John Phoebus Attacks Jobs Issue on Lower Shore

It doesn’t matter whether you are looking at national or statewide polls, attending candidate forums, or simply talking with your neighbors; the NUMBER 1 ISSUE in this year’s election is JOBS.  John Phoebus, GOP candidate for Maryland House District 38-A is one of the few legislative candidates who is prepared to offer a concrete proposal to stimulate economic development in his District, and the state of Maryland.  Phoebus wants to reduce (or eliminate) the state’s corporate income tax).

Phoebus has proposed, along with many others, that Maryland roll back the 20% sales tax increase enacted by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and the Democrat controlled legislature.  While this definitely would put money back into the pockets of Marylanders (where it belongs), the positive effects of such a roll back would primarily be felt in the state’s retail sector.  However, Phoebus’s proposal to reduce state income tax rates for businesses would definitely increase Maryland’s competitiveness in attracting employers to the Old Line State.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Cannon, Democrats Approve Enviro for Planning Commission

Things are back to usual at the Wicomico County Council.  Nominal Republican John Cannon returned to where he appears most comfortable – on the left leaning side of the council.  By a 4 – 3 vote, Cannon and his Democrat allies approved County Executive Rick Pollitt’s nominee for the Planning Commission – Jacob Day of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.

With outgoing councilman Bill McCain carrying water for Pollitt, Cannon spoon fed Day a series of leading questions designed to make Day appear to have no bias against development in Wicomico County.  Cannon even went so far to admit:

“I want to dispel any view of bias”.

That’s dandy John.  There’s just one problem.  While any reasonable person will concede that Mr. Day could offer certain expertise to the commission, any reasonable person also realizes that Day’s employer is a strong proponent of stripping county farmers of their property rights through down zoning.  Are we to believe that the ESLC would employ Mr. Day if he does not share those same views?

This is from ESLC’s own website:

ESLC has developed the Regional Landscape Initiative, a program that focuses on one of the greatest landscape protection tools available: strong, proactive planning and zoning.

Translation – down zoning of agricultural lands.  Farmers don’t want to develop their land.  However, to deny them that option reduces the value of their land and in some cases has forced farmers off of their land.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Julie Brewington Doesn’t Know What District She’s Running In!

THE SCHIZOPHRENIC APPROACH TO RUNNING FOR OFFICE

Julie Brewington, candidate for the GOP nomination to replace the late Page Elmore in Maryland District 38-A has a “unique” approach to running for office.  While her opponents (Crisfield attorney John Phoebus, Wicomico councilman John Cannon (R-AL), and Somerset County farmer Charles Otto) are out meeting voters and getting signs put up Brewington is taking a somewhat bizarre approach to electoral politics.

Hypocrisy At Pecan Square

According to Brewington’s own blog, she attended two events for other candidates yesterday evening.  The first event, a fundraiser for 37-A candidate Dustin Mills, was also attended by Cannon, District 2 councilwoman Stevie Prettyman, and SbyNEWS publisher Joe Albero.  She attacks Cannon for a variety of fictional offenses and then plays the victim card:

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Wicomico NAACP Candidate Forum

Every election cycle, the Wicomico County Branch of the NAACP hosts a candidate forum.  While it should be expected that a forum sponsored by the NAACP would, and should, focus on issues of particular importance to the African-American community the forum gave ALL in attendance an opportunity to see and hear local candidates under fire.

I’ll leave it to my friend Michael Swartz at MonoBlogue to provide his usual (and excellent) blow by blow.  I’m going to focus on a few questions, and some of the surprising responses.

County Executive:

Incumbent Rick Pollitt continues with his normal fence straddling and platitudes.  GOP candidate Joe Ollinger is giving it the ole college try but continues to lack the red meat necessary to get conservatives to whole heartedly support him.  Democrat challenger Tom Taylor gave the best performance of the evening.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Another Grand Turnout for a RARE Wicomico County Council Night Meeting

Last night we, the people who actually pay the taxes in Wicomico County, were given the RARE “privilege” of being able to see out county government at work.  The council had one of their quarterly night meetings.  Around 50 citizens turned up; far more than their usual 10 AM crowd.

A New Library – Another Multi-Million Dollar Pipe Dream

Admittedly, it was a long one; but we were able to see a few important issues discussed.  Tops on the agenda for many was a presentation by library director Tom Hehman on the Library’s proposed acquisition of land on Beaglin Park Drive.

I’m a strong proponent of a new library.  That is why I am especially saddened by the approach being taken by Hehman and the library board.  They are asking the county council to agree to purchase land out of the downtown core, with no plan of how to pay for a new library (other than to load more debt on the taxpayer).  In addition, we also found out during public comments that Mr. Hehman and the library folk aren’t being totally open about other potential sites.

