20061107 Anecdotally Turnout in Carroll Is Good

Anecdotally - - Turnout in Carroll County Is Good

I just got an e-mail from an observer in the field…

Anecdotal Turnout in Carroll Is Good – Looking for Better by 8 p.m.

Carroll County does not produce rolling county-wide turnout figures but our roving pollworker, Delegate Nancy Stocksdale, is reporting strong mid-day turnout numbers (Mechanicsville precinct 4-4: 37%; Mechanicsville precinct 4-5: 40%; Robert Moton precinct 7-8: 34%).

This is in comparison to overall Baltimore City turnout of 26%, Frederick County at 30% and Queen Anne’s County at 35%.

If you haven’t voted yet – GO VOTE!

20061102 Carroll County Republican Club charged with violating two state election laws

Carroll County Republican Club charged with violating two state election laws

November 2^nd, 2006

All the local Carroll County newspapers have posted articles early Thursday evening, November 2^nd, 2006, that report that the Maryland State Prosecutor has filed charges against the Carroll County Republican Club president Scott Hollenbeck and club secretary Suzanne Primoff for “alleging violations of two state election laws.”

The Westminster Eagle article can be found here: EAGLE ALERT: Republican club charged with election law violations.

The Eldersburg Eagle article can be found here: EAGLE ALERT: Republican club charged with election law violations.

The Baltimore Sun - Carroll Sun article by Laura McCandlish, Sun Reporter, filed at 5:45 PM EST can be found here: “Carroll Co. GOP club said to violate election laws - 2 officers charged for failing to register group as political action committee.”

And the Carroll County Times article by Justin Palk. Times Staff Writer, can be found here: “Charges filed against Republican club.” Mr. Palk’s article is short; hopefully he will write more on Friday, November 3^rd, 2006. Update: To find his longer article, click here.

The Westminster Eagle article noted, “The statement by the State Prosecutor’s Office notes that, ‘All of those who have been identified ... are merely charged and are presumed innocent until and unless convicted in a court.’ ”

For my previous posts about the matter of the negative campaigning in Carroll County please see:

20060925 Cartoon on Carroll County primary elections

20060908 Negative ads and fliers plague Carroll County primary election

20060907 Thoughts on the Carroll County primary election

In the September 6^th, 2006 issue of the Westminster Eagle and the Eldersburg Eagle, both Editor Jim Joyner and I wrote columns addressing the negative campaigning dynamic in what many recall as one of the most unpleasant election years in 16 years.

The title of my column is: “Just so no to reality TV in Carroll County election campaigns.”

The title of Mr. Joyner’s column is: “Final daze Voters should be aware of wild political finish.”

I also have a Tentacle column addressing this issue of negative campaigning. “Why go negative?”

The best background on this story was written by Justin Palk back on September 7^th and 8^th, 2006. I just tried the links to the stories and the Carroll County Times does not use permalinks – and the links are dead behind a pay wall.

On September 7^th, 2006, Mr. Palk wrote, “State probing election adverts” and on September 8^th, 2006, he wrote, “Candidates deny contact with group.”

A portion of the story which Mr. Palk wrote on September 7^th, reads:

Maryland's State Board of Elections is reviewing negative campaign ads from what appears to be a new Republican club in Carroll County for compliance with state law.

An organization calling itself the Carroll County Republican Club, which has sent out mailings to county residents, among other advertising, is not registered with the state as a political action committee, said Jared DeMarinis, director of the State Board of Elections' candidacy and campaign finance division.

DeMarinis said he could not comment further on the matter because the board is reviewing it.

In general, organizations that raise or spend money for a specific candidate in an election do have to register with the state, he said.

The ads and mailings, which list Scott Hollenbeck as the club's president, attack the sitting county commissioners and urge voters to back challengers in Tuesday's primary election.

Carroll County Commissioner Perry L. Jones Jr. rejected some of the claims made specifically about him in the ads, such as the accusations that he spends the night in Frederick County, rather than Carroll.

Other accusations are based on incomplete information, he said, such as statements criticizing him and Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge for having county cars, but fail to mention that they both pay leases for their vehicles, he said.

"In a way, it's humiliating, in a way it's hilarious," Jones said. "If we did half of what they say we did, we'd be sitting in the Carroll County lockup, I believe."

The ads contain other inaccuracies as well, including a statement that the county allows multiple housing units to be built on a single building permit, when the county requires one permit per unit, said Vivian Laxton, the county's spokeswoman.

