Young Pushes Back Against Charter Board Petition

George Wenschhof

In response to the effort by eight individuals to gather signatures to force an election for the members of the charter writing board. Frederick Board of County Commissioners president Blaine Young issued a press release on Wednesday, stating he opposes a special charter board election.

Young went on to defend what he believes was an open and public selection process. Further, he points out the cost to hold a special election has now been estimated to be in excess of $250,000 according to elections director Stuart Harvey.

You can read the full press release here.

Meanwhile, the eight charter writing board hopefuls continue to work toward obtaining the two thousand signatures needed to require a special election. Their stated reason primarily seems to be centered on concerns related to the power given to the county executive and county council.

This war of words continue to plague the hopes of charter government proponents who worry the stumble out of the gate and possible special election will derail any hopes for passage by the voters in the 2012 general election.

It would seem obtaining two thousand signatures would not be too difficult. Each aspiring member of the board would need only obtain 250 signatures. A feat easily obtained by a door-to-door effort. Even adding an addition 50 signatures to be sure they pass the verification process, it is still a fairly easy goal.

Let the process work itself out and if an election takes place, it is unlikely more than a few positions would change in the composition of the charter writing board. If, two thousand signatures are not obtained and verified, it would indicate there is no significant concern over the appointment process.

The charter writing board has decided to continue to move forward, even though this petition effort is underway. They met again last night and had as a guest; Victor Tervala, a Maryland attorney who is a specialist in the area of charter government.

I watched a portion of the meeting last night on Frederick County cable channel 19 and felt he gave an outstanding presentation. It appeared he has been involved in several county efforts to move to the charter form of governing and was able to discuss the potential pratfalls a charter writing board may encounter.

One of the items discussed by the board was to discover what level of support budget is available to them from the county. A necessary and important question as support will need to be provided to the charter writing board. If the budget is sufficient and a reasonable proposal is received, it would be wise to retain Mr. Tervala as a consultant to the charter writing board.

Another member of the board; Rocky Mackintosh spoke of ways to involve members of the community in the charter writing process which is a position I have long held as crucial to the final passage by the voters.

The change to charter government has been needed in Frederick county for quite some time. A move to more control by the voters on their government is long overdo.

Stay tuned...

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Who Wins Budget Battle? - the quick answer is no one. The difference in several billion of dollars and a battle over riders pertaining to abortion and the environment will hardly put a dent into the trillions in debt the nation owes nor resolve long standing differences in philosophy over certain social issues. The losers are the American people who are not receiving meaningful or effective representation in Congress.

As of late last night the difference between Republican and Democratic negotiators had narrowed to a range of 33.5-39.5 billion. No resolution had been reached on the Republican riders attached to the funding bill pertaining to abortion and the environment. The riders being more of the deal breaker than the money.

Meanwhile, the proposed Obama administration budget for FY'12, which begins October 1, 2011, contains 1.5 trillion in debt and the nation's debt ceiling will be reached within the next month. If Congress is unable to reach agreement on the budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year, and government is shut down, what are Americans to expect next?

Do you ever wonder who is behind the latest budget negotiations taking place? The Washington Post has a good read here on the right hand men behind House Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid.

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Rebel Win in Libya Doubtful - NATO officials are now acknowledging the rebels will be unable to overthrow the Gaddafi government with air support only - sound like a familiar refrain?

If a political solution is not arrived at, which results in the removal of Gaddafi, boots on the ground will be required if a long civil war is to be avoided.

Reuters.com has an update here.

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7.1 level Aftershock Hits Japan - and the pain keeps coming for the country still battling to recover from the 9.0 earthquake, subsequent tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. 3.6 million were without power as a result of the huge aftershock. The NY Times has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

White House Budget Meeting Results in No Deal - time is running out as the deadline is tomorrow for funding of government agencies. A meeting late last night between President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid resulted in no immediate results. The NY Times has more here.

Interestingly, the House will need to waive a rule they just passed, requiring a three day reading of a bill before a vote, if agreement is reached by party leaders.

The one week continuing resolution passed by the House, which includes another 12 billion in cuts, is a non starter in the Senate.

Look to see agreement reached on the budget levels for the remainder of the current fiscal year with a short 3 day continuing resolution passed, at current funding levels, allowing time for the agreement to be written and passed by the House and Senate.

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Gaddafi Sends Letter to Obama - a rambling letter which asks Obama to end the air strikes on Libya. You can read the letter here.

Rumors continue Gaddafi's sons are negotiating an exit from the country and a transfer of power, The biggest problem is there is no recognized leadership of the rebels.

All indications are this military intervention will result in another long term quagmire for the United States.

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Obama to Announce Columbia Trade Deal - seems agreement has been reached to protect labor rights in Columbia, leading to a bilateral trade agreement. You can read more here.

