The Forum (Part Two) - A County in Bloom

One of the recurring themes at the League of Women Voters of Howard County's candidate forum was how best to manage growth.

Having conducted research on behalf of economic development organizations in regions that are trying to rebound after years of decline, I know of many municipal and county officials who would love to swap their problems for ours.

I've spoken with residents in areas facing truly tough times: dwindling populations, tighter budgets, higher crime rates, crumbling roads, major employers shutting down or cutting back...leading to diminished job opportunities.  They love their communities too, but many are debating the wisdom of staying.  They want to be part of a turn-around story but they have kids to raise or they simply want to be able to walk around their neighborhood without tensing up when they hear footfalls on the sidewalk behind them.

They want a quality of life similar to what we have in Howard County.

So the questions posed to the County Executive candidates dealt with such matters as the impact of growth on transportation and our infrastructure, on our school system, on housing.

[Before I go any further, I feel the need to disclose that I support Courtney Watson for County Executive.  So if you are expecting a consistently impartial, non-partisan analysis, you are in the wrong place.]

But back to the thread.   

First, the County Executive race. Strictly from the vantage point of performance: both County Council member Watson and State Senator Allan Kittleman did well. I would have been stunned otherwise. Both are smart, capable public officials.

It really comes down to who has the best experience for the position and best vision for the County.  This is where Watson's service as a member of the County Board of Education is hugely important.  Howard County public schools have a reputation for excellence and there is a concern that growth will put pressures on our education system.  As the Republican candidates for County Council (District One) noted during their panel discussion, our schools attract families and businesses, this drives economic growth and helps create the highly desirable communities that we have in Howard County.  Thus, having the in-depth understanding that Watson possesses on educational matters is an incredibly important attribute and a key point of differentiation between her and Senator Kittleman.

Moreover, when given the opportunity to make closing statements, Sen. Kittleman chose to talk about his father's work on civil rights, which was both commendable and courageous.  Again, putting on my political consultant hat, voters generally prefer to hear about the future than the past.  Tell us what you plan on doing. So when Watson spoke about keeping Howard County a "great place to live, work and play" and how she was poised to "help solve the challenges of the future" - I believe her forward-looking orientation is more aligned with voter concerns.  Kittleman should have pivoted from talking about the past to his vision for the future, but he did not do so.  At least I don't see anything like that in my notes.

I really wanted to cover the County Council - District One discussion in this post, but it looks like we are going to have a trilogy.   

Stay tuned, as more will follow.
  

The Forum (Part One) - Law and Order

“I've... seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like tears... in... rain. Time... to die...” – Roy Batty, Bladerunner

When you have been in and around political campaigns long enough, you will have seen some remarkable things.  Last night, the c-beams were, at best, glowing dimly at the Peter and Elizabeth Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Howard Community College.  For at that location, at that time, several public office-holders and seekers took to the stage for a League of Women Voters of Howard County-sponsored candidate forum.

I will focus on the highlights and the lowlights.  Moreover, I will discuss things that voters care about, for better or worse, so I will talk about both substance and – when necessary – style.

First up were the two Democratic candidates for State’s Attorney, Howard County: the incumbent Dario Broccolino and challenger Rich Gibson.  The former focused on discussing specific achievements and a turnaround narrative while the latter spoke of the importance of community outreach.  Frankly, both candidates appeared qualified.

Our Register of Wills, Byron Macfarlane (D), is running unopposed for re-election.  His brief statement was solid and accessible. He talked about his efforts to humanize and modernize the office.  He made the work of his rather arcane office sound interesting, which is not an easy communications task.  He is another very-well qualified public servant.

Four Democratic candidates running for Judge of the Ophans’ Court came next.  The primary election will winnow the field down to three Democratic nominees, and they will face off against two Republican candidates in November.  Neither GOP candidate appeared at the forum.  A total of three judges will be elected for this Court.    Two of the four present at the forum (Anne Dodd and Leslie Smith Turner) are incumbents while the other two (Nicole Bormel Miller and Shari Lynne Chase) are challengers.

Oh where to begin, perhaps more importantly, where to end?

Based solely on performance alone, Anne Dodd and Leslie Smith Turner finished in the top tier.  Judge Dodd was a bit more polished/comfortable with the format while Judge Turner did well talking about her priorities, her experience and commitment to public service. 

Nicole Bormel Miller is obviously very smart and is qualified to be a judge on the Orphans’ Court.  Putting my political strategist hat on for a moment, I would counsel her to not talk about her combination of “youth and experience” as a key point of differentiation.  I am in my 40s and most of the audience members were Baby Boomers or of an older generation.  I don’t think she won many points with that line.