Similarly, the county commissioners are not, as one ad states, considering any legislation that would permit them to impose a personal property tax, Laxton said.

The Carroll County Republican Club does not appear on the list of Republican clubs in Carroll on the Carroll County Republican Central Committee's Web site, and Joe Burns Jr., the committee's secretary, said he had not heard of the organization.

Hollenbeck did not return phone calls or an e-mail requesting comment for this article Wednesday.

Going negative

Negative politics work because it's always easy to find an area of disagreement to focus voters' attention on, and then attack repeatedly on that issue, Thomas Schaller, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote in an e-mail. Even if a voter agrees with a candidate on three out of every four issues, he or she can still be persuaded to dislike that candidate on the fourth issue.

People also have better memories for critical messages rather than positive ones, which makes negative politicking a powerful tool, he wrote.

In terms of outright dirty tricks, it's key for the trickster to keep his or her fingerprints off the deed, because tricks have the potential to backfire disastrously if the trickster is caught, Schaller wrote.

The Westminster Eagle article this evening reports that Ms. Primoff and Mr. Hollenbeck, “were charged in Carroll County District Court on Thursday with alleged violations of election laws, namely:

•Engaging in campaign finance activity other than through a campaign finance entity, an offense that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $25,000; and

•Causing the publication and distribution of campaign literature without a proper authority line, an offense is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.”

Ms. McCandlish reported what many political pundits are saying, on and off the record: "People have gotten tired of all this negativity of the extremists," said Tony Roman, an adjunct political science professor at Carroll Community College. "The Democratic Party is getting a boost out of this. If Beard gets elected, it gives them sort of a basis to start from."

She added: “Both Primoff and Hollenbeck have been outspoken critics of the current board of commissioners, all GOP moderates. Ed Primoff, a club member married to Suzanne Primoff, defended the club's actions today. If the club had agreed to register as a PAC, the state prosecutor would have dropped charges last week, Ed Primoff said.

He said the club rejected that offer. "Everything we did was reviewed by competent legal counsel, and they assured us that we were in compliance with all the Maryland election laws," Primoff said. "This club is fighting corruption and fighting for ideologies that we believe in."

Indeed, The Westminster Eagle article reveals, “In ads published this week, the CCRC contended that it acted in the primary as a political “club,” and not a political action committee.”

I found the ad on page two at this address: http://carrollstandard.com/standard_12p_11-1-06.pdf

In a Baltimore Sun article on October 28, 2006 entitled, “Republicans split in Carroll County - Democrat Beard gains GOP backing,” Sun writers Laura McCandlish and Mary Gail Hare wrote: “ ‘If the primary purpose is campaign finance, then clearly you have to register,’ said Mark J. Davis, the assistant attorney general for the board of elections. "But if the club only occasionally engages in campaign finance, then no registration is required. The laws on political clubs tend to be vague and should be clarified by the General Assembly, Davis added.”

However, in a broad-sweeping conversation earlier this evening with several political scientists, it was called to my attention that the state takes a dim view of folks participating in electioneering without registering and has been relatively consistent in taking the approach that whenever in doubt – register…

I was reminded of a series of instances in the 1986 campaigns in Baltimore County by our current governor, in which the question over registering political action committees was alleged and in that instance, the state pursued the matter, although, it was not clear to me as to the outcome of that example…

On September 8^th, 2006, Westminster Eagle Editor penned an article which examined the claims made in the ads and a response by Carroll County government on behalf of Commissioners, Dean Minnich, Perry Jones and Julia Gouge. County government responded because the ads made claims which some would consider a cause for action on the part of county government…

The piece, “County refutes ads, mailers attacking commissioners” 09/08/06
By Jim Joyner, begins:

“Carroll County officials this week refuted several claims made in political ads this past week by a group called the Carroll County Republican Club, saying the bulk of the organization’s accusations are false or misleading.

The group has distributed mailers, placed paid advertising in county newspapers — including The Eagle — and is reportedly also operating an automated messaging campaign, phoning homes in the county.

The bulk of the campaign is aimed at unseating the incumbent Board of County Commissioners, and suggests that voters opt for challengers.

Various aspects of the ad campaign claim… […] Read the rest here.

The fallout?

