John Cannon Dives in Bed With Dems …

… Ego Far More Important Than Principle or Party

It was my understanding that when this new county council came to office in 2006 that the Republican majority had agreed to rotate the presidency and vice presidency of the county council.  This is fairly standard among local governing bodies.

After one year as President of the Wicomico County Council, John Cannon refused to step aside.  Rather than make a big deal, his GOP “colleagues” didn’t make a fuss.  However, this year there was evidently a decision to make a change.

Outgoing council VP Stevie Prettyman (R-2) nominated Councilman Joe Holloway (R-5).  What did John Cannon (? – At Large) do?  He nominated Councilman Bill McCain (D – At Large).  McCain, whose legendary intellectual acumen has led some to believe he is the bastard child of Salisbury Councilwoman Louise Smith, was elected 4 – 3 with Cannon finally showing his true stripes.  This vote is particularly telling given that Holloway is probably the most fiscally conservative member of the council while McCain is the most profligate spender in the crowd.

For council president, Holloway nominated Gail Bartkovich (R-3) while Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-1) nominated the newly minted Dem Cannon.  The 4-3 vote was a foregone conclusion.

This is a sad turn of affairs for several reasons.  First, Bartkovich would have made a fine council president.  While Gail and I have disagreed on many issues, she is worthy of respect.  No one does their homework better.  No one on council is better prepared or able to explain their position better than Bartkovich.  She had never pandered to me nor, I believe, others.  She’s an astute politician, without arrogance.  Unlike the current occupant of the center chair, Bartkovich would never attempt to seize power or cut backroom deals.  Cannon’s repeated, and clumsy, attempts to represent his desires as the will of a council majority have been cause for great concern – particularly over the last year.

Second, it was sad to see a person like John Cannon allow ego to outstrip judgment.  Assuming (a safe bet) that Cannon has aspirations beyond the Wicomico County Council, how does he expect to garner deep GOP support?  Cannon will undoubtedly attempt to spin this little coup as “bi-partisanship”.  This was betrayal to his GOP colleagues on council, pure and simple.  Given the fact that they can’t trust him, why should the GOP – or the public?

Many believe that Cannon will attempt a run against County Executive Rick Pollitt in 2010.  If so, we could be seeing a younger, more handsome Ron Alessi all over again.  Those of us involved in grass roots organization are more concerned with principle than partisanship.  Why would we want to encourage others to devote time and effort for a candidate who has failed to take a principled stance on anything to date and crawls in bed with the opposite party in order to stroke his own ego?

Why would groups like the WCRC want to raise money – which is something that the WCRC does do well – for a candidate who refuses to support his fellow Republicans?

Why would the public want to vote for “Democrat-lite” (Cannon) when they can vote for the real thing (Pollitt)?

To date, Cannon has basically led a moderate, Democrat majority on council.  Now he should do the honorable thing an make it official by changing his party registration.

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