The latest proposal to expand the Board of CountyCommissioners from three to five members will be open for public comment at a hearing set for Jan. 19 in Westminster.
StateDel. Donald Elliott (R-Dist. 4B) said he co-created the plan with State Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Dist. 9). It calls for four commissioners to be elected by districts with a fifth elected at-large, or county-wide.
The at-large commissioner would serve as president of the Board of Commissioners.
Under the plan, Carroll voters would vote for two commissioner candidates, one running in their district and one at-large.
On the eve of the General Assembly opening in Annapolis this week, Elliott said he believes his proposal has enough bipartisan support to get it through the assembly. A similar plan failed to make it to the floor in 2006, mostly because of disagreement over how and where district lines should be drawn.
"Last (time) a lot of people felt the (commissioner) districts should align with state legislative districts," Elliott said. "This time, that has been done to the extent that it could be done."
The failed proposal also differed in that it called for five commissioners, all elected by district. That's what voters selected in a 2004 referendum.
Elliott said his four-district plan is a compromise that carves out districts as equitably as possible, based on population, a per capita balance between registered Republicans, Democrats and independents and geography.
"The bottom line is, we are trying to make a compromise with this," Elliott said. "I feel very strongly that with this county growing the way it is, a change in governance is in order."
Skeptics have said the new proposal should not go forward because it differs from the five-district plan chosen in the 2004 referendum -- and as a result may eventually be overturned in court.
Elliott says his proposal does not need to go to referendum and is on solid legal ground.
"We're not violating the public's wishes," he said. "We have checked with the Attorney General's office and we have a written opinion from them that this is not in violation of the referendum and that we are not doing anything illegal.
"For some of these people (who oppose his plan), they are using that (argument) as a way to try to kill this bill, as in the past," he added. "There are still people who want three commissioners and others who still want five at-large commissioners.
Janet Jump, former president of the Board of Elections who also served on the committee that drew up the initial districting plan, likes Elliott's revised plan and thinks a commissioner-by-district system is long overdue.
"Carroll County is very diverse; South Carroll is a world away from North Carroll," Jump said. "These (sectional) differences deserve to be honored and recognized in running the county government, and the present system doesn't do this."
"I think creating districts is the only way we can recognize these differences," she said.
Elliott said his plan is modeled after CharlesCounty and it works effectively there.
"I've talked to people in CharlesCounty and other counties (where the board of commissioners has been expanded) and they told me it does make a difference," he said.
The new five-commissioner plan has been submitted to members of Carroll's delegation to Annapolis. The delegation will vote on it sometime after taking public comment at the Jan. 19 hearing.
"If approved by the delegation, it will be dropped in the hopper and be voted on by the Maryland General Assembly," he said. "Hopefully this time we have bipartisan support we need."
The public hearing on the proposed five-commissioner plan and other local bills proposed for the 2008 General Assembly is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 19, in Room 003 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster.
I was sad to read in the Neighbors of Central Carroll section of the paper on January 11 that Ruth Seitler has discontinued her column for health reasons.
Seitler has delighted readers, historians and fellow writers for almost 20 years with her column, "Of Times Past."
Charles Caleb Colton wrote in 1825: "Our admiration of fine writing will always be in proportion to its real difficulty and its apparent ease."
Seitler always made fine writing look easy and many readers were delighted with her insights and experiences.
Her column was comforting, and comfortable, and best read curled up on the couch with a warm cup of tea and honey. She always gave her readers a break from the hecticness of today as she took us on a journey back to times past.
Her son, Jim Seitler wrote the last column in which he noted that his mom "loved writing (the) column every week. She would often read it to me and tell me about the letters or calls she had received from 'her readers.'"
He wrote poignantly: "As children we think that time stands still and as adults we realize that it moves faster than we want."
Ruth Seitler wrote for so many years that many of us took it for granted that she would write forever. Obviously, time moves faster than we want.
It was apparent that she loved writing, and as one of her many dedicated readers I loved reading her writing. Her column will be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to her and her family. Thank you for sharing the last 20 years.