In a straight-down-the-middle news article written by Kelsey Volkmann in the Baltimore Examiner on October 31^st, 2006, entitled, “Zimmer, Beard face off in race for county commissioner seat,” she reported:

“For the first time in more than a decade, a Democrat has garnered support from Republicans for a Carroll County commissioners’ seat.

Dennis Beard, a Democrat with GOP support will face-off against Republican Michael Zimmer in next week’s election.”

Read the rest of the article here.

In conversation after conversation, the feedback that I continue to get from “folks in the grocery store check out line,” is enough already, we can’t wait for this election to over.

Amen.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20061030 Candidate for Carroll Co Del Dist 5A Frank Henry Rammes

Candidate for Carroll County Delegate District 5A Frank Henry Rammes
October 30th, 2006

When I stopped by to say hi to Frank Rammes the other day, I asked him to e-mail me some information for the readers on his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates District 5A from Carroll County.

Frank has worked hard for Carroll County in a number of capacities for many years. It is service and dedication for which I have always respected.

And oh, I wanted to put a picture up for Frank and I failed to ask him for one, so I shamelessly, with pre-meditation and total lack of pride, swiped one from the Carroll County Times information page for Frank’s candidacy. (JK – just call me if you’re annoyed and I’ll take it down.)

If you have not had a chance to go to the Carroll County Times web page on the upcoming elections, you really should check the page out for one stop shopping and information on all the candidates.

Please review his information below:

From: Frank Rammes [mailto:frammes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 1:17 PM
To: kdayhoff@carr.org
Subject: Info per your request

Name: Frank H. Rammes

Office sought: House of Delegates 5-A

Party Democrat

Resume: Grad WHS 1968

Education;

BA in History UMCP 1972

Paralegal Certificate, National Academy for Paralegal Studies, 1993

Work History:

1972-91, Dutterer's Of Manchester, Manchester, Md

1992-current, Office of the Public Defender, Westminster

Political History;

Member, Republican Central Committee, 1982-85 and 1987-90.

President of Carroll County Democratic Club, 2004-2006

Appointed to Democratic Central Committee, early 2006.

Elected to Democratic Central Committee, Sept. 2006.

Worked on and managed campaigns in both parties, as well as Tom Holtz' School Board race in 2000.

Became a Democrat in 2001.

Issues:

1. Utility rates: Need to re-regulate BGE and ensure a consumer friendly PSC is appointed.

2. Health Care: Study and adapt for Maryland some of the plans other states are using to address the growing number of uninsured and underinsured folks in Maryland.

3. Education: Rethink the school construction formula to get more money back to Carroll County to address school overcrowding. Halt spiraling tuition costs for the University of Maryland system.

4. Work with, not against local government, to solve our problems.

5. Adapt a bi-partisan approach in Annapolis to get things done for Carroll County.

Hope this helps

####

20061029 The Carroll Sun’s campaign literature

The Carroll Sun’s campaign literature

October 29^th, 2006

Several folks have been in touch about the back-to-back articles by the Baltimore Sun - Carroll Sun branch of the Maryland Democratic Party in Carroll County.

The articles: “Commissioners - Two shun Zimmer as GOP splits support” and “Republicans split in Carroll County - Democrat Beard gains GOP backing,” have appeared in the October 28^th and 29^th, 2006 edition of the paper.

Much of it is inside-baseball that is not a great deal of concern of the many Moms and Dads trying to attend as many children’s athletic events this weekend as possible. Or the folks who are just intolerant of the esoteric machinations of who-struck-john or gotcha politics.

As an aside, the humor as when the Democratic Party opened a campaign headquarters in Westminster after decades of not having one was that it was not needed as long as the Baltimore Sun had an office in town. (In the interest of full disclosure, that is not an original thought - - it was shared with me by a liberal colleague…)

I was happy that the Dems opened a campaign headquarters in town because the more ideas on the table and candidates on the ballot, the better for Carroll County.

On my way home from dinner last night, I stopped the Dems’ headquarters, after I noticed Frank Rammes toiling-away in the front window.

I liked Frank when he was a Republican and I still like Frank, now that he has switched parties. I just wanted to say hi.

Politics is the business of community leadership and I admire everyone who steps forward to offer their services. When it comes to the business of leadership, may the best plan win – and leave the personal politics out of it.

Back to the Baltimore Sun Democratic campaign pieces; I only read them a moment ago and then I only scanned portions of it.

Yawn.

So what is new?

