The Arrogance of the Siddiquis

Turning to HoCo’s House Lannister, Dr. Janet Siddiqui has decided to enter the race for the 4^th County Council District.

First of all, one should be skeptical of the argument that self-funders can be independent of special interests (“unbought and unbossed” to employ former Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm’s slogan).  Folks with the ability to loan themselves $100,000 (funneled through various committees, as outlined here: https://scotteblog.com/2018/01/17/will-janet-siddiqui-run-for-office-in-2018/) are themselves a special interest.  Of course, I expect her campaign won’t completely self-fund, but who would give the Siddiquis money to fill their coffers?  Fortunately, campaign finance reports are available to the public. Just go ahead and type in “Siddiqui” in the Committee Name box here: https://campaignfinancemd.us/Public/ViewFiledReports

Her attempted job hop in 2014, from the Board of Education to a brief run for the House of Delegates in District 13 to deciding to drop out in favor of her husband Nayab is redolent of a sense of entitlement.  This familial bait-and-switch was rejected by Team 13, while she was selected to run on the slate, Nayab was not. In her own words, she said regarding a run for the state legislature, “I’ve always looked forward to that in my plan.”  (Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-janet-siddiqui-withdraws-district-13-story.html).  Oh really, would you care to tell Howard County voters more about your "plan?"  Or how the events of “the day of the filing” were necessary for you to rediscover your “commitment to the people and children of Howard County.”  If that commitment was so unshakeable, should it have mattered what Aquino and Meshkin did or did not do re: seeking re-election to the Board?

Let us not forget the very recent past, when Janet Siddiqui voted to retain the services of former Superintendent Renee Foose.  By voting with the other members of the “Gang of Five” to renew her contract, this gave Foose the leverage to secure a massive ($1.65 million) buy-out.  Of course, it should be noted that three members of this Gang were tossed out of office by Howard County voters in 2016, including Dr. Siddiqui.

Back to when she was on the Board of Education, her commitment seemingly didn’t extend to an awareness of certain aspects of the position.  When asked about the public release of a “special education audit,” that one parent called “critical information that the public needs,” Siddiqui’s reply was “I don’t know that it hasn’t been released” (Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/ph-ho-cf-special-education-forum-0414-20160412-story.html). The report cost $300,000 yet only 26 pages were released to the public ($11,538 per page).  As parents and other activists clamored for greater transparency and a full report, Siddiqui’s response, “we should work with what we have, moving forward.”  That sounds like acquiescence, not advocacy.

Then there is the curious relationship that the Siddiquis seem to enjoy with gas station owners.  Another prominent blogger has written more about this topic (Source:  
http://53beersontap.typepad.com/53beers/2014/06/siddiqui-and-omvb-leaders-to-bring-gas-station-to-om-village-center.html

If you prefer videos for information,  a YouTube channel (HCEA Howard) created four short videos featuring Janet Siddiqui in which you might be interested:

Ranging from mold to poor spending decisions and weak financial oversight, they include:

Pediatrician Janet Siddiqui falls short on health issues for students and staff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q8G-dFQm90

Failed management by Board Member Janet Siddiqui proven in State Audit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdYeamS8PBU

State Audit Results under Janet Siddiqui’s leadership

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouaK40DuPEU

Janet Siddiqui spends our tax dollars in the wrong places

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnklEzt4_qo

In the opinion of this author, her track record demonstrates questionable judgement and an excessive degree of concern over what is best for the Siddiquis, not Howard County.  As said in campaign literature in support of Grover Cleveland’s presidential candidacy, “public office is a public trust.”  Based on her performance, Dr. Siddiqui has not earned our trust, and she should not be elected to a public office such as the County Council.

Stay tuned, as more will follow…

And in Local News

First, a quick word about Delegate Frank Turner (D-13), who recently announced his intention to not seek re-election to Maryland’s General Assembly in 2018.

Back in 2011, I wrote a couple of op-eds in support of two year terms for the House of Delegates that were published in some local papers.  Two can be found here and here.

  

As part of my lobbying efforts, I contacted dozens of state legislators, including Delegate Turner.  We spoke on the phone for perhaps 20 minutes or so.  While my reasoning was clearly impeccable and my position unassailable from a good governance point of view, he, like many others in the Assembly, had a differing perspective.  That said, he was very generous with his time, he defended his stance capably, and he offered up a suggestion or two that demonstrated both his attentiveness to my concerns as well as his thoughtful reflections on the matter.  While I could not sway him (or many of his colleagues), I respected how he handled the issue.  He was, and is, a serious player.  District 13 will lose his voice in Annapolis, which is why…moving to the second point of today’s post…

I was elated to read that Howard County Councilperson Jen Terrasa will be entering the race for the now-open seat.  She would be an excellent Delegate and an effective advocate for Howard County interests.  She showed true mettle in the recent tax increment financing (TIF) debate where she demonstrated her commitment to putting “people over profits” if you don’t mind the old chestnut.

