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Kain99
Guest
Call them the point-counterpoint of St. Mary's County.
On the right, there's Vernon Gray. On the left, meet Clare Whitbeck. Citizen activists who ran unsuccessfully last fall from different parties for county commissioner, they track the policies and the politicians from their own vantage points .
Never shy about expressing themselves in public, their perspectives are now on view on the Internet, where each has a Web site. You'll find Gray at www.smchronicle.com and Whitbeck at users.rcn.com/lwhitbeck/.
Gray's site offers biting commentary on the actions of the people who run the county. Since January, he has vented online in seven editions of the publication he calls The St. Mary's Chronicle.
A recent issue takes the commissioners to task for "petty politics" and for glossing over property tax increases stemming from higher assessments. A section attacking a vote by U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) is headlined "Hoyer's Hooey."
Whitbeck sees herself, at least on the Internet, as more scribe than screed, supplementing the commissioners' official meeting minutes with her own stream-of-consciousness rendition.
"I take notes, pretending I'm a reporter," Whitbeck said. "I don't always get the quotes straight. Sometimes, if I want to put it in quotes, I go back and watch the [meeting] tape."
Whitbeck, of Leonardtown, takes an expansive view of the role of government. Gray, who lives in California, is more conservative on such matters.
Though they often disagree on issues, Whitbeck and Gray say they share a common goal of getting information to the public.
"The Web site came about as an attempt to put together in one place a comprehensive compilation of what our elected officials do," said Gray. "The problem is people have a short memory."
Whitbeck observed, "We have a problem in this community with perceptions versus reality."
"The only way to fight it is to put information out and hope people will pay attention, which apparently didn't do either of us any good," she said. "Neither of us got elected, but we're both out here driving the administration crazy. It's our duty."
Walter Vernon Gray III grew up in Prince George's County and has lived in St. Mary's in Navy and civilian life, consecutively since 1976. He is currently flight support manager for the Naval Aviation Warfare Center at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
Whitbeck, a former bookkeeper and public school teacher, came to the county five years ago from southern Anne Arundel County, after a longer residency in Howard County.
Whitbeck mounted her first campaign for county office last year and lost in the Democratic primary. Gray ran first as a Democrat in 1990 and 1994, then switched parties and ran as a Republican in 1998 and 2002, never making it into office.
But electoral defeat has not silenced either of them. In addition to his Web site, which he launched a few months ago, Gray, 55, continues to write a weekly column for the St. Mary's Today newspaper, which has published him regularly since 1992.
Whitbeck, 62, teaches private voice lessons but is for the most part retired and spends much of her time going to county government meetings. She then posts her reports online. They are long on detail and short on spin.
However, her reports sometimes contain illuminating tidbits, as in her account of the April 8 commissioners meeting. "Ken Dement now has a cell phone" and received two calls during one discussion, she wrote of Commissioner Kenneth R. Dement (R-Calloway), a fact not recorded in the official minutes.
Whitbeck also reported at length on concerns expressed by commission President Thomas F. McKay (R-At Large) about published reports of personnel changes discussed in executive session. The official minutes gave his remarks one line.
Gray, in his commentary, sided with McKay, and then "by process of elimination" opined on who might have leaked the alleged actions to the media.
"Really, our two Web sites are apples and oranges," said Gray. "I'm trying to document a broad set of elected officials and what they are doing." On the issues, Whitbeck and Gray don't always disagree. "We certainly agree on the issue of having open honest government," said Gray.
Both also agree on the need for more affordable housing in the county. "My conservatism is somewhat concentrated on fiscal issues," said Gray. "On social issues, I use a different standard of what's right, wrong, fair, unfair."
Left over from their unsuccessful candidacies, each still has a campaign Web site on the Internet, but that's a whole different "url."
Neither claims any special computer expertise. Whitbeck said she found a "nifty little software package" for $49 "that does the job." Gray said his oldest son, who is an actuary "and a computer type," designed his Web site.
Gray said his site receives between 200 and 300 visits each month. Whitbeck said hers -- which doesn't automatically pop up under her name in search engines -- has had about 200 visits over the last six months. "People keep asking me, 'Where's your Web site?' " she said. "I keep walking around with little cards with the Web address."