Actually they are both well-written, if you accept them for what they are – persuasive political rhetoric. If the articles had been labeled as “analysis” or if they had been offered as “columns,” that would have been appropriate.

News articles they were not.

I remember well when the dominant party in Carroll County was the Democratic Party. In those days it was quite conservative.

There was consistent and persistent friction between the conservative-wing of the Democratic Party and the more liberal wing. Much of it was just a rancorous as it is today – only it was the different factions of the Democratic Party doing the bickering.

It was around the late 1970s when the Carroll County Democratic Party started to veer abruptly to the left. Around the time that John Willis ran for the House of Delegates.

As time went on, many of the conservative Democrats left the party and it was not until around 1990 or so that the numbers of Republicans surpassed the registered Democrats.

I think that differences of opinion, whether from within a political party or between parties - - are good for Carroll County.

I rather like differences of opinion being tolerated within a party and I think that it is necessary. As the Carroll County Democratic Party leadership became intolerant of different points of view, many left the party.

Of that note, the Republican Party in Carroll County should pay close attention. As soon as the leadership of the Republican Party becomes intolerant of opposing points of view as to the direction of the party, folks will leave.

Hopefully, the leadership of the Carroll County Republican Party will continue to encourage differences of opinion, discussion and dialogue. The minute that those necessary disagreements are no longer tolerated, the party will cease to be relevant in Carroll County.

If anything, the Carroll County Democratic Party would be smart to get back to its conservative roots in order to win some folks back to the party.

Just as I was about to move on with my day, I got an e-mail from a colleague who spent a bit of time writing up a paragraph or two about the two articles and I found the commentary to be thought-provoking.

I will paste them below and then I’ll go back to work. For everyone who got in touch about the two articles… Thank You. I have saved them. In the future, they will be excellent examples as to why the Baltimore Sun has lost its credibility and relevancy… See: “20061029 The Sunset of the Baltimore Sun.”

Meanwhile, my colleague said:

Baltimore Sun Whacks Carroll GOP – Here’s a surprise –

The Baltimore Sun has run two articles in two days critical of Republicans – more specifically about the Republicans in the Baltimore metropolitan region’s stronghold of Carroll County.

Who’d of thunk it!

Competitive local primaries always disrupt party unity. Supporters have made heavy investments in their candidates – with time, money, talents, etc. – and strong emotions after a primary are expected.

Is this something new?

No.

Does this happen only to Republicans – No.

It is part of the fundamental nature of democratic governments – that democracies work best when they run on conflict. Carroll County Republicans have had significant internal controversies in the past:

1) the fight over the 1985 Orphan’s Court vacancy where three members of the Central Committee resigned;

2) the filling of a vacancy in the ballot for the 1986 sheriff’s race where several prominent Republicans supported the Democratic incumbent Sheriff Sensabaugh;

3) the 1990 state senate primary where the incumbent who lost to Larry Haines endorsed the Democrat Jeff Griffith;

4) the 1990 “Victory” slate for Republican central committee; and the list could go on.

Internal strife is not a sign of a party on the brink of collapse (as the Baltimore Sun and the doomsayers would have you believe) but instead symbolizes a big, open-tent, healthy local party that offers the best candidates and the best solutions to problems in Carroll County.

From my perspective …, these Carroll County internal battles are tame as compared to the infighting and back-stabbing... in the (Democratic) delegations from Baltimore City, Prince George’s County and elsewhere.

But the Baltimore Sun will never miss the opportunity to try and make Republicans look bad – no matter where they live in the state.

####

20061016 Carroll Co Republican Candidates Contact Info

CARROLL COUNTY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES and CONTACT INFORMATION:
Posted October 16th, 2006

Additional information and photos can be found on the Carroll County Republican Central Committee website at: http://ccgop.net/eo.shtml
Republican Central Committee of Carroll County P.O. Box 2108, Westminster, Maryland 21158.2108

The Carroll County campaign headquarters, which officially opened on June 10th, is located at 51 East Main Street, Westminster, MD

Governor Ehrlich/ Kristen Cox
Governor/Lt. Governor
Cstottlemyer@bobehrlich.com
www.bobehrlich.com

Anne M. McCarthy
Comptroller
info@annemccarthy.org
http://www.annemccarthy.org/

Scott Rolle
Attorney General
Scott@ScottRolle.com
www.scottrolle.com

Michael Steele
US Senate
Carroll4steele@yahoo.com
http://www.steeleformaryland.com/