Will someone please tell my well-intentioned sister-in-law, that I amexercising? Blogging is hard work.
Can someone run to the frig and get me another Arizona Green Tea with ginseng and honey so that I may have my beauty and taste revived. I’m kinda exhausted over here…
Ozzy brings us this week’s Thank Goodness It’s Friday
January 11, 2008
It’s been a long week.Turn up the volume and settle back and enjoy.Whatever inference to current events may very well be up to your imagination…“Your lips are so cold I don’t what else to say.”
The light from Obama is a jolt of despair He’s the first black candidate who has a prayer Your levee of tears taught the people you might not come back The Audacious Hope will bring another attack.
Your Billy told you that you’re not supposed to lose to strangers Look in the mirror tell me do you think your life’s in danger here? No more tears
Another vote passes and you lost big time The deadline approacheth and you’re falling behind You see Barack is gaining, will you lose the presidency? You close your eyes as the pressure rises and you run out of money No more tears
So now is it over? Will we just say good-bye? I’d like to move on and make the most of the night Maybe the Senate is not so bad a place Your lips are so cold, what can you do to save face? I never wanted it to end this way, before November Believe me when I say the lesson is one to remember: No more tears
Photo: Westminster, Md. - Members of the media gather around Owings Mills attorney Irwin Kramer, in front of the historic Carroll County Courthouse after last Friday’s hearing over a lawsuit brought by five Republicans and a businessman from Carroll County, which questions the legitimacy of Maryland's November special session.Behind Kramer are Maryland Senators Brinkley and Kittleman and Maryland Delegates O’Donnell, Smigiel and Shank.Friday, January 4, 2008 photo by Kevin Dayhoff
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Smigiel vs Franchot
January 7, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff
I attended the hearing Friday, January 4th, 2008 in Carroll County Circuit Court for the oral arguments in the special session lawsuit: Case No.: 06-C-07-0496648: Michael D Smigiel Sr, et al vs Peter Franchot, et al., which seeks to invalidate the legislation passed in the Maryland General Assembly’s 22-day special session that ended November 19.
The plaintiffs in the suit are Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market; Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman (R-Dist. 9) of West Friendship; House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) of Lusby; House Minority Whip Christopher Shank (R-Dist. 2B) of Hagerstown; Del. Michael D. Smigiel Jr., the House minority parliamentarian; and John Pardoe, the owner of Byte Right Support of Baltimore.
WJZ TV, Channel 13 in Baltimore, had the best video coverage (http://wjz.com/video/?cid=5) of last Friday’s historic oral arguments.To find this and other news videos of breaking Maryland news, go to: http://wjz.com/video/?cid=5.
The suit filed on December 13 was lost in the shuffle for many as the regular season of the National Football League drew to a close; Baltimore Raven’s Coach Brian Billick joined the ranks of Maryland’s 3.5 percent unemployed; and many were getting ready for Christmas or Hanukah.
The Circuit Court case names as one of the defendants Maryland Comptroller Peter V. R. Franchot, who ironically was very vocal in opposition to the special session called by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on October 15.
Comptroller Franchot, scathingly wrote on October 23, in part, in his ongoing campaign for Maryland governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election; “As Maryland's chief fiscal officer, however, I must question the timing and necessity of this approach.Mindful of the reservations each of you has expressed about a special session, I must underscore the profound - and perhaps unintended - consequences of this undertaking on Maryland's economy, business climate, and quality of life, and to caution against acting in haste.”
In addition to Comptroller Franchot, the other defendants are the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Maryland Health Care Commission, the Health Services Cost Review Commission, acting Secretary of State Dennis C. Schnepfe, the Maryland State Board of Elections, and the Carroll County Board of Elections.