I can feel my blood pressure spiking as I begin this paragraph.  Although we live in a relatively free and open society where people with minimal qualifications can seek public office, based on what I witnessed last night, Shari Lynne Chase has no business running for Judge of the Orphans’ Court.  I did not hear her articulate any legal credentials.  I did hear her utter banal sentiments about treating people fairly.  Most worrisome, if elected to the office, she seems to want to strike a balance between her personal notion of a “humanistic” perspective and the letter of the law.  No Ms. Chase, that is not how judges, or our courts, operate.  In fact, the application of such personal beliefs, in matters of law, can undermine our system of jurisprudence.          

This is why it is important for voters to pay attention to all of the races, even the down-ballot ones.  It would be truly unfortunate for Howard County for a candidate such as Ms. Chase to be elected simply because of her easy-to-pronounce name or the placement of her name on the ballot.  The Orphans’ Court handles very serious matters.   Ms. Chase is not a serious candidate and I hope Democratic primary voters understand and remember her lack of qualifications when they enter the voting booth.

Following the Orphans’ Court discussion, the three candidates for Howard County Sheriff gathered on the stage. Rather, two assembled while one fell apart.  The two Democratic candidates – current Sheriff James Fitzgerald and Captain John Newnan, appear qualified to hold the position.  They covered substantive matters, ranging from collective bargaining to the need for greater diversity within the Howard County sheriff’s department. 

Meanwhile the Republican candidate, John Francis McMahon, described himself as a retired, reluctant candidate who admits to being “less qualified” than the others.  He said he would not be a captive of “special interests.” Overall, he seemed a bit less than present for the proceedings. I think that is all that needs to be said.

Coming up…Part Two (County Executive and County Council races).

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Skulduggery in Oakland Mills?

Subtitle:  Open (Village) Covenants...Openly Arrived At

For the record, I am not stating that there was any illegal or otherwise nefarious goings-on involved in the decision by Alex Hekimian to not seek re-election as the Oakland Mills Representative to the Columbia Association Board of Directors, and the...presumably 11th hour... decision of current Oakland Mills Village Board Member Reg Avery to seek said post.

But secretive? Perhaps. Hence the use of the word "skulduggery" and the question mark.

Neither person was under any affirmative duty to disclose their electoral intentions in advance of the filing deadline.  Their actions, neither technically nor physically, prevented other candidates from filing for that position. 

However, as they say in the public relations business, the optics are bad.  Moreover, Mr. Avery's decision to run for another office, the Howard County Council, puts the Columbia Association...specifically the Board of Directors...in an awkward position.

In recent years, the CA Board in general (and certain members of the Board in particular) have adopted "transparency" as a watch-word.  A letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun from April 2013 touts Mr. Hekimian as the candidate of "openness and transparency." [The letter can be found here.]

So it does seem incongruous for such a person - someone committed to such values - to inform another person, privately and shortly before the filing deadline, "Hey, I am not going to run, but why don't you go ahead and put your paperwork in?" Because, from the outside, that looks exactly like what went down.

Would other candidates have run if Mr. Hekimian announced that he was not running for re-election? I am not a resident of Oakland Mills, but I am inclined to believe there would have been a contested race.

At this point, there is no apparent wrong-doing.  Even if there was a matter of collusion - which has not yet been proven - well, they played within the rules, right?  It might be neither just nor fair but politics is politics.   Not exactly what one expects in civic-minded Howard County, but "oh well," right? Or no?

So now Mr. Avery, as the sole candidate for the office, is poised to win election....however....

This brings us to the second major point of contention.  Mr. Avery is also a candidate for the Republican nomination for the Howard County Council (Second District).  The Columbia Association's Code of Ethics would seem to indicate that Mr. Avery, as a candidate for another office, would have to make a choice: either forgo your campaign for County Council between now and the election/the beginning of the new CA Board term, give up your quest to sit on the Columbia Association Board of Directors this time around, or apply for a waiver that would allow you to be seated.  However, that third option doesn't resolve the issue that the Columbia Association's Code of Ethics is intended to prevent: eliminating the possibility of a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropiety.

Mr. Avery's statements regarding the ability of other candidates to seek multiple offices (found in this article) are...disingenuous at best.  In those circumstances, the relevant state statutes permitted those candidates to run for two federal offices simultaneously.  Here, we have a case where the Columbia Association, a nonprofit service corporation that exercises quasi-public functions, seems to have clear rules in place that would prevent a member of the Board from running for another office.

Mr. Avery's interpretation of his attorney's perspective on the matter is not dispositive. 

If he continues with his course of action, running for County Council after being elected to the CA Board, he will require the Columbia Association Board of Directors to decide whether or not to seat him...or whether or not to grant him a waiver.  Beyond rewarding a decided lack of transparency, how will it look for the Board to ignore its own clear rules in such cases?  When others faced a similar situation, they did the right thing and stepped down from the Board. 