Roscoe Bartlett
House of Representatives
volunteer@bartlettforcongress.org
http://www.bartlettforcongress.com/

David Brinkley
State Senate
david@davidbrinkley.com
www.dbrinkley.com

Larry Haines
State Senate
larry@larryhainesrealtyco.com
www.senatorlarryhaines.com

Allan Kittleman
State Senate
alan@kittleman.com
www.kittleman.com

Donald Elliott
House of Delegates
delegatedon@verizon.net

Tanya Shewell
House of Delegates
tanyashewell@yahoo.com
www.tanyashewell.com

Nancy Stocksdale
House of Delegates
Nancystocksdale@yahoo.com
www.nancystocksdale.com

Susan Krebs
House of Delegates
skrebs@adelphia.net
www.susankrebs.com

Dean Minnich
County Commissioner
www.deanminnich.com/commissioner
www.deanminnich.com

Julia Gouge
County Commissioner

Michael Zimmer
County Commissioner
zimlaw@verizon.net
http://www.voteforzimmer.com/

Jerry Barnes
State’s Attorney

Donald Sealing
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Sealingforclerk@aol.com

Paul Zimmermann
Register of Wills
Atticus90@hotmail.com

Dorothy Utz
Orphans Court

Herbert Reisig
Orphans Court

John Carbaugh
Orphans Court
jaynjay@qis.net

Ken Tregoning
Sheriff

I am a Republican because:
I believe the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I believe government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I believe the proper role of government is to provide only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.

Finally, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

####

Any additions or corrections, please e-mail me at kdayhoff@carr.org. Thanks

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20061013 Sierra Club-Catoctin Group makes Carroll Co Election endorsements

Sierra Club-Catoctin Group makes Carroll County Election endorsements

Posted October 13, 2006

In a letter to the editor of the Carroll County Times, the Sierra Club-Catoctin Group has endorsed candidates for offices in the upcoming Carroll County general election.

For a list of the Catoctin Group’s other endorsements for county offices, statewide in Maryland go here.

For a list of the Maryland Sierra Club State Level Endorsements, click here.

For your convenience, excerpts of the Sierra Club-Catoctin Group letter to the editor are pasted below:

Letters to the Editor for Friday, October 13, 2006

Conservation key in candidate support

We are a non-partisan group. We select candidates who work for a better world for all of us, not just for the well- connected. We are concerned with growth management, environmental health, energy efficiency, agricultural preservation and protection of open space for habitat, hiking and hunting.

We want to see development held to a moderate rate and the county to realize its stated goal of preserving 100,000 acres of farmland…

… The local Sierra Club-Catoctin Group endorses Julia Walsh Gouge, Dean Minnich and Vincent DiPietro for commissioners; and Ann Darrin and Frank Rammes for District 5A delegates.

These candidates can put strong business experience to work for good conservation efforts!

Gregor Becker

Westminster

The writer is political chair, Sierra Club-Catoctin Group.

Be sure to go to the Carroll County Times website “opinion section,” for other letters to the editor and to read the entire Sierra-Club-Catoctin Group letter to the editor, of which I have excerpted above, click here.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org http://www.thetentacle.com/ Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report http://www.thewestminstereagle.com/ www.kevindayhoff.com has moved to http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20061004 Commissioner candidate Zimmer responds to Dangel

Commissioner candidate Zimmer responds to Dangel

October 4, 2006

On Carroll County Commissioner candidate Mike Zimmer’s web site, he responds to some negative campaigning by Ross Dangel.

It boggles one’s mind when folks complain about dirty and negative campaigning by being as equally negative, unpleasant and divisive. In many cases, the very folks who are doing the self-righteous complaining are the same one’s who are just as guilty of dirty and negative campaigning themselves…

In all candor, the folks who have engaged in many of the unpleasant letters to the editor, have been disappointing.

Pasted below, please find Mr. Zimmer’s response. Below that, for balance, please see Mr. Dangel’s letter to the editor…

Editor, Mt. Airy & Sykesville Gazette 10/03/06

Dear Editor:

The letter you printed on 9/28/06 from Ross Dangel contained a number of false statements.

For starters, the Republican Central Committee did not endorse me for Commissioner. As a former Central Committee member, I can assure all voters that our by-laws expressly direct neutrality during a primary.

