Philanthropic Foursome

The major takeaways from last night’s program: “The State of Nonprofits in Howard County: Perceptions, Challenges and Opportunities” were, in my estimation:

• Be mindful of the opportunities to help, and don’t be afraid to begin a dialogue, ask questions, and take action.

• When considering volunteer possibilities, think about what strikes a chord with you personally.  Perhaps think and feel in equal measure; a true head/heart collaboration.  What causes evoke an emotional response? That might provide a useful internal compass.

The panel spoke before a Standing Room Only crowd at the Jeffers Hill Neighborhood Center.  There were many elected officials and activists in the audience.  Courtney Watson delivered brief remarks.  She spoke about the election returns and, importantly, vowed to continue to work for the policies and causes dear to many of the assembled.  She received a warm round of applause.  Jon Weinstein, the Council Member-elect from the 1^st Council District, the three Delegates-elect from the 12^th HD, Clarence Lam, Terri Hill and Eric Ebersole, and Judge of the Orphans’ Court-elect Nicole Bormel Miller were also in attendance.

Considering the fatigue levels of many of the assembled, coming so soon after a long and bruising election season, the Columbia Democratic Club and Alan Brody, the evening’s moderator, really pulled off a spectacular event.

As Council Member Watson did, I would also like to acknowledge the dedication of two of her key campaign staffers who were present last night: Anna Mudd and Dylan Goldberg.  Having just completed a marathon, while running at a sprint pace, they both exhibited impressive vim and vigor levels.  Today’s campaign workers must be doing something right. Clean living?  Perhaps. In any event, they are rising stars and we shall hear more from them down the road.

But I digress.  The Philanthropic Foursome of Bita Dayhoff, Joan Driessen, Mickey Gomez, and Beverly White-Seals were at the epicenter of last night’s gathering/educational experience. 

The highlights, in my mind, were those moments when the panelists or audience members discussed personal experiences and how those events helped lead to a Pivotal Question (What can I do?  How can I help?  Where do I go now?) and/or a Helping Action (Knowing X, I was able to do Y). 

While the information on the challenges being faced by Howard County nonprofits was interesting, the stories that were uplifting and/or resulted in the transmission of useful information (In order to address specific challenge Z, here are some resources you might consider…) were, far and away, the most engaging and productive elements of the program.  Those were the memorable moments, and the ones most likely to motivate potential volunteers to become actual volunteers.

With that in mind, I encourage you to visit the websites of the organizations that were represented so ably on the panel:

The Community Action Council of Howard County

The Community Foundation of Howard County

The Association of Community Services of Howard County

The Volunteer Center Serving Howard County

That is all for today. 

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Going Down-Ballot

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize some candidates in contested, but lower-profile, local races who I believe are deserving of support.

Sheriff (Vote For One): James Fitzgerald.  He has done a good job and, in my opinion, should be re-elected to another term.  His opponent appeared, frankly, out of his element at candidate forum held earlier this year.  A write-up of that event can be found here:  http://spartanconsiderations.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-forum-part-one-law-and-order.html.

Judge of the Orphans' Court (Vote For No More Than Three):  Anne Dodd, Nicole Bormel Miller and Leslie Smith Turner are all solid choices.  Dodd and Smith Turner are incumbents while Bormel Miller is seeking the office for the first time.  I believe all three will do a fine job executing the responsibilities of the position. Further background on the Court can be found here:  http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/how/html/functions/howjudicial.html#orphans.

Still reading through the other questions on the ballot (the two proposed Constitutional Amendments and the proposed Charter Amendment).  Need to finish my homework on those measures tonight.

See you at the Bain Center soon!

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.