If elected and seated, how can Mr. Avery - with a straight face - extoll the virtues of transparency given how he arrived at the Board?

The answer seems to be clear: he should either vacate his current candidacy for one position or the other.  If he opts to give up his long-shot County Council race, he can take his seat on the CA Board (granted, he got there in a somewhat unseemly manner, but that matter can be addressed in a future election).  If he decides to end his candidacy for the CA Board, it appears as though there would need to be a new election for CA Rep from Oakland Mills.  Then, Mr. Avery can proceed with his quixotic and ultimately doomed District 2 campaign.

Definite shenanigans, which is too bad, given the energy that needs to be spent solving real issues.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.


  

 

 



 

Clash of the Titans

Every so often, it is important to get the adrenaline riled.  Otherwise, the tedium sets in.  Once that happens, sloth and melancholia tend to lurk about, shambling listlessly through dimly lit alleyways. No sense inviting them over.  

For the politically-attuned, General Election Day offers the prospect of serious action, excitement of the first order.  In 2014 anno Domini, in our corner of the known universe, the marquee countywide general election matchup will be County Council member Courtney Watson (D) vs. State Senator Allan Kittleman (R) in the race to succeed the outgoing County Executive, Ken Ulman.   

This is our Ali – Frazier.

Even with historical trends favoring the hypothesis that 2014 will be a decent Republican year, Howard County Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than a 3 to 2 margin (93,354 registered Ds as compared to 56,285 registered Rs).

The Watson campaign, adopting the structures proposed in Professor Stephen Skowronek’s seminal work, The Politics Presidents Make, is practicing the politics of Articulation.  She is assuming that the current County Executive’s regime is resilient, and will be viewed as such through November.  In which case, affiliating with the current Administration makes the most sense.  Her campaign’s messaging reflects a theme of continuity (“continuing the progress in Howard County”).  Watson’s promise is that she will use her expertise to move the County forward, charting her own course yet following a path not too dissimilar from the one chosen by Ulman.

Her challenge is establishing her own brand in the minds of voters.  At the presidential level, sometimes those who adopt the politics of articulation (“orthodox-innovators” to use Skowronek’s descriptor) fare quite well (Theodore Roosevelt) while others have more difficulty adapting to changing circumstances (George H.W. Bush).  The good news for Watson is that she is a known entity with her own record of accomplishments and that, as of this writing, Howard County voters are less likely to be disenchanted with the state of the county as compared to the state of the state, or the state of the nation. 

Meanwhile, the Kittleman campaign is banking on the politics of Pre-emption.  They recognize that the party affiliation numbers are not in their favor and are downplaying the Republican label, at least outside of Western HoCo.  Their theme is that Kittleman is a “proven Independent leader.” He is promoting his support for marriage equality and reminding voters about his family’s long-standing commitment to civil rights.  In short, he is not running as a conservative Republican.  He has little choice. His electoral predicament is not dissimilar from the one facing Nixon in '68, or Clinton in '92...both of whom were candidates belonging to the non-dominant order of their time.  

The Kittleman strategy is to work for a heavy Republican turnout in County Council District Five and hope for a depressed Democratic turnout countywide.   Unfortunately for his campaign, the one true swing district in the County – Council District One – is held by one Courtney Watson, who has represented Eastern Howard County on the Council since 2006.   If Kittleman can’t win in the First, he is, in all probability, doomed. 

So who will win?  The smart money is on Courtney Watson.   If Democratic turnout is 60% or higher, Watson should win.  60,000 votes should be sufficient for victory this time around, and Ulman garnered 66,121 four years ago in his rout of Trent Kittleman…in what was, nationally, a Republican election cycle.  Sixty percent of 93,354 registered Democrats works out to 56,012 votes…that means that Watson would only need 4,000 votes among Republicans, unaffiliated and “other” voters to reach the 60,000 figure.  Even assuming a two percent under-vote for that particular office, 60% Democratic turnout overall should elect Watson as our next County Executive.

With 60% Democratic turnout, Kittleman will have a tough time cobbling together a coalition that would approach 50% plus one.  His hope rests in a Democratic turnout at or below 50%.  If that occurs, and if Republicans follow the party-line and turn out in sufficient numbers (65%+ GOP turnout; 90% - 10% for the Senator) and if Independents account for approximately 25% of the electorate and if they break 8 – 5 for Kittleman, and if he pulls a slightly higher percentage of Democratic voters into his column (15%) than Watson does among Republicans (10%), then yes, Kittleman could emerge with between 50.1% and 51.5%, with 52% most likely being his hard ceiling.