Mr. Dangel’s statements regarding the Central Committee’s voter guide were equally mistaken. This questionnaire was issue oriented. Candidates were free to either participate or not. Commissioner Perry Jones and I both chose to respond. The majority of our answers were identical.

Now let me turn to the ugly campaign tactics that were directed toward me. A supporter of Delegate Susan Krebs attempted to smear me with a series of letters to various papers. How do I know about her Krebs association? I called the author of the letters directly and that was her explanation.

Each paper allowed me to respond and correct the record. Such false mudslinging has no legitimate place in a political campaign.

I, therefore, agree with Mr. Dangel’s final point that voters should reward candidates who stick with the issues and with the facts. That is exactly the sort of primary campaign I ran. I don’t plan on changing a thing for my General Election effort.

Very truly yours,

Michael D. Zimmer

_____

This campaign was full of dirty tricks

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006

Ross Dangel, Eldersburg

Politics can be a dirty business, but this year’s primary was exemplary for its dirty tricks.

It’s little surprise that Perry Jones was unsuccessful in his re-election bid. While he was arguably outworked by many of the candidates, he was also outmaneuvered by an organized effort on the part of the Republican Central Committee to unseat all three incumbent commissioners by endorsing competitors and creating a misleading Republican voter’s guide.

Campaign sign shenanigans were just the appetizer for questionable full-page ads run the weekend before the primary by an unregistered Republican PAC (the Carroll County Republican Club) claiming to be the voice of the party.

An extremist new tabloid newspaper was also mailed to the entire county claiming official ‘‘Republican” pedigree. This newspaper accused Commissioner Jones of not residing in the county and featured the same questionable ads, which also ran in another local paper.

With such a low primary voter turn-out, all it took was a few hundred people to be deceived for this strategy to be effective.

I noticed many people bringing the deceptive Republican Central Committee’s voters guide with them into the polls. The guide intimated that candidate non-response was an effort to hide positions on issues.

There was, however, no disclosure that the questionnaire itself was done against the expressed wishes of state Republican leadership, or that candidates had been expressly asked not to respond to the questionnaire by John Kane, the head of the Republican party in Maryland.

Even the endorsement of Mike Zimmer by the central committee was done against party guidelines, which specifically require the endorsement of incumbent party candidates.

In addition to Zimmer, the central committee supported the re-election efforts of the entire incumbent delegation, with the exception of Del. Sue Krebs.

Perhaps worst of all was the misleading attack campaign waged by Larry Helminiak, now chairman-elect of the central committee. In his efforts to demonize Krebs, no fewer than six direct mail pieces containing innumerable false statements about Ms. Krebs voting record on taxes, positions on development, immigration and even the schools were mailed to all registered Republicans not listed as Krebs’ campaign supporters.

The investigations of all this primary skullduggery will surely drag-on long after the Nov. 7 election, but voters would be wise to take note of the perpetrators, so as not to reward their efforts by ever voting for them or the other candidates they worked so hard to deceive us into supporting.

These ugly campaign tactics must be eliminated, and the best way to do this is to vote for candidates who run clean campaigns and don’t resort to deceptive ads and dirty tricks.

####

20061001 Election Websites

20061001 Election Websites

October 1, 2006

Beard - Dennis Beard, candidate for Carroll County Commissioner

Brinkley Re-Elect David Brinkley, Dist.4 Frederick and Carroll Cos. Sen. David Brinkley

Cardin - Ben Cardin, candidate for US Senate from Maryland

Carroll County Board of Elections

Carroll County Republican Candidates And Contact Information

Carroll County Times 2006 Election Website

Craig - David Craig for Harford Co. Executive

Gouge - Re-Elect Carroll Co. Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge

Haines - Re-Elect Dist.5 Carroll and Balto. Cos. Sen. Larry Haines

Hogan, Patrick N, (R) Re-elect for Frederick Co. Dist 3A

Kittleman - Elect Dist.9 Howard and Carroll Cos. Sen. Allan Kittleman

League of Women Voters in Carroll County MD

Minnich - Re-Elect Carroll Co. Commissioner Dean Minnich

O'Malley for Maryland Governor election web site

Shewell - Elect Dist.5A Carroll Co. Del. Tanya Shewell

Steele - Elect Michael Steele for Maryland U.S.Senate web site

Stocksdale - Re-elect Dist.5A Carroll Co. Del. Nancy Stocksdale

Vote on Nov. 7, 2006. If you want an absentee ballot, click here

Webb, James - Democratic Candidate for US Senator from Virginia

Zimmer - Mike Zimmer, candidate for Carroll County Commissioner

20060925 Cartoon on Carroll County primary elections

“A little group of lit’l green people have landed in my soup”

© Kevin Dayhoff Sept. 13th, 2006

Of schadenfreude and irony

September 25th, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff

Perhaps the cartoon above will explain the results of the Carroll County primary elections. It is as if a group of little green people have landed in Carroll County to provide us with the proverbial “fly in the ointment” to our quality of life.