The lawsuit alleges that the General Assembly did not follow constitutional procedure, and therefore, the sales tax, which was expanded to include computer services and the increases to the state’s sales, income, corporate, tobacco and vehicle-titling taxes are invalid:
House Bill 1, Chapter 2: Budget Reconciliation Act; Senate Bill 2, Chapter 3: Tax Reform Act of 2007; Senate Bill 3, Chapter 4: Maryland Education Trust Fund – Video Lottery Terminals; House Bill 4, Chapter 5: Video Lottery Terminals – Authorization and Limitations; House Bill 5, Chapter 6: Transportation and State Investment Act; and Senate Bill 6, Chapter 7: Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act.
If you have not had an opportunity to visit the courtroom on the second floor of the 1838 “Greek Revival” courthouse on Court Street in Westminster, please do so at your next opportunity.If it were not for the fact that the room does not have a back balcony, and the wooden floors are now carpeted, one could easily conjure up visions of the courtroom scenes in Harper Lee’s classic Pulitzer Prize winning 1960 southern gothic, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
I went to the hearing with an open mind, however, like many, in December I had my reservations about the strength of the case being brought forward by the plaintiffs when the suit was initially filed.Then as I got away from the coverage of the elite media and began to examine the primary source documents, I began to see the “there - there.”
Actually several dynamics turned me around on the plaintiff’s case.My initial analysis continued to change once the Attorney General’s office began to pitch a fit about deposing the chief clerk of the House of Delegates, Mary Monahan – who has a reputation as a straight-up person. It is my understanding from anecdotal accounts that she was perfectly willing to testify…
Then came the transcript of her testimony, which is a must read for anyone interested in the case.
Concurrently, there were the acidic public comments from some of the main players.For example, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called the suit ‘‘bungled legal reasoning and frivolous,” according to Doug Tallman, writing for the Gazette.
The next shoe dropped when the Baltimore Sun published the Maryland Democrat Party’s talking points, in a most unfortunate editorial on January 2nd, 2008, “Much ado about nothing.”It was a “Hail Mary” pass in an attempt to replace the law by plebiscite and populism.
It was with that editorial that I realized that Maryland Democrats and the state had resigned themselves that the lawsuit was on firm legal footing as it was anticipated that they will lose.Please read the following excerpt.I did not make it up.
Yet even as the new rates settle in (changes to most, such as the income tax, are already in effect while the extra penny in the sales tax arrives tomorrow), a bit of uncertainty is still hovering in the air. That's because a lawsuit filed by Republicans seeking to undo the bills approved by the General Assembly during November's special session remains pending before the courts.
It's fair to oppose new taxes - although tax opponents are usually loath to own up to the adverse impacts of such a stance - but there's been ample opportunity to express dissent. There was plenty of debate in the House and Senate. Amendments were offered, some adopted and some not. Votes were taken. Ultimately, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the various pieces of legislation into law - in front of witnesses, too.
But the lawsuit would seek to scrap all of it for the flimsiest of reasons. The entire case centers on an obscure provision in the state constitution that says lawmakers in one chamber cannot adjourn for more than three days without a vote of assent from those of the other.
Leave aside whether that happened or not in this instance; why is this even a requirement? Here's the historic context: It's meant to prevent members of the Senate or House of Delegates from leaving town before the government's business is done. That was never at issue in this case. It's much ado about nothing. Republicans might as well be litigating the stock of paper used for bills or the Senate's opening prayer.
Reread it.After one digests what the Baltimore Sun wrote, the only conclusion is that so what if the Maryland Constitution was violated, the taxes are a good thing…
As the hearing evolved, the mood of the room seemed to swing in the direction of Irwin Kramer, the Owings Mills attorney representing the plaintiffs, as he as he forcefully articulated his case.
Austin Schlick, head of the Maryland attorney general's civil litigation division, representing the state of Maryland and Irwin Kramer, the Owings Mills attorney representing the five Republicans and a businessman from CarrollCounty who filed the lawsuit; advocated their client’s positions on what constitutes the “consent” as required by the Constitution.
The State’s case, on the other hand, seemed to falter on the law.The State’s presentation deteriorated and appeared disingenuous, if not circuitous, and ultimately began to fall back upon arrogance and politics – a point of which the judge seemed to have no tolerance.It was not Austin Schlick’s day.
