Glassman to be his successor and no other candidates submitted names challenging Glassman’s appointment by Gov. Martin O’Malley to become a senator. Unlike Hooper, however, Glassman didn’t leave an heir to his delegation seat - leading eight contestants to submit letters of consideration by Friday’s deadline.

But who are these people? Continue reading Calling All Candidates: 8 Vie for Harford’s District 35A Seat in House of Delegates