I’m not really sure if this past Carroll County primary election is a few clowns short of a circus or an experiment in artificial stupidity.

To repeat a wonderful observation by the Washington Post some time ago – that I sure wish I had written: “The numbing repetition of uncorrected falsehoods creates a phony atmosphere of uncertainty around key questions... Eventually voters throw up their hands and accept the fact that they’ll never know for sure what the truth is, and confusion ensues.”

Confusion as to what is real and what is nefarious mythology reigns in Carroll County today and there is plenty of blame for everyone.

Hopefully soon, our community leaders will take heed to the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a January 8th, 1940 speech, in which he said: “The future lies with those wise politicians who realize that the great public is interested more in government that in politics.”

We would all like to think that misrepresentations about the issues or the legacy and performance of a particular candidate or candidates is foreign to what we hold dear as Carroll County values.

That said; our history is replete with examples to the contrary. But that doesn’t mean that in the past such misrepresentations prevailed to sway the outcome of the election or that such negative campaigning represents our values.

To be sure there have been many pivotal elections in Carroll County’s history. Only history will decide if this is one. But looking back 150 years ago to the Carroll County of 1856 is worthy of note.

When Carroll County was formed in 1837, the nation was dealing with the “Panic of 1837,” one of the worst recessions in our nations history.

The late 1840s and early 1850s witnessed many new folks move into Carroll County and roads and infrastructure, jobs creation and access to markets became hotly contested political issues. The new folks agitated aggressively for changes.

It was in this time period that the “Know-Nothing Party” reared its ugly head against immigrants; the scope, size and role of government; local decision making versus federal or centralized state decisions; and just a generalized anger about anything that moved or wanted to move.

The challenge for the elected leadership was the lack of revenue to execute the changes for which many clamored. As the revenue picture brightened, everyone wanted everything for which they had waited for so many years.

The 1837 recession lasted well into the 1840s. In 1851, the form of government in Carroll County was changed from nine commissioners appointed by the governor to three commissioners elected locally to two year terms.

But the acrimony and turmoil of the cry for changes continued, fueled by what some historians call the great Carroll County newspaper war, in which the warring camps fought it out in the newspaper, that is, when they weren’t verbally and physically assaulting each other. And the newspapers certainly threw gasoline on the fire…

Fast-forwarding to the present; my definition of negative campaigning is either a concerted whisper campaign to distort the performance of a candidate or the outright publication of such distortions, either by political ads and literature or by an advocacy oriented newspaper(s).

Selective quotation and trivialities trumping substance in an obvious attempt to distort the facts seem to be the rule of the day. It is always the source of amazement to observe folks who, in the same utterance, plead for understanding and tolerance for their views and then demonize anyone who doesn't agree with them.

A rule among classier community leaders prohibits promoting oneself by personally sniping at someone who holds a different point of view than yours. It is not only bad form but smacks of bullying and could wind up hurting your own cause, as you only look like someone with the warmth and humanity of a water moccasin.

However, it is fascinating to now see folks who have in the past participated in negative campaigning now write columns suggesting the horror of it all in righteous indignation.

In the scalding criticism and politics of personal destruction that passes for contemporary political realism and the social commentary of the day, it is important that we take out a moment to appreciate what a great county we live in and all the positive things for which we have to be thankful.

Not a day passes when we don’t read scathing criticism of someone who has taken time away from his or her family to try and make our community, municipality, county or country a better place. One can be sure that this certainly doesn’t encourage other good folks to step forward and volunteer time for their community.

Any community leader, whether we agree or disagree with his or her ideas, needs to be respected for sticking their head above the crowd to try and make a difference and contribution. It is important to confine our disagreement to their ideas and leave the person, their chosen profession and their family out of it. Remember, you can’t get to heaven based on the sins of others.