At issue is whether or not the Senate obtained the appropriate consent of the House in order to adjourn for more than three days as required by Article III, Section 25.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. told senators on November 9, they would return to work on Nov. 13; however, it was later decided that the Senate not reconvene until November 15.
As a result all the legislation that followed, in the 22-day session which mercifully ended on November 19, should be ruled legally invalid.
Many of us clearly recalled when Delegate Smigiel (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton rose on the House floor and brought the Senate’s six-day adjournment to the attention of the House Parliamentarian, Del. Kathleen M. Dumais.
Incredibly, the Parliamentarian promptly produced a letter from Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Rowe which said that the work of legislature could proceed.This, in spite of Article III, Section 25, which states clearly: “Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, at any one time, nor adjourn to any other place, than that in which the House shall be sitting, without the concurrent vote of two-thirds of the members present.”
The state hinged its argumentation on two points, one the legislature may make its own rules and pleaded that the consequences of ruling invalid the increases to the sales, income, corporate, tobacco, and vehicle titling taxes.
Mr. Irvin Kramer responded effectively that the legislatures’ own rules invalidate the subsequent bills enacted after the Maryland Senate took a five-day break, without the appropriate consent from the House.
Furthermore, as was revealed in the deposition of chief clerk of the House of Delegates; the consent never could have occurred because the delegates were never given a chance to debate the consent.
Perhaps now we understand why the Attorney General’s office tried so hard to prevent the chief clerk from being deposed…
At the hearing last Friday, Schlick repeatedly attempted to argue that nullifying the $1.5 billion in increased taxes would place the state in financial peril and cause “extraordinary harm.” The judge sustained Mr. Kramer’s objections to this testimony, not once but twice, saying that matter was not before the court.
Lost in the reporting on the lawsuit by the elite media is the focus of the second constitutional test which contests the General Assembly decision in HB 4, Chapter 5 (Exhibit P) andSB 3, Chapter 4 (Exhibit O), to refer the contentious issue of slots to referendum this coming November in violation of Article XVI, Section 2, of the Maryland constitution.
As an aside, editorializations by elected officials and the elite media “to let the voters decide the issue of slots,” has always been the source of amusement by those of us who have studied the Maryland Constitution.Yes, it’s a great idea.However, in Maryland, there’s only one small problem; it is unconstitutional.
The plaintiff’s December 13 memorandum alleges that the legislation to refer the issue of slots to referendum was an effort “To avoid a lengthy and rancorous debate on slot machines, (in that) the Legislature attempted to shift their work on this controversial revenue plan to the public at large.”
“Though some issues may be referred to voters, the Constitution prohibits the referral of revenue and appropriations bills for maintaining the State Government or other public institutions.”
Article XVI, Section 2 of the Maryland constitution clearly states: “No law making any appropriation for maintaining the State Government, or for maintaining or aiding any public institution, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the same purpose, shall be subject to rejection or repeal under this Section.”
This latest lawsuit is yet another in a series of awkward interactions between Maryland’s august legislative branch and Maryland’s judiciary.The two branches of government have been waging a low-grade guerilla war with one another for years, which has usually only been the topic of esoteric scholarly conversations between academics.
The “Wal-Mart bill” which violated the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act,” which governs worker health care plans, led the way.With more than ample case law to support the decision, it was quickly dispatched by a well-respected U. S. District Court judge, who easily understood that federal statute governs employee health care benefits.
Next, in August 2006, another highly respected member of the bench, Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Robert Silkworth struck down General Assembly’s (vote early and vote often) “early voting law.Duh, the Maryland Constitution says, in part: “…All general elections in this state shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November ...”No rocket science here.
One of the strongest judicial rebukes came on September 14, 2006, when the Maryland Court of Appeals, ruled unconstitutional the General Assembly’s legislation to fire the Maryland Public Service Commission.In its ruling the court said that the legislature’s attempt to seize authority otherwise relegated to the executive branch to be “… repugnant to the Maryland constitution.”
