Uncommonly Brief

“One good thing about the sameness of America’s suburbs, you can always imagine that you are someplace else.” – S. MacCune (circa 1992)

Nostalgia is a persistent companion…and his reflections on homogeneity and city planning revisited me after nearly a quarter century.

Of course it would be easy to veer off in the direction of Columbia triumphalism.  And these thoughts did occur as I was jaunting back to the Home Office in Wilde Lake.  Northbound on Broken Land.

Frozen in one moment in time, the nascent development on the real estate known as the Crescent may appear to be a move in the direction of uniformity.  Hopefully, as the nearby Inner Arbor takes shape, our evolving City Center will retain a unique character.

Turning from the structures to the people, I am looking forward to reviewing the Primary Election results on Wednesday morning. I am doubly hopeful that our citizens will demonstrate, at the ballot box, that they want something new, different, and better.

Howard County Board of Education:  Coombs, Ellis, Miller

U.S. Senate:  Edwards

President:  Sanders

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Oakland Thrills

With the Oakland Mills village election fast approaching, it important to revisit (briefly) the role of the Village Board.

In the view of this author, if one wishes to advocate on behalf of their neighbors, via service on the volunteer board of directors of a community association, it is best if one is – in word and deed – neighborly.

I have seen several village boards in action, and it strikes me that the Board members who demonstrate a certain generosity of spirit as well a dedication to their entire village are the ones who are best equipped to fulfill the service mission of their community association. 

With that in mind, I believe that returning Bill Woodcock and Marcia White to the Oakland Mills Village Board would represent a move in the right direction.  Both are experienced community activists, are highly knowledgeable about local issues, and care deeply about Oakland Mills. 

I don’t know Daniel Kirk-Davidoff personally, but I’ve heard positive feedback from trusted sources on his qualifications.  His candidate statement includes some thoughtful solutions (which is tough to do in a couple of hundred words or less).   Finally, Fred Eiland's background as a Community Organizer, and former Board Member, provides respectable credentials for another term on the Board.  

I encourage all of my OM readers to mark their ballots for White, Woodcock, Kirk-Davidoff and Eiland in the April 25 election.  More information about the election can be found here:  http://oaklandmills.org/?page_id=136.

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.

A Baker's Dozen (Minus One) - Endorsement Edition

Time to engage in some Right Mindfulness.  The four-mile jog this morning definitely helped reframe my thinking…a pouring of a fresh, hot cup o’ perspective.

So let us focus on Maryland's District 12 today, my home district.  But first some quick thoughts:

Yesterday, I attended the Thurgood Marshall Democratic Club of Howard County candidate forum/endorsement meeting.  It was an absolutely gorgeous April morning and, although woefully bereft of my coffee, spirits were high.  Prime parking near the hotel that was hosting the gathering was tight…but another driver waved me into a spot, although we arrived at roughly the same time.  As she drove past, I realized the driver was a candidate.  We briefly exchanged pleasantries.  Total class act.

This positive energy continued through TMDC President Ethel Hill’s opening remarks and County Council member Courtney Watson’s statement.  The peaceful easy feeling ended abruptly…like a car door being slammed on the third phalange…when Lisa Markovitz (County Council District 1 candidate) stated: “village centers should be retained, if possible.”  [Emphasis mine]. Cue record screech sound effect.  This is where the reasonable-seeming mask, and it is a mask, is coming off that campaign.   Maybe it was a verbal gaffe on her part…but I think it reveals a window into a “let’s go back to the past” mentality that is bad for area merchants, bad for local shoppers and bad for Howard County as we seek to support existing residents and businesses…and attract new ones…to help keep our communities vital.     

Let us return to District 12. No sense in allowing the ill humors to gain a foothold.  Here are my endorsements for the Democratic Primary Election.  There are three of them (the 12^th is a multi-member state legislative House District that elects three Delegates).

There is a question that pollsters ask, there are a few variations but it boils down to: “Does Candidate X understand the problems of people like me?”  I believe that Brian Bailey not only gets the challenges that families deal with in our district, but that he will be a capable advocate for our families in Annapolis.  I’ve been to multiple forums and he consistently presents a thoughtful plan for addressing some of the most pressing concerns facing Howard and Baltimore counties…ranging from education to job creation to transportation to environmental issues.  I hope that voters in our district take a good look at Mr. Bailey’s platform and consider the wide range of support that he is receiving from several progressive organizations. I’ve been around candidates long enough to sort the wheat from the chaff, the sincere from the phony, and the workhorses from the showhorses…I believe that Brian Bailey is the real-deal, ready to roll up his sleeves, and toil for the 12^th. I stand four-square behind Mr. Bailey and I hope he is nominated in June and elected in November.

Several months ago, I would have thought it unlikely that I would write the following words, but I am supporting Clarence Lam as well.  I had some early concerns about his positioning, but he has proven to be a formidable candidate. He must have a teleporter because he is all over the District.  He is smart, hard-working and has an impressive background as a health care practitioner (Dr. Lam is a “board-certified physician in preventative medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health”) and as a public policy expert, having worked at the federal and state levels.  He is also active in the local community through multiple organizations.  The potential is there for a distinguished career in public service and that is why I support Clarence Lam for Delegate.

I wanted to endorse Dr. Terri Hill earlier, but something held me back. Perhaps some reflexive contrarian impulse kicked in when the Democratic establishment lined up in support of her candidacy (author’s note: I have a general predisposition in favor of insurgent campaigns).  That said, focusing on her stellar qualifications, her broad and deep knowledge about health care, and her commitment to social justice, I am convinced that Dr. Hill would be a great state legislator.  Harvard smart with an easy-going personality and accessible communications style, Terri Hill is ready, from “Day One” as the saying goes, to be an excellent representative for the 12^th District.

If I had a fourth vote, it would be for Adam Sachs.  A low-key fellow with some bold progressive ideas…with the moxie to quote Lou Reed as he did at a recent forum…it would be interesting to see what someone like him could do in Annapolis. 

In the interest of riding this endorphin wave for as long as possible, I am not going to comment at length on the other six Democratic candidates at this time. I have already written about disbarred attorney Michael Gisriel.  I think Cohen is a complete non-starter. The others (Ebersole, Stewart, Dongarra and McGuirk-Spence) all have positives and negatives, some have more of the latter than the former.  But that is a discussion for another day, if necessary.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

         

All Quiet in Wilde Lake?

Hardly.  That said, the Village election is only days away (April 26) and our races for the Wilde Lake Village Board (WLVB) and the Columbia Association (CA) Representative are uncontested.  All five WLVB candidates appearing on the ballot will be elected.  The CA Rep is running unopposed for another one-year term. 

So I will focus on the three contested CA Representative races. 

In Harper’s Choice: Bob Fontaine stands out as the far superior choice.  He has an impressive background in community service.  As a current member of the Harper’s Choice Village Board and in light of his skill-set, he is well-equipped to represent the Village and help facilitate the “civil discourse” he mentions in his candidate statement (Columbia Flier, April 17, 2014).  The Board needs consensus builders like Fontaine, not firebrands. 

In Town Center: Suzanne Waller has served on the CA Board capably.  In comparison, her opponent’s resume and platform seem rather thin.

In Hickory Ridge: Harry Schwarz has a positive, forward-looking vision and a long-track record of community involvement.  He has some solid ideas on enhancing community engagement. If elected, he would be an excellent Columbia Association Representative.

That is all for today. 

Stay tuned, as more will follow.