Bruzilla said:
Your positions all sound wonderful, but let's be honest... every politician stands for the same things, and if it were easy to achieve these goals they would have been achieved long before now. So, we must assume that all of the things that you are proposing are either impossible or nearly impossible to achieve.
So how is it that you feel that you will be successful in achieveing these goals when all others before you have failed?
All politicians discuss the same issues but not all politicians see the same solutions. We all discuss the same issues because those are the big ticket issues in the budget. They are big ticket issues in the budget because they touch so many lives on a daily basis.
The majority of the issues are actually handled by staff in Calvert County. The Commissioners tell staff what direction to take but the work is done by very talented staff under management apponted by the commissioners. [Much like big business]
I believe that the majority of politicians are wealthy people who take on this position as a second job. I'm not saying this is good or bad, it's just a fact. The "little guy" can't afford to take on the established "big guy", so they either don't run or they lose due to lack of publicity. The majority of politicians own their own business or come from money. Based on their wealth or connections, they are able to finance a campaign.
I have spent over $1,000.00 on my campaign. This is a drop in the bucket compaired to my opponents. To me [and my family] this is a major expense. I don't have that kind of money. The issues, however, are so important to us that when I said I wanted to take a stand, my family decided to do without some things to make this happen.
This country was built on a
majority rules concept. That is what democracy is supposed to be. Our current way of doing things shuts out the voice of the people.
One of the current Calvert County Commissioner said "We don't have time to listen to all the committees."
I say "If you don't have time to listen to the committees then how are you going to hear what others think."
I say, "If you don't have regular conversations with the people, how will you ever know what they are really thinking?"
Direction... what direction does the majority of the people in Calvert County want to take? That's what I think that one particular commissioner is missing.
One of my opponents [a lawyer] says he doesn't like the fact that the commissioners do so much work behind closed doors in executive session. Of course the current commissioners say that they do it all in open session, on tv with reporters in the room so how can it be behind closed doors.
Do I think doing business behind closed doors is right? Of course not...
I can tell you that discussions about the issues probably
do happen in closed session because the commissioners are all well spoken with opinions and if something is going to be brought up in public, they probably discuss it some beforehand. It's not meant to be deceptive, it's human nature and it's politics. All votes are taken in public though. There is extensive discussion in public about the vote. That's what keeps the commissioner's decisions public. How much of his job is done outside of the courtroom?
I say we need forums like this as well as face to face "coffee klutch" type meetings on a regular basis. Some of us [non business owners] can't just take the time off during the day and run down to the courthouse to discuss public issues. That would keep the decision making in the public.
We also need regular sessions of the Commissioner's meetings in the evening so that those who want to discuss issues with the commissioners in public can do so.
The majority of us get up before dawn, pack lunches, get off to work, fight traffic, perform our daily job duties [above and beyond the call most times], fight traffic, get home, cook dinner, catch up on the news, discuss issues as a family with no time to do much more than that, retire for the day and start all over again.
If it weren't for us, the wheels of the county would stop turning.
Could we be leaders? Sure if the need arose.
I brought this argument up in a private conversation some time ago with a colleague of mine. She asked me why I thought "someone who did not run a business could actually run a county".
I don't own a business because that's not the path life took me on. If I owned a business I would be contributing to someone else's campaign so that I could keep running my business. We can't all own business. Who would do the work?
I believe the position of Commissioner is a full time position.
I have managed business for others and they prospered. In the absence of the business owner I lead a group of people to make a small business very prosperous.
It's one thing to win an election. Your signs are better, your rhetoric is more rehearsed, your contributions are bigger, you are in place and you have a record to research.
It's another thing to be a leader who listens to the people and takes their comments into consideration when considering which path to take.
I got into this campaign because a seat opened up and I felt it was time. I know I can do this job.
Taxes are too high... I can't afford
not to try to take the lead. If I succeed, it will be money well invested.
And another thing, I simply can't afford some of the projects the county is looking into at this time....
). I'd like to see it planned and implemented before too much development encroaches on the land available for rail right-of-ways, depots, and sidings.
