How Much Does a Moon Shadow Weigh?

Perhaps it was the recent lunar eclipse, or listening to Cat Stevens on Spotify (or was it Pandora?), but whatever triggering event it was allowed for a pleasant reverie on space and time, on light and darkness, on "being and nothingness."  Being an astronomy nerd as a kid, and a political philosophy major in college, I was in full geek legion mode as I pondered the moon above, how it impacts our life our Earth, and how we perceive its significance.

Of course then I made the mistake of re-reading a comment from someone who posted on my blog.  Mellow harshed with extreme prejudice.

I shouldn't have let it bug me.  These silly comments from folks posting on the Internet...words bereft of substance.  Time to pop open a can of equanimity. Get back to center.

And that is when I noticed something odd. 

So this "Philip Ortiz" comments on my Eagles-inspired entry from 9/26:
(http://spartanconsiderations.blogspot.com/2014/09/theres-talk-on-street-it-sounds-so.html)

He offered a rather blustery and ultimately disingenuous defense of his chosen candidate in the HoCo Council District 1 race, Kevin Forrest Schmidt.

I don't know who Philip Ortiz is.  I haven't heard of him before.  So, I looked him up on Facebook and guess what, there is a Philip Ortiz.  No photo, no friends to show, just one "like"...Kevin Forrest Schmidt.

That sure is one dedicated supporter! Very single-minded in focus apparently.  Frankly, a little weird.

Does Philip Ortiz actually exist? I am not 100% certain, but I am going to go with "probably."  If he wants to meet up for coffee, I am up for it.  Is it possible that he is a Kevin Forrest Schmidt sock-pocket?  I would like to believe that Schmidt wouldn't do something so monumentally stupid.  Then again, I don't know him.  Then again, again, how many HoCo residents really know who Schmidt is?

I have heard Schmidt speak at the forums.  I don't believe he has a strong grasp of the duties and responsibilities of the position he is seeking, which is why he lapses into platitudes...or launches baseless attacks against his opponent, Jon Weinstein...who is far more qualified to serve on the County Council.  Weinstein is serious-minded and has been active in our community for a long time. He gets the needs of the district, being of the district, and will represent it well if elected to the Council.

By comparison, the rationale behind Schmidt's candidacy seems very light, practically weightless.  Hopefully, the electorate in the First will vote accordingly.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

"There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar..."

One of the many, many reasons why I opted against running in HD 12 was because I believed, correctly, that I was too new to Howard County.  Having moved here in early 2011, how could I represent the people when I was not of the community?

It has been attempted before, of course.  One example leaps to mind. Back in 1992, a businessman from New York named Sandy Pensler parachuted into Michigan to run for a congressional seat. He was loaded but had little to no connection to the district.  So he cuts a TV ad, produced by a well-respected GOP media operative, showing him jogging around Lansing in a Michigan State University sweatshirt. Go Green.

The response ad by his opponent, who won the primary, was simple and devastating.  It featured a black and white, slow-motion clip of the original spot, with a voiceover that intoned, “Nice sweatshirt, Sandy.  Is it new?” The carpetbagger stigma stuck and Mr. Pensler never recovered.  I heard the U-Haul was back at his apartment before the vote was certified.

Which brings me to the candidacy of one Kevin Forrest Schmidt.

Now, as a Democrat and friend of Jon Weinstein, I am not a disinterested party.  There are several reasons why I would cast my ballot for Jon, if I resided in the First District.  Among them is his long history of community involvement.   Compare that with Mr. Schmidt, who apparently moved to Ellicott City in the 2008 – 2009 time-frame and whose record of HoCo civic engagement appears far less extensive.

  

It is wonderful that most Howard County residents have a welcoming attitude toward newcomers.  That said, it is another matter entirely to elect such individuals to public office.

I am not saying that it can’t or shouldn’t be done, but, fair or not, questions are raised.  How well does this person really know Howard County?  How well do his or her potential constituents know this person?  How can this individual effectively serve the district?  Do they understand the values and interests of their new neighbors? Are they running because they see an opportunity or because they truly want to serve and accomplish something…and even if the latter is the case, why now?  Why not wait until their roots stretch deeper?  

Just a few thoughts going into the homestretch.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

The Forum (Part III) – And the First shall be last.

Dawn.  Kowloon.  The Walled City.  The first rays of sunlight meandered between the tenement houses and gently alit upon a window looking out upon a caged balcony.  That window…and the figure talking into a telephone behind it…were visible from the rooftop of the apartment across the alleyway.  The sole human presence on that rooftop was a sniper, who was too pre-occupied focusing the sights on his Vapensmia NM149 to notice…

…Is how this post would begin if it were a Robert Ludlum novel.  Alas, it is instead about the League of Women Voters of Howard County Candidate Forum, specifically the panel discussion among the six candidates for Howard County Council (District One).

