An Open Letter to Raj Kathuria

So, I saw your anti-Liz Walsh mailer (see below).  First, as I am sure Steve Bannon would tell you, it’s supposed to be a dog whistle, not an air horn.   You had to use that picture from a New York County Executive race, eh (also see below)?  I checked against the original, and I am pretty sure you darkened the photo too.  One wonders why you would do that. 

Looks like Trump-style race-baiting to me.  I thought you were supposed to be a different sort of Republican.  Your mailer makes it clear that you are willing to traffic in the politics of division and hatred if you think you can rustle up another vote or two by doing so.  To whom do you think this mailer appeals?  The answer is the alt-right fringe.  I would say that group constitutes a very dangerous “special interest.”  Yet your mailer claims you won’t listen to special interests.  So when were you lying, then or now? 

What else about special interests, oh yes, you are supposed to be “standing up to developers.”  That is weird, did you mean “stand up to take developer money,” like the $5K your campaign pocketed from someone with Greenwood Hospitality?  And aren’t you currently involved in a development deal yourself involving 48 apartment units?  Care to explain this apparent hypocrisy? 

And, putting my operative hat on for a minute, as an attack mailer, your piece was simply inept.  It makes me wonder if someone who seemingly can’t string a proper sentence together should sit on the County Council.    

Look, I don’t mind fact-based comparative mailers.  But this mailer is flat-out racist and misleading. And it appears to have been written and designed by a hack.

You, Mr. Kathuria, by sending out this garbage, have shown that you are not fit to serve on the County Council.  We don’t need Trump-style politics… politics that you clearly embrace (ahead of people, apparently) …in Howard County.

I encourage all of my friends in District One to vote for Liz Walsh.  She’s smart, a good person, and lives and breathes Howard County values.  She will represent the First District well, and honorably, on the County Council.

 

    

The L is also for “Lethargic”

I was at the Wilde Lake Starbucks recently.  Specifically, I was there during the mornings of Early Voting Days 6 and 7 (October 30 and October 31, respectively).

Much to my surprise, District Two County Council candidate John Liao (R) was also there on both occasions.  Was he holding court? No.  Strategizing with volunteers? No.  Talking with voters? No.

On 10/30, he was just sitting there, by himself and on his laptop, for around 90 minutes. I saw him engage with one non-barista the entire time.  I know not every candidate can be outside an Early Voting center at all hours for all eight days, but come on.  With about 2,000 voters a day (many of them District 2 residents) going to the Bain Center alone, how do you spend 90 minutes on your computer nursing whatever was in his cup?  Where is the voter contact?? 

The very next day, he is there again…sitting at a table by himself with his head-phones on.  Mid-morning.  This time we only over-lapped for 30 minutes, as I had business to attend to.  Just zero sign of hustle from this candidate.  Sitting alone by the wall while hundreds of voters are a short jog away is not exactly engaging in “community activities that foster relationships and build trust.”

Where did I pull that language from?  Funny you should ask.  Apparently, the Howard County Republican Party sent out a mailer about Liao that featured an attack on the Democratic candidate for the Second County Council District, Opel Jones. 

Mr. Jones is both highly accomplished and active in the community.  He has been meeting with his neighbors, listening to County residents, and going to community events, for a long time.  What’s more, his hard work and dedication to the District are among the key reasons why he is well-positioned to win.  So why is the Howard County Republican Party wasting money on a mailer that is ostensibly about Liao?  Because they are trying to suppress the District Two vote.  They know that other candidates (most notably County Executive Kittleman) are relying on low turnout in District 2, which is heavily Democratic. So that is why they are engaged in an attempted last-minute smear of Mr. Jones.

Does John Liao condone this attack?  We may never know.  Perhaps I could ask the cardboard cutout of himself that was made for unfathomable reasons.  Maybe the cutout was at the Bain Center while Mr. Liao was sipping on his beverage of choice, grooving to a song on his headphones, a tune that only he could hear. In any event, I guarantee it wasn’t “We Are the Champions.”

One last thing, for some reason, that same mailer name-dropped Board of Education candidate Anita Pandey.  It cited the fact that both Pandey and Liao were multilingual.  Being a polyglot is great…but why did the Howard County Republican Party feel the need to mention Pandey in this particular mailer, half of which was an attack on Opel Jones?  How does she feel about this? 

Very interesting Late Campaign developments.

Through 7 Days

Early Voting Breakouts – by Party Registration:

D – 60.48% (that 60% threshold is important.  If the total electorate, including EV, ED, AV, and provisional ballots ends up being 60%+ Democratic, it should be a good day for Calvin Ball, among others).

R – 22.35%

I – 15.94%

O – 1.23%

% of populations that have cast EV ballots (by party registration):

D – 21.96%

R – 15.93%

I – 13.08%

O – 13.46%

Other races of interest:

-       Legislative district 9B – 23.87% EV, only one other district (23B) is > 20%.

-       Councilmanic District 1 – 20.84% places first, followed by District 4 (20.44%)

Absentee ballots.  Looking at the number of AV ballots sent out, and the percentage returned, the Republicans have an edge there:

38.86% of the Republicans who were sent such ballots have returned them, compared to 31.27% of the Democrats and 25.12% of the Others (Unaffiliateds + Other Party).

This is not a surprising breakout… but if you are a Democrat who is voting absentee, please fill it out and send it back in.  Your ballot won’t do much good sitting on your kitchen table.

In solidarity.