Webmaster’s note: In all three of my elections in Westminster in the past – May 1999, May 2001 and May 2005 - almost every one of my campaign signs, folks placed in their yards in the West Green Street area, were promptly removed…
Whatever… Oh there is no doubt that there are many really nice folks in the neighborhood. However, the perception of the Westminster community is that perhaps there are idiosyncratic examples of tolerance, but this area of town has a reputation for being elitist and condescending – and intolerance for anything or anyone who dares not believe as they do… May 2005/ked
Differences in politics don't prohibit folks from being friendly
By Justin Palk, Times Staff Writer, Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Lawns on West Green Street in Westminster are dotted with more Kerry-Edwards signs than might be expected, given that registered Democrats make up only one-third of registered voters in the county.
But the area is in a pretty progressive precinct, said resident Lloyd Helt.
However, with half the county's electorate composed of registered Republicans, it shouldn't be too surprising that some of those Kerry backers find their neighbors posting their own signs, urging passers-by to vote for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
Take the case of Helt and his wife, Ruth Gray, and their next-door neighbors, Jim and Mary Judge.
Helt and Gray have lived on Green Street for 10 years, and the Judges have lived there for five.
The Judges have a Bush-Cheney sign in their yard, while Helt and Gray have two signs in theirs - one supporting the Kerry-Edwards ticket, the other calling for the defeat of President George W. Bush.
Despite their differing political views, all four of them agree that they're pretty friendly neighbors. For the most part, the couples said, they don't even talk about politics.
"It's wonderful," Gray said. "It's America, it's democracy. Only through our signs do we communicate our politics."
They haven't even discussed it enough to agree to disagree about it, said Jim Judge.
"We don't have anything in common there," he said. "We just remain friendly neighbors."
Both couples said they usually have signs out.
This year, the signs are less of a mismatch than they could be, Helt said. In a year with local and state elections, the couple's lawn has signs for all the Democratic candidates. This year, with only federal races, things are a little less pronounced.
Reach staff writer Justin Palk at 410-751-5909 or jpalk@lcniofmd.com.
Politics Carroll County Democrats and Progressives
Westminster Scrapbook Green St W
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.