Notice the number of “ifs” in that paragraph?

Watson’s ceiling is closer to 60%.... and consists of far fewer ifs.  She needs to energize the base.  Turning to elements beyond the direct control of her campaign, it would be helpful to her efforts if the best Democratic candidates emerged victorious in the swing districts in the June primary elections…nominees who can motivate Democrats to cast their ballots in the General Election while also appealing to Independent voters.  Specifically, I am thinking about Howard County Council District One as well as the State House of Delegates District 9B.  I have some thoughts as to the ideal Democratic nominees for both of those races.  I will share them in a later post.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

 

A Clip Show

With the Maryland General Assembly's 2014 legislative session hours away from entering the history books, I would like to re-state my position regarding the House of Delegates: the term of office - at four years - is simply too long and it should be reduced to two years.

Arguments in favor of this particular reform can be found here

as well as here

and here.

That is all for today.  Still working on the Howard County Executive campaign analysis.  Hope to have that up later on this week.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Arboreal Adjacent Libations – Time in a Bottle

[7:42 am] I am thrashing about on the fringes of the penumbra of a spring cold now.  Taking a curious amalgamation of vitamins, minerals and herbs…both in tablet and tea form.  Perhaps the Lonicera japonica (aka Japanese honeysuckle), hawthorn berry and organic burdock root will crush the symptoms. 

[11:58 am]  Feeling much better.

We are six weeks away from Howard County’s own Wine in the Woods festival – a celebration of Maryland wine.  Wine producers, imbibers, artisans, food vendors, musicians and other makers-of-merry gather in Columbia’s Symphony Woods for this annual event that occurs on a May weekend. 

It is rumored, among the more hedonistic elements of Howard County society, that Governor Martin O’Malley, a potential long-shot 2016 presidential candidate, will appear in one of the tents and pour for the attendees…between performing Foghat covers with his band on the Purple Stage.  But such idle and irresponsible speculation has no place on this blog. 

Having attended this splendid fete for the past few years, I generally start looking forward to Wine in the Woods shortly before St. Patrick’s Day.  That said, the Anticipation, much like the spring, is a late arrival.  Perhaps the delayed winter thaw is playing tricks with my internal calendar.  I think of Wine in the Woods as a transition point between spring and summer…and summer feels quite far away.

I am hoping that more Maryland wineries come out with a Gruner Veltliner, an under-rated grape most commonly associated with Austria.  I always thought it would work in Maryland’s climate.  Right now, our wineries tend to focus on “Bordeaux grapes” (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot), Italian varieties (Sangiovese) and French-hybrids (Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc).  Chardonnay, bien sur, is grown in Maryland as well.  Producing wines that are mostly quaffable and sometimes quite complex, our winemakers have really stepped up their game in recent years.  Much like Washington State and New York have elevated Riesling among American wine consumers, I believe Gruner Veltliner (or “Gru-Ve” pronounced “groovy”) could help enhance the Maryland wine brand.

An early proponent of the Wine in the Woods concept was then-Howard County Council member Paul Farragut who, recognizing the success of a similar event in a near-by county, suggested “Why not here? Why not us?”

Such forward thinking has helped create a genuine Happening.  Now celebrating its 22^nd year, with thousands of attendees and over 30 participating wineries, Wine in the Woods is an excellent example of policymakers working with the private sector to promote Maryland - for our products and as a tourist destination.

This post was intended to be about the County Executive race and a discussion of Professor Stephen Skowronek’s concept of “political time.”  I clearly went off the rails, so that will have to wait.  That said, here is a question for the candidates:

 “Given the success of local festivals such as Wine in the Woods, what other events would you like to see held in Howard County and why? And how? And when?”

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

A Short Elegy for the Big Man

I attended the funeral of a friend today.  Having a flair for the theatrical, he would have been delighted that it was a Standing Room Only event. 

James could have been a household name.  He was a prodigious talent… a truly impressive vocalist who could have made a career of it.  His performances were the stuff of legend.  He always closed the show. Who would want to venture onto the stage after the audience heard him sing?

From the outset, I said this blog would talk about turning points and choices.  At some point, James recognized that international stardom might not be in the cards. He decided to focus on his 9 to 5 gig with the federal government and helping out his family as best he could.

He withdrew from many of his old friends in recent years.  Beset by health issues, he didn’t always make the best decisions.  Finally, the physical and emotional stresses overcame his considerable will to live and he passed from this Earth suddenly.  His heart muscle – the one he worked out most often – had no beats left. 

Although the world may not mourn James, his family and friends will remember him as our star.  He was Hollywood-on-the-Severn.  A genuinely nice and caring man, he will be missed until we are all reunited.  Rest in Peace Big Man.