Perhaps it would be better crafted as a Ludlum work.  It could be titled The Elkridge Gambit.   But such thoughts had not yet entered my mind as I was scribbling away in that dark auditorium, watching four Democratic and two Republican candidates sitting onstage behind a rectangular table.  Each had the opportunity to deliver very brief opening and closing statements…and field questions from the Moderator.

Before I launch into a brief analysis of the candidate performances that specific evening, it should be noted that I, and some friends of mine, support one of them: Jon Weinstein (D).  I have other friends who support another, Wendy Royalty (D).  Regarding the other two Democratic candidates, I don’t believe I have ever met Dave Grabowski and my contact with Lisa Markovitz was limited to a brief exchange after the Forum.  I have not made the acquaintance of the two Republican candidates: Kevin Forrest Schmidt and David Blake Melton.    

My interest thus declared, here we go:

I believe Weinstein had the best night.  An experienced campaigner, he seemed comfortable with the format. He delivered answers that provided the audience members with insights into his perspective on governing: which includes a recognition of the interdependent nature of multiple issues (education, economic growth, transportation, etc…) and the importance of working collaboratively to find “balanced,” thoughtful solutions to the challenges facing Howard County.

Weinstein is a small businessman who has experience working with government agencies to promote “efficiency, accountability and transparency.”  He ran a good race in a tough seat (House District 9A) four year ago and enjoys some residual Name ID from that effort. I think his small business background, his service in the U.S. Army Reserves, and his community activism make him an excellent candidate for the General Election.  The First is a swing district, the only one of the five, and I believe that Weinstein can hold the Democratic base while pulling in a good number of Independent voters and perhaps a decent percentage of progressive-minded Republicans.  In my opinion, he is Democratic Party’s best bet to hold the seat and allow Democrats to maintain their 4 to 1 advantage on the County Council.

Royalty turned in the second best performance of the evening.  Having served as a pollster to dozens of national, state and local campaigns over the past 24 years, it is relatively easy to identify those who are new to the campaign trail as a candidate.  Royalty sounded like a candidate who is still working to find her voice.  Her late entry is not helping her (she filed in February and it appears as though she didn’t begin exploring the possibility of running for that Council seat until January…according to this article).

Make no mistake; Royalty is qualified to hold the office.  One of my higher compliments about someone is that they are serious, and she is serious.

She had a solid response to the question about support for the non-profit arts community when she remarked how “non-profits save millions of taxpayer dollars.”  This reinforces her platform calling for fiscal soundness.   She provided thoughtful insights on education and teacher morale (note: the Howard County Education Association endorsed Weinstein).  She offered up a vision of greater walkability around, on a better mix of businesses along, Route 40 (I believe it behooves candidates to spend more time talking about the future than the past, so this was a plus).

I really wish she chose to run for a different office.  She is the kind of candidate I like to support. She would make a great candidate for the state legislature (frankly her public policy background seems better suited for Annapolis) or a fine countywide candidate for the Board of Education, given her experience with various education-related organizations.  If Weinstein weren’t running, I would be advocating for her nomination in June and election in November. But that’s the problem, he is. I think he brings a unique skill-set and perspective to the Council. Moreover, I believe Weinstein, not Royalty, is the candidate best positioned to hold the Council seat in what could be a tough election cycle for the Democratic Party nationally.

Markovitz offers a different vision of Howard County.  Frankly, I had a tough time hearing her.  Perhaps it was the acoustics of the auditorium or the placement of the microphone but I missed out on approximately 20% of what she said, so I had to visit her website to fill in some blanks. I am not a particular fan of the organizations with which she is affiliated.  She has a Weltanschauung regarding land use planning, but one that seems out of step with most of the other Council members.  Is she qualified? Probably.  But she seems like the kind of candidate who, if elected, might adopt obstructionist tactics.  Ultimately, I don't think such a worldview or approach is beneficial for District One or the County as a whole.

One of Grabowski’s rationales for running seems to be that this represents the next logical step in his community involvement.  That is a terrible reason to seek public office. It sounds more than a little self-involved.  As a message, it doesn’t say anything about what he would do, if elected, for the citizenry of the First.  Over the course of the forum, he proceeded to sketch out something resembling a nascent platform, which is not encouraging since he has been in the race since June 2013, so he has had plenty of time to develop a more compelling and coherent rationale for his candidacy.  Is he qualified?  On paper, most likely.  In reality? He seems more public access than prime time.

In the interest of wrapping this long post up, I am not going to spend much time talking about the two Republican candidates: Schmidt and Melton.  Of the two, the former is stronger than the latter and will probably emerge as the Republican nominee.   Could either win?  It would take a certain confluence of events (heavy GOP turnout combined with light Democratic turnout in the First and/or the nomination of a weak Democratic candidate).  That said, demographics and party affiliation numbers give the Republican a fair shot at a pick-up. 

Next up…a return to Kowloon?  

Stay tuned, as more will follow.