One remark from Hehman sealed the deal for me:

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Scandal Brewing At PAC-14

We haven’t written much about PAC-14, Wicomico County’s public access cable channel in quite some time.  Because of that, many of you may think that all is well there.  Sadly, you would be mistaken.  The crew running PAC-14 (along with some of the vocal “supporters”) are just as conniving and deceitful as always.

We have to admit that we made a mistake.  We tried to be fair and allow PAC-14 Executive Director Mike Goodson and a majority of PAC-14’s board the opportunity to do what they said they were going to do.  Instead, this merry little band has decided that giving Wicomico taxpayers the “middle finger” is the best route to obtain their goals – and those goals have little to do with providing viewers an opportunity to watch their government in action and providing citizens the opportunity to produce local content.  No, the goal of the PAC-14 board is to siphon money from the taxpayers and build an entity that will eventually be handed over to Salisbury University so that taxpayers will no longer have even a marginal say as to how a portion of their tax dollars are being spent.

Thanks to elected officials like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt, Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, Salisbury council members Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, and Shanie Shields, along with unelected “volunteers” such as Phil Tilghman, Elizabeth Bellavance and WCBOE President Mark Thompson, expect PAC-14 to blossom into an organization which wastes money (your money) on consultants and plans for grand schemes while refusing to adhere to the basic rules of transparency (which are in their own by-laws).

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Holloway Uncovers MORE Wasteful Spending at the BOE

Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway isn’t very popular with the bureaucrats over at the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE).  He politely asks for information on their spending habits, they attempt to stonewall him, Holloway keeps fighting for the information, the bureaucrats are embarrassed.  At least the taxpayers get to find out how their dollars are being wasted.

Speaking last night at the monthly meeting of the Wicomico chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Holloway gave a brief re-cap of his term on the county council.  Holloway made one thing crystal clear – despite the protestations of people like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and several members of the county council, Wicomico County doesn’t have a REVENUE PROBLEM.  Wicomico County has a SPENDING PROBLEM.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Why The Proposed Wicomico Budget Amendment Is Bad Policy

On Tuesday, November 10th, the Wicomico County Council will hold a public hearing on County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed budget amendment.  Nominally, this budget amendment is to correct a revenue shortfall caused by a loss of over $6 million in state aid to the county.  In reality, Pollitt’s amendment is designed to force citizens to repeal the revenue cap and will result (within 7 – 19 months) with a tax increase for Wicomico homeowners and businesses.

If you don’t mind paying higher property taxes, you should attend Tuesday’s hearing and say so.  However, if you agree with me that the revenue cap should stay in place then you should go to Tuesday’s hearing and DEMAND that the county council vote this measure down and call on Pollitt to RESTRUCTURE the county government to live within its means.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Looters Loose in Wicomico County …

… County Council Proposes Plunder in the “Name of the People”

If you have ever read Frederic Bastiat’s The Law you are familiar with concept of legalized plunder.  If you have ever read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged you are familiar with the looting class.  If not, I heartily suggest you read them FAST.  THEFT in the name of “public good” has come to our little corner of the world.

Last Tuesday, the Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council (sorry John Cannon, you no longer qualify as even a “Republican in Name Only”) voted to move forward with legislation that will strip farmers of their property rights.  The council’s proposal would reduce the number of lots which a parcel may be subdivided into.  It also ends the dreaded “cluster provision” which allowed farmers to sell parcels of land for development at greater density by requiring that more open space would be preserved.  The net effect of this proposal is to drastically reduce the value of a given parcel relative to its value if still developable.

Translation – the farmers pay so that certain developers and special interest groups may prosper and the lefty fringe can feel good about themselves.

Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman stood their ground.  If Ag District landowners are to lose value in their greatest asset, they need to be compensated.  Additionally, the legislation itself appears to be seriously flawed.  This doesn’t seem to bother the socialist majority of the Wicomico County Council.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

County Council Moves Forward With Land Theft Bill

The Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council moved forward today with legislation to strip Wicomico farmers of their property rights.  Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman demanded that their names be removed from the legislation after noting that there was no mechanism to compensate farmers for the proposed land grab.

Moving the legislation to public hearing was approved by council members Bill McCain, Dave MacLeod, Sheree Sample-Hughes, and the council’s newest Dem John Cannon.  Sample-Hughes was at least honest enough to admit that there would NOT be any compensation mechanism in the legislation.

We’ll have a more detailed report tomorrow.  We are also waiting for a response from County Executive Rick Pollitt.  Pollitt has stated on at least two occasions that he would not support a bill that failed to compensate land owners for the loss of development rights.  I’m hoping that he sticks to his guns.

Sphere: Related Content

Next Page »