The sea change on the part of Carroll County citizens against residential growth in Carroll County has long-since taken a turn for the ugly – and this didn’t take place over-night.

The seeds for the unpleasantness of this past primary election were sown in the 2002 elections when good folks were simplistically demonized in a smear campaign to promote another approach to managing growth in our county.

As much as I continue to have no interest in any hardly any new housing development in Carroll County - - you can’t take away a person’s property rights by plebiscite or an angry mob.

I have grown exhausted with the erosion of our quality of life. Not only the traffic, mind you – but the pollution that pervades the public discourse about residential growth.

Folks seem to feel indemnified to be painfully unpleasant because of their righteous outrage over any new development in the county. Often, but not always, they are the very same folks, who travel to the public hearing from their half-a-million dollar home in what was once a beautiful farm.

However demonizing developers and real estate professionals is a non-starter. Personally attaching an elected official because they have a different point of view about growth, taxation or the size and scope of government, should also be off the table.

The fascinating thing about the primary election for the Carroll County Commissioners is that the one commissioner that was most respectful to those with a different point of view was Commissioner Perry Jones – the only commissioner to not make it through the primary. Go figure.

The worst thing that can happen to a community is that everybody thinks the same way all the time.

But it will be catastrophic if potential leaders are unwilling to step out of the comfortable cocoon of their lives to assume a leadership role or proffer a different point of view for fear of the politics of personal destruction.

If you have the negative energy and the time, anything or anyone can be criticized. It takes only a little misplaced imagination.

Saint Francis of Assisi, who lived back in the 13th Century, said where there is hatred you have to send love; where there is doubt you have to send faith; where there is injury you have to send pardon...

The answer to the problems we face personally and as a society is in being able to bring a higher, more loving, more spiritual energy to whatever it is we confront. When we do, slowly, inch-by-inch, we will become a better society, a better people, and a better world.

A community cannot prosper if individuals fail and we don't rediscover some sense of civility and practice daily acts of kindness to one another.

The answer lies in the ability to listen with respect to those with whom we deeply disagree, in an attempt to catch in their remarks some truth we may have missed, in order to find a meaningful compromise.

Misrepresenting history, comparing our neighbors to nefarious folks from the past and calling folks names is not a good place to begin the healing process for Carroll County. Such righteous indignation, often by the very same folks who have participated in negative campaigning in the past, only perpetuates a negative climate and atmosphere in our community.

Participatory grass roots democracy, open and transparent dialogue is not for the weak of heart. However, if we have learned anything from history, hopefully we have learned that name-calling, pointing fingers, rumor mongering and being impolite, loud, bizarre and disagreeable is not the best way of solving problems.

It is extremely important that we explore alternative ways of peace, positive conflict resolution and nonviolence. It is not necessarily the challenge that counts nearly as much as the thoughtful and well considered response to the challenge.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com

20060925 Dennis Beard event at Piney Run Park on October 1 2006

Dennis Beard event at Piney Run Park on October 1, 2006

20060924 Carroll County Commissioner Candidate Dennis Beard on the issues

Carroll County Commissioner Candidate Dennis Beard on the issues

September 24th, 2006

I recently ran across one of the three Democratic candidates for Carroll County Commissioner, Dennis Beard, at the annual Fallfest parade. Then the other day, he sent me a link to his new web site.

On the issues, Mr. Beard writes:

For the Record: The Issues We Face

1. Accountability

2. Agriculture

3. Economic Development

4. Education

5. Growth

6. Parks and Recreation

7. Public Safety

8. Roads

9. Taxation

10.Water

These 10 issue areas will require working together with many different groups. It will require a Board of Commissioners who can work together, and who can respect each other, even if they have individual differences in points of view. It will require commissioners who can work with municipalities and communities, through the Council of Governments. It will require commissioners who can work effectively with the Board of Education to ensure a quality education for all children in Carroll County. It will require commissioners who can work together with emergency services volunteers to plan for the future, so that lives can be saved. It will require commissioners who can work effectively with state officials on a wide variety of projects, and regional officials in a spirit of cooperation.

It will also require a Board of Commissioners to commit to an open government policy that encourages citizens to be part of their government. This is your government – the commissioners are there to serve you – but at the same time we will need your help. We will not be able to tackle all of these issues without your help and your involvement.

Read the rest of Mr. Beard’s narrative on the issues here.

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