On the right, there's Vernon Gray. On the left, meet Clare Whitbeck. Citizen activists who ran unsuccessfully last fall from different parties for county commissioner, they track the policies and the politicians from their own vantage points .
Never shy about expressing themselves in public, their perspectives are now on view on the Internet, where each has a Web site. You'll find Gray at www.smchronicle.com and Whitbeck at users.rcn.com/lwhitbeck/.
Gray's site offers biting commentary on the actions of the people who run the county. Since January, he has vented online in seven editions of the publication he calls The St. Mary's Chronicle.
A recent issue takes the commissioners to task for "petty politics" and for glossing over property tax increases stemming from higher assessments. A section attacking a vote by U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) is headlined "Hoyer's Hooey."
Whitbeck sees herself, at least on the Internet, as more scribe than screed, supplementing the commissioners' official meeting minutes with her own stream-of-consciousness rendition.
"I take notes, pretending I'm a reporter," Whitbeck said. "I don't always get the quotes straight. Sometimes, if I want to put it in quotes, I go back and watch the [meeting] tape."
Whitbeck, of Leonardtown, takes an expansive view of the role of government. Gray, who lives in California, is more conservative on such matters.
Though they often disagree on issues, Whitbeck and Gray say they share a common goal of getting information to the public.
"The Web site came about as an attempt to put together in one place a comprehensive compilation of what our elected officials do," said Gray. "The problem is people have a short memory."
Whitbeck observed, "We have a problem in this community with perceptions versus reality."
"The only way to fight it is to put information out and hope people will pay attention, which apparently didn't do either of us any good," she said. "Neither of us got elected, but we're both out here driving the administration crazy. It's our duty."
Walter Vernon Gray III grew up in Prince George's County and has lived in St. Mary's in Navy and civilian life, consecutively since 1976. He is currently flight support manager for the Naval Aviation Warfare Center at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
Whitbeck, a former bookkeeper and public school teacher, came to the county five years ago from southern Anne Arundel County, after a longer residency in Howard County.
Whitbeck mounted her first campaign for county office last year and lost in the Democratic primary. Gray ran first as a Democrat in 1990 and 1994, then switched parties and ran as a Republican in 1998 and 2002, never making it into office.
But electoral defeat has not silenced either of them. In addition to his Web site, which he launched a few months ago, Gray, 55, continues to write a weekly column for the St. Mary's Today newspaper, which has published him regularly since 1992.
Whitbeck, 62, teaches private voice lessons but is for the most part retired and spends much of her time going to county government meetings. She then posts her reports online. They are long on detail and short on spin.
However, her reports sometimes contain illuminating tidbits, as in her account of the April 8 commissioners meeting. "Ken Dement now has a cell phone" and received two calls during one discussion, she wrote of Commissioner Kenneth R. Dement (R-Calloway), a fact not recorded in the official minutes.
Whitbeck also reported at length on concerns expressed by commission President Thomas F. McKay (R-At Large) about published reports of personnel changes discussed in executive session. The official minutes gave his remarks one line.
Gray, in his commentary, sided with McKay, and then "by process of elimination" opined on who might have leaked the alleged actions to the media.
"Really, our two Web sites are apples and oranges," said Gray. "I'm trying to document a broad set of elected officials and what they are doing." On the issues, Whitbeck and Gray don't always disagree. "We certainly agree on the issue of having open honest government," said Gray.
Both also agree on the need for more affordable housing in the county. "My conservatism is somewhat concentrated on fiscal issues," said Gray. "On social issues, I use a different standard of what's right, wrong, fair, unfair."
Left over from their unsuccessful candidacies, each still has a campaign Web site on the Internet, but that's a whole different "url."
Neither claims any special computer expertise. Whitbeck said she found a "nifty little software package" for $49 "that does the job." Gray said his oldest son, who is an actuary "and a computer type," designed his Web site.
Gray said his site receives between 200 and 300 visits each month. Whitbeck said hers -- which doesn't automatically pop up under her name in search engines -- has had about 200 visits over the last six months. "People keep asking me, 'Where's your Web site?' " she said. "I keep walking around with little cards with the Web address."
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