Ay caramba.Memo to the Maryland General Assembly, when all else fails, read the constitution.Help is available by any first year law school student – or even a local Boy Scout getting his citizenship and government badge.
Meanwhile, the judge, of whom I have known for many years, is a straight arrow and known to be a Maryland constitutional and historical scholar. After two hours of courtroom deliberations, Carroll County Circuit Court Judge Thomas F. Stansfield announced he would review the entire record in the context of the just-presented oral arguments and issue a written opinion as soon as possible with the understanding that the regular General Assembly session begins January 9th.
I’m not a lawyer, but I do have some insight into the Maryland Constitution, its history and the legislative rules and procedures involved.I walked out of the courthouse with a feeling that the plaintiff’s made their case – and the state did not.
[Also, be sure to read “Lawsuit Conclusion,” posted Sunday, January 6, 2008 by David K. Kyle on “The Candid Truth.”Mr. Kyle has followed the lawsuit studiously.Click here: GOP Lawsuit, to view his excellent coverage.
My hypothecation is that the ruling will narrowly confine itself strictly to the matters of law and will not get anywhere near legislating from the bench.
Furthermore, with the understanding that whatever is decided, it will be appealed, comes a greater burden for the Carroll County Circuit Court Judge.It will serve this judge well to concisely and definitively focus the matters of law before it so as to provide the higher courts the foundation with which to work.
This case is a constitutional test that will live in the judicial annals long into the future, and long after the politics of the day are forgotten.The decision at this level of the judiciary needs to be one of the best decisions this judge could possibly write.My guess is that he will not disappoint.
Ultimately, the case will be decided at the state’s highest court – where the Maryland General Assembly has not fared well in recent years.
For good newspaper coverage of the Special Session Lawsuit Case No.: 06-C-07-0496648: Smigiel vs Franchot:
Whatever folks want to say about the mainstream media, Maryland has some great writers out there who call it as they see it and do not write articles based on a pre-determined agenda or ideology. Folks like Doug Tallman with the Gazette (along with several of the other statewide beat writers at the Gazette.)
Or spend sometime with Liam Farrell with the Maryland Gazette or Len Lazarick with The Examiner or Tom LoBianco with the Washington Times.
These are just a few writers that come quickly to mind; perhaps some other bloggers have other writers in mind.
I could not agree more…“So here we go again, ringing up CIA agents who thought they were acting in good faith to keep the country safe…But why should any future agent take any risks to gather information, or pursue an enemy, if he thinks he is likely to have to answer to some future prosecutor for his every action?”
When news broke that the CIA had destroyed videotapes of a couple of early terrorist interrogations, Democrats in Congress demanded a criminal investigation. Now that Attorney General Michael Mukasey is obliging, they still aren't satisfied. So here we go again, ringing up CIA agents who thought they were acting in good faith to keep the country safe.
On Wednesday Mr. Mukasey assigned prosecutor John Durham, a 25-year Justice Department veteran, to investigate if CIA agents committed a crime when they destroyed the tapes in 2005 under orders from the then-head of the covert Directorate of Operations. But that isn't enough for John Conyers (D., Mich.), who wants a full-blown "special counsel" to wade into the CIA's covert-ops division and deliver a public excavation…
[…]
The interrogations also took place at a time -- starting in 2002 -- when some Members of Congress were regularly briefed on the CIA practices, including "waterboarding." Among those briefed were Jay Rockefeller IV and Nancy Pelosi, neither of whom saw fit to object to the methods. We are now in a different political place, and in a different election year, and these same Democrats want to join the left in accusing the Bush Administration of "torture" and a cover-up.
The Bush Administration is already on its way out, so the real damage here may be to our ability to gather future intelligence no matter who is President…
[…]
One of the stock criticisms of the CIA after 9/11 is that the agency played it too safe in pursuing al Qaeda. But why should any future agent take any risks to gather information, or pursue an enemy, if he thinks he is likely to have to answer to some future prosecutor for his every action?