Finally, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, citing “personal considerations,” “suspended” (read: ended) her campaign for Governor.  A pity.  I would have liked to have seen what an MRC candidacy firing on all cylinders might have accomplished. She attracted some institutional support (from Emily’s List, most notably) and I believe she would have emerged as a top-flight contender.  As it is, she would be an extremely formidable congressional candidate.  Just saying.  So now I am down to three gubernatorial possibilities:  Jealous, Madaleno, and Vignarajah (in alphabetical order, for those who wonder about such things). 

Which reminds me, no thanks Mr. Shea. I am not interested in the LG spot on your ticket.  But there is someone you can call, as long as you do it collect, his name is Slats MacCune…

In solidarity.

For Those Who Care: A HoCo Campaign 2018 Update

Truth be whispered, what the ancient Greeks called “dusthumía” is attempting to gut-punch this author, repeatedly, this morning.  Not that corres-depondence (I see what I did there) equates to bad writing. This essayist is not inclined to punish the readership with twaddle, Heaven forfend!

Nope, just need to keep pressing some keys.  Besides, fuck the ancient Greeks. Couldn’t even be bothered to develop a rudimentary Metro system. If they did, I reckon Pheidippides would still be alive today.

Campaign News:

County Exec Allan Kittleman announced, to the shock of none and the dismay of several, his bid for re-election.  Meanwhile, a straw man sets up another straw man (See: Greg Fox).  Of course, I shouldn’t be too hard on Mr. Fox.  Depending on who emerges out of CC 5, he might be remembered as the Cincinnatus of West HoCo. But I seem to have shifted to the Romans, so let me get back on track.

CC3 is looking like an embarrassment of riches on the Democratic side, with Christiana Mercer Rigby already in the race and Steve Hunt poised to enter the fray very soon.  Should be an engaging primary in the months ahead.

CC4.  As attentive readers know, this is my home district.  Byron Macfarlane recently announced his candidacy. If a poll was commissioned tomorrow, there is no doubt in my mind that he would be the front-runner in the Democratic field by a healthy double-digit margin.  That is not to say that Deb Jung (the other D in CC 4 who has filed to date) is a slouch, she is not.  That is to say that Byron is well-known with a significant reservoir of support throughout the County in general and in District 4 specifically. 

State’s Attorney:  Rich Gibson.  By a country mile.  His website can be found here: http://richgibson.net/

Of course, the Band Known as Team 13 re-filed together.  Such a lovely place, such a lovely slate (with apologies to Mr. Henley, Mr. Frey, and sure, Mr. Felder). 

So what about D12?  Stay tuned…wait…not yet.

Oh yes, I believe the Columbia Democratic Club is having an important meeting tonight.  To those who ask, “Will you be there?” I reply, “Is there an open bar?”  If there are caipirinhas, I am all in. But I have now drifted from Greece to Rome to California to Brazil, so I should stop here.

Stay tuned, as more will follow (?)

Kasemeyer: Vulnerable in a Contested Primary?

First, Happy Presidents’ Day.  C-SPAN released their 2017 Survey of Presidential Leadership.  For the first time since C-SPAN began their rankings (2000 being the premiere year, and 2009 being the second), John Tyler slipped behind William Henry Harrison. (39^th and 38^th respectively).  This is mockery and a sham.  Say what you will about the miserable Confederate bastard, he faced down a surly Cabinet and insisted that he was, in fact, President upon the passing of Harrison.  Not “Acting” not still “Vice President,” but the full deal with all of the powers of the Office.  This set an important precedent.  For that, he deserves to finish ahead of Old Tippecanoe.  Slightly ahead.

Turning to the “just for fun” 12^th State Legislative District survey I recently fielded, it is vital to recall that it is not statistically valid.  It may, in fact, possess just a hint of directional value.  I made this clear from the outset so don’t come whining to me about it being too small a sample or not methodologically grounded or some similar gripe.  Go buy a Natty Boh and weep in it.

A total of 19 individuals participated in the study, hopefully all according to the rules (only one vote per person, must be registered voters who reside in the 12^th and plan on voting in the 2018 Democratic State Senate Primary Election).

The precise question verbiage was:

“Looking ahead to the 2018 Maryland State Senate Democratic Primary Election in the 12th Legislative District, would you prefer the Democratic nominee to be Ed Kasemeyer or someone else?”

The results are: 

Someone Else        63%

Ed Kasemeyer        37%

Something tells me that if I wrote this question for District 13, and the match-up was between Senator Guy Guzzone and “someone else,” Guzzone would have been the preference of 75%+ of the respondents (assuming a similar sample size and composition).

So what does this mean?  Perhaps absolutely nothing.  But maybe everything (as far as the known Universe consists of slices of two Maryland counties).  I think it means that a populist/progressive Democrat, with sufficient resources, could give Senator Kasemeyer a serious primary challenge.  At the risk of being reductionist: an outsider-y populist might play quite well in Baltimore County while someone more to the Left of Kasemeyer could appeal to the liberals who comprise a healthy percentage of the Democratic vote in Howard County.

In short, if Senator Kasemeyer wishes to seek re-election, he cannot take his base for granted.  Those numbers (albeit from a sample as large as two focus groups) are reminiscent of any one of a number of long-term incumbents who aren’t as connected with the grassroots as they should be.

Definitely something worth watching.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.