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Is Donald Trump the Next Ross Perot? - a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Donald Trump coming in second among nine contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Mitt Romney came in first with 21% and Mike Huckabee tied with Donald Trump for second at 17%. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

This highlights the weakness of the Republican field and signals the reelection of Obama may be easier than some will want.

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Donna Brazile named Interim DNC Chair - I wrote Monday, the new DNC chair would be a woman and to look to see the former Gore campaign chair, Donna Brazile, named. I was close in my prediction as Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) was selected as chair and Brazile named as interim chair. It will take several weeks for the DNC to have an official vote electing Schultz. TheFix.com has more here.

Schultz is from a state the Democrats must win in 2012 and is a regular on the political talk shows. The one big negative is she is a full time congresswoman who is facing reelection herself next year. A breast cancer survivor, she is a hard fighter and champion of Democratic Party ideals.

However, how she will be able to juggle two full time jobs is a big question and not a position I would put her in. I would have preferred the word "interim" removed from Donna Brazile's title.

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Kloppenbrg Wins Wisconsin State Supreme Court Election - Wow!, is an understatement on the outcome of the contest between incumbent Republican Justice David Prosser and Democratic challenger JoAnne Kloppenberg. After, the votes were tallied from 100% of the precincts, she had a 204 vote lead. She had trailed by 30 points prior to the union busting actions by Governor Walker. FirstRead.com has more here.

This election signals the power of unions have not dissipated and that the action by Governor Walker to end collective bargaining rights of public service employees could become a rallying cry for Democrats in the 2012 elections.

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Frederick County Political Buzz

George Wenschhof

Harry Grove Stadium Lease Update - Jack Lavoie, managing member of Frederick Atlantic, L.L.C. has been busy of late. He is waging a one man public relations blitz as the date nears when the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are due.

He has been sending emails and writing letters to the editor explaining the who, what, and where of the Atlantic League and why they will be best for The City of Frederick. He made sure everyone knew when Dan Leatherman, a left handed pitcher and a Walkersville native, signed with the Somerset, N.J. Patriots - a team in the Atlantic League.

Whether Lavoie is behind it or not, the rumor persists the Frederick Keys are for sale. Even though, Keys management insists they are here for the long term.

Let's see what the RFPs contain when they are received. At present, support for a change by a majority of aldermen is not there.

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Elections Have Consequences - the county elections last year resulted in five Republicans being elected, four of them, closely aligned.

The act of politics and governing is often described as the management of scarce resources. That is, the amount of revenue received (taxes and fees) and how it is then allocated among various programs and departments.

Board president Blaine Young, with total support of three of the commissioners has been able to move quickly with the changes they have wanted.

In balancing the budget, the popular and successful Head Start program was cut in half and non profits have felt the brunt of the budget balancing act.

In addition, a contract has been approved to investigate the privatization of government services provided by the county.

Ron Tobin, best known for his "Darth Vader" label he earned while working for several City of Frederick Republican mayors, has surfaced in a contacted position within the county economic development department.

And, yesterday a press release was sent by the county highlighting 200 rules and regulations identified for review and possible change.

Appointing a charter writing board was also accomplished. While, a petition effort is underway to force an election for board members, the process is underway for a charter to be written and for the voters to decide in the 2012 general election. One caveat to the date the voters weigh in is that the date could change if there is significant change to the charter writing board due to an election. The charter writing board can determine the date it goes to election.

So, the twenty year back and forth political swing of county commissioners continue to haunt Frederick county residents.

The current board of commissioners, perhaps not David Gray, believe government should be run more like a business and are going about doing just that.

Others, including myself, believe government is of, by and for the people. That government is not a business and should not be referred to or run as such.

And, that is why there are elections. Stay tuned...

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Delegate District 3-a 2014 election - not too early to begin to pass along speculation and gossip. Galen Claggett (D) has said this is his last term. Who would be a good choice to replace him? How about Carol Krimm, first term city alderman who has been a long time aide to first, delegate Sue Hecht and then, Galen Clagett.

Who will the Democrats run against Patrick Hogan? How about Ryan Trout, who ran for delegate in 4-a last year. He is now working for first term state senator Ron Young and speculation is he will move to the City of Frederick to be eligible to run in the 3-a race.

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Envision Frederick County kick-off - a reported crowd of close to 200 attended to listen to what the group intends to do.

My observation from reading their Facebook page is they have focused on what the current board of commissioners have been up to which has served as a sounding board for those opposed to the current board.

Which is democracy in action and is a good thing. However, they will have to pay close attention to their non-profit status. Politics and non-profits do not mix according to the Federal Elections Commission.

All Envision Frederick County would need to do if legal questions were to arise, is switch to a political action committee, and there is nothing wrong with that.

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