As for the tapes, no doubt the agency now wishes they had never been made, much less destroyed. But the irony is that their destruction might well have saved the U.S. from the embarrassment of having them leaked to the world and turned into a propaganda victory for our enemies…
[…]
Yet instead, we are now unleashing prosecutors against agents who on the evidence so far were acting not to pursue some political agenda but to defend the nation against its most ruthless enemies. We hope Mr. Durham understands the difference, and that we don't cripple the very spooks we need to fight the war on terror.
On Christmas Eve, while many friends and families were preparing to get together and celebrate the holidays, the friends, colleagues and loved ones of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Nicholson, 25, gathered to bury him.
On Dec. 19, Officer Nicholson and the stranger he tried to help, Alison ...[Read full story]
On Sunday, Dec. 16, members of the Maryland Troopers Association Lodge 20 were joined at the Westminster Fire Hall by members of the State Police Explorers Post 56, Cub Scout Pack 150 and Carroll County Chapter K of Gold Wing Road Riders to make sure that families on their "most wanted list" had a n...[Read full story]
Early this month, on Dec. 1, more than 300 volunteers gathered at the Carroll County Ag Center for Operation Christmas Tree to pack 5,000 live decorated Christmas trees for the troops in Iraq.
I had only been in the 40'-by-60' tent (supplied by Kay-Lyns Party Rental), for minutes when one voluntee... [Read full story]
Christmas, as much as any holiday, is a time for childhood memories.
For many baby-boomers, television has always served as an early warning system that the holiday is rapidly advancing. Whether it is the plethora of consumer-oriented commercials or Christmas holiday specials, most everyone's chil...[Read full story]
On Nov. 17, members of our community packed St. John Catholic Church to hear the talented and beautiful voices of artists who came together and donated their time for our community -- and for a worthy cause.
Musical groups including the McDaniel College Madigal Singers, Old Line Statesmen Barber Shop Chorus (under the direction of Jeff Liebknecht), the Children's Chorus of Carroll County, New Life for Girls Choir, Masterworks Chorale, Westminster Trombone Choir and the Coram Deo performed a benefit concert for Carroll County Domestic Violence Safe House.
Connie Sgarlata, director of the Office of Family and Children's Services, said both the audience and the performers were moved by "the solidarity that the music and words created in our effort to address domestic violence."
Sgarlata's comments were echoed by McDanielCollege professor of music Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Diane Jones, the Children's Chorus of Carroll County artistic director. Both noted that the music was wonderful -- the message was clear.[Read full story]
Michael Swartz'slistof local blogs to watch in 2008 is pretty good. It is missing a few good blogs of note, however…
As much as I agreed with most, but not all, of Mr. Swartz’s list, your list is right on the money.I also miss Stephanie Dray’s Jousting for Justice.And I am very happy that Crablaw's Maryland Weekly is back…
Your post could not have been timed better as it came shortly after a conversation with a dear colleague who said they like my blog – although I’m too liberal.
Ay caramba - whatever.
Along that thread, another colleague said “Dayhoff … your problem is that you like everybody.”
To that I plead guilty – life is way to short.Then again, maybe not – I don’t like mean people; and that personality defect occurs in folks from all political persuasions.
I simply do not allow politics to dictate my friends - - and I don’t like folks who do pick their friends based on politics.(I’ll be having lunch later in the week with a dear friend with whom I disagree about everything when it comes to politics.)I can disagree with folks about issues, but more often than not – I like the person…
As far as your observation: “… his actual blog hard to read -- its look is extremely busy and most of the posts are just link aggregations…”Hey, you oughta be in my head…
At least with the blog, there is an attempt at organization…I also find my blog “hard to read” and try as I might, after blogging for a number of years, it is still way too busy.
Perhaps my blog is a manifestation of being a hypergraphic attention deficit disorder hyperactive dyslexic.Maybe – just maybe, one day I’ll figure out what I’m doing.Being a technology geek – one would’ve thought blogging would be easy for me.It is not.
At this point, on the blog evolutionary scale, my blog is a monkey on roller skates. The monkey may or may not be wearing a pink tutu - this is for you to decide.
Years ago, I thought blogging would be easy for a columnist and short story writer.It has not been the case.And within the last number of months, I picked up a third (newspaper) column every week; which just proves the “Peter Principle” is real.I’m now way beyond my intellectual and cognitive abilities.
Heckfire – some days, I’m proud to have even found the time, much less the cognitive abilities - to post “link aggregations.”
Meanwhile, I am painstakingly determined to promote constant attention on current procedures of transacting business focusing emphasis on innovative ways to better, if not supercede, the expectations of quality.What I really need in order to navigate the treacherous waters that lie ahead is a list of specific unknown problems I will encounter.
Always remember, the purpose of my blog is to discuss fragmentary patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements as juxtaposed by the undeniable command mortality of insignificant self-inflicted syntactic semiotic economics which sometimes may cause irreproducible results unless there is a pre-emptive digital fallibility matrix which would require an integrated third-generational triangulated refinement of indefinite managerial potential.
As I wax philosophic with metaphysical postulations, incomplete aphorisms and inconsistent sophism that allows me to conclude, more and more sure, that the only true thing about anything is nothing.
Now I know you believe you understand what you think I just said but I am sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
As always, your thoughtful consideration is appreciated regardless of the outcome on any particular issue. Whether we agree or disagree, always find my door open for friendly civil and constructive dialogue.
On Christmas morning I was treated to a white Christmas when I awakened in Anchorage Alaska. As a matter of fact, it was a white Christmas week as it snowed everyday the entire time I was there.
I stayed at the Captain Cook Hotel which is incidentally the same hotel where one of Alaska’s heroes, our own thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States, and the 55th governor of Maryland, Spiro Agnew, stayed on an impromptu stopover in 1981.
Yes, you read that correctly, according to Anchorage Daily News columnist, Mike Dunham, who wrote a tribute to Mr. Agnew on the anniversary of his birthday in 1996; Mr. Agnew is considered to be “arguably the most important man in Alaska history after William Seward.” More on that in a minute…
As readers are aware I am not a fan of the cold or snow, but there I was looking out upon a beautiful city situated on a glacier silt plain in southeastern Alaska, picturesquely framed by the Chugach Mountain range and Cook Inlet.
The temperature averaged in the teens for the entire stay – and yes, the sun only shines for about four hours a day this time of the year in Anchorage. Even then, sunlight is only distinguishable as a brighter - lighter shade of gray.
Nevertheless, I had a wonderful visiting a city I had only read about before in the context of oil exploration and politics, Native American struggles and public policy, Russian - Alaskan history, the globalization of American economic structure, and anomalies of municipal government.
For government geeks who study municipal governance, Anchorage is fascinating. Above and beyond the fact that there is no sales tax or income tax in Anchorage or Alaska for that matter, is the sheer geographic size of the municipality. The city limits of Anchorage encompasses 1,955 sq. miles or about the size of the state of Delaware. For a comparison, Carroll County is 452 square miles – and Westminster is about 6 square miles.
On December 28, I had a nice opportunity to talk with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich; a young and energetic rising star who will in the future make a name for himself on the national stage. For now I’ll leave that for a future column. Yes, he is the son of former Congressman Nick Begich. Congressman Nick Begich and Representative Hale Boggs of Louisiana were the focus of a national tragedy on September 16, 1972. Who remembers the terrible circumstances?
Getting back to Spiro Agnew, according Mr. Dunham, Mr. Agnew he did not happen to visit Anchorage “on purpose. In 1981, he and 180 other passengers on a commercial jet to Korea were detained in Anchorage after an engine conked out. Spotted at the Hotel Captain Cook, Agnew shied from questions — ‘I’m not in politics anymore. I just don’t have time to fool with this anymore’ — lit his Marlboro and puffed quietly into history.”
It is that “history” that is so fascinating to congressional historians. Except as a peculiar footnote, history is befuddled as to what to do with the legacy of Mr. Agnew. For the most part, historians essentially ignore him. In what is otherwise the sordid and conflicted saga of an American politician from Maryland, then-Vice-President Agnew irrevocably changed the future of Alaska just months before he resigned as the United States vice-president on October 10th, 1973.
To refresh your memory, the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States, and the 55th governor of Maryland, Spiro Theodore Agnew, passed away on September 17th, 1996. He was born on November 9, 1918 Spiro Anagnostopoulos, the son of Greek immigrants, and grew up in Baltimore.
While serving his country in World War II, he earned the Bronze Star in France. Upon returning home he began practicing law in 1949 and entered politics in 1957, eventually being elected Baltimore County Executive in 1962.
In an extraordinary twist of fate, Mr. Agnew, a Republican, really burst on the scene in 1966 as a courtesy of the Democratic Party. Who can remember the circumstances?
On November 8, 1966, the day before his 48th birthday, Mr. Agnew, defeated his Democratic-Dixiecrat opponent, by a margin of 81,775 votes in a three-way race. Who can name his Dixiecrat opponent or the third prominent politician in the 1966 Maryland gubernatorial election?
Presidential candidate Richard Nixon picked the nationally unknown Maryland governor as his running mate two years later. Most all Marylanders were proud when then-Governor Agnew was elected Vice-President of the United States in 1968.
In the fall of 1973, as the Watergate scandal mounted, the prospect of Vice-President Agnew succeeding President Nixon became a matter of profound concern to political elites. An investigation into the Baltimore County payoffs provided a suitable pretext as he eventually became the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's office in Maryland for financial irregularities while he held state office. Rather than face trial, Agnew resigned and entered a plea of no contest to charges of evading income tax.
Years earlier, Mr. Agnew made a campaign stop in Anchorage in 1968, according to Mr. Dunham. It was the first of his three visits to Alaska. The second visit occurred during the re-election campaign of 1972 – in addition to his last visit, mentioned earlier, in 1981.
In 1968, a few months before Mr. Agnew’s first visit, oil had been discovered on the North – Arctic Slope north of the Brooks Mountain Range. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was proposed in 1969, but it was greeted met with tremendous opposition from environmentalists.
By July 17, 1973, the Trans-Alaska Authorization Act which cleared the way for the 800-mile pipeline had passed the House of Representatives, but was deadlocked in the Senate – 49 to 49.
Vice-President Agnew, in his constitutional capacity as President of the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote, “for” the pipeline.
Mr. Agnew was many different things to many folks, however, today, few Marylanders are aware of him, except that he was once a Maryland governor and a United States vice-president.
In Alaska, the former governor of Maryland is known to keen historians as the reason there is no sales tax or income tax in the 49th state. Additionally, he is one of the reasons why the Anchorage of today, poised as the gateway to northern North America and the vast economics of the Pacific Rim, is a modern and exciting city. It is far different from the boom-to-bust, “small, dirty, hardscrabble place,” as described by Mr. Dunham, “with more bars than churches when Agnew flew in on a campaign swing in 1968.”
I did find a statue of Captain James Cook who sailed into the area in 1778, but on my visit, I found no statue for Spiro Agnew. Nevertheless, to paraphrase Mr. Dunham, he may have picked pockets in Maryland, but he made Alaskans rich.
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org ####
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On Nov. 17, members of our community packed St. John Catholic Church to hear the talented and beautiful voices of artists who came together and donated their time for our community -- and for a worthy cause.
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…Connie Sgarlata, director of the Carroll County Office of Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland echoed the remarks of many, including McDanielCollege professor of music Dr. Margie Boudreaux and Diane Jones, the Children’s Chorus of Carroll County artistic director…[Read full story]
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So Mark Felt, once the second highest-ranking FBI officer in America, has decided to come clean after 32 years.
In a Vanity Fair magazine article, he wore his best pair of flip-flops and now admits that he was, after all the denials for over three decades, "Deep Throat." (Remember his remarks in 1974: "It was